50-100 GHz octave band MMIC mixers

Single-balanced MMIC mixers covering RF and LO bands of 50-100 GHz have been developed. A Marchand balun and a side-coupled balun in microstrip configurations were compared for LO drive ports of the mixers. The Marchand balun type demonstrated a conversion loss of 11.6 dB/spl plusmn/2.8 dB over a 50-103.5 GHz band, whereas the side-coupled balun type achieved a conversion loss of 11.6/spl plusmn/2.2 dB from 50 GHz to 95 GHz. These results represent the widest bandwidth reported to date in MM-wave bands.