A 15.3-dBm, 18.3% PAE F-Band Power Amplifier in 130-nm InP HBT With Modulation Measurements

A scalable platform for modulation measurements at millimeter- and submillimeter-wave frequencies is presented and demonstrated at 121 GHz. The system is used to characterize a 130-nm InP stacked power amplifier (PA) at saturated power levels, without using digital predistortion (DPD). A peak data rate of 10 Gb/s is achieved at a peak power level of 14.1 dBm (max power added efficiency (PAE) point) and is the highest recorded data rate on stand-alone PAs at frequencies greater than 100 GHz at peak power levels greater than 10 dBm. The PA exhibits a peak gain of 11.7 dB and a 3-dB bandwidth (BW) of 45 GHz, measured from 90 to 135 GHz. The peak measured PAE and saturated output power (
$P_{\text {sat}}$
) at 112.5 GHz are 18.3% and 15.3 dBm, respectively.