A Metamorphic 220-320 GHz HEMT Amplifier MMIC

In this paper, we present the development of a compact H-band (220-325 GHz) submillimeter-wave monolithic integrated circuit (S-MMIC) amplifier for use in next generation active and passive high-resolution imaging systems. The low- noise amplifier (LNA) circuit has been realized using an advanced 35 nm InAlAs/InGaAs based metamorphic high electron mobility transistor (mHEMT) technology and achieves a small-signal gain of 13.5 dB at 300 GHz and a linear gain of more than 10.5 dB over the bandwidth from 220 to 320 GHz. The use of grounded coplanar waveguide (GCPW) topology in combination with cascode transistors resulted in a very compact die size of only 0.43 times 0.82 mm
²
.