THz Monolithic Integrated Circuits Operating Beyond 500 GHz

The barrier for developing THz monolithic integrated circuits keeps being lowered with the recent advances in both process technologies and circuit techniques. This paper provides an overview of selected THz circuits operating in the frequency range of 500 – 700 GHz recently developed by the authors, along with a brief discussion on challenges for THz circuit design. Three oscillators and an oscillator-frequency multiplier chain in various configurations are introduced and compared for THz source generation. Also, for THz signal detection, a 6x6 array detector and a heterodyne detector are presented, and their performances are compared in the context of direct detection vs heterodyne detection configuration.