Design Considerations on the Realization of Signal Sources at mm-Waves

In this paper we present some design notes of sub-Terahertz voltage-controlled oscillators (VCOs) and different architectures based on the same building block, a Colpitts-type oscillator. The solutions here addressed are conceived as signal sources for Terahertz imaging camera and are implemented in a 130 nm SiGe bipolar technology provided by IHP foundry. The features and reliability of the proposed integrated circuits have been verified by measurements. Results confirm that the proposed architecture are suitable to provide high output power, a wide tuning range and very low phase noise together with compact dimensions.