Ku-band integrated building blocks for phased-array transmitter design in SiGe:C BiCMOS

In this paper, the design methodology and layout considerations of a multiphase Rotary Travelling-Wave Voltage-Controlled Oscillator (RTW-VCO) and a high gain three-stage Power Amplifier (PA) for a phased-array transmitter application are presented. Using a 0.25 μm BiCMOS process, the fabricated VCO gives access to 8 different phases in steps of 45 degrees and it achieves a tuning range of 1 GHz for measured output power of -6.5 dBm at 17 GHz. The three-stage PA shows 25 dB of gain for 16-20 GHz of bandwidth, and it achieves saturated output power of 7.5 dBm.