A 19.4 dBm, Q-Band Class-E Power Amplifier in a 0.12 $\mu {\rm m}$ SiGe BiCMOS Process

A Q-band, Class-E power amplifier has been designed and fabricated in a 0.12 μm SiGe BiCMOS technology. The amplifier was designed for high output power using on-chip power combining networks. It operates respectively from a 1.2 V supply for peak efficiency and a 2.4 V supply for maximum power and occupies an area of 0.801 mm
²
. A peak PAE of 18% is measured for an output power of 11.3 dBm at 45 GHz and a maximum
P

_sat
of 19.4 dBm is measured at 42 GHz with a PAE of 14.4%. The power amplifier operates from 42 to 50 GHz.