A 280-GHz 10-dBm Signal Source Based on InP HBT Technology

A 280-GHz high-power signal source has been developed in this work based on a 250-nm InP heterojunction bipolar transistor (HBT) technology. The fabricated signal source is composed of two in-phase locked common-base cross-coupled oscillators, the output of which is on-chip combined by a pair of rat-race couplers and a Wilkinson power combiner for enhanced output power. The developed signal source exhibits an oscillation frequency of 276.4 GHz and a phase noise of-89 dBc/Hz at 1 MHz offset. The output power of the signal source is measured to be 10 dBm (10 mW), while consuming a dc power of 196 mW (dc-to-RF efficiency of 5.1%).