Balanced active frequency multipliers in D and G bands using 250nm InP DHBT technology

A wideband balanced active frequency doubler at Dband (110-170 GHz) and a frequency tripler at G-band (140-220 GHz) is presented. The circuits are implemented in a 250nm InP DHBT technology with ft/fmax 350/600 GHz respectively. The experimental results of the frequency doubler exhibit an output power of 4.2 dBm with 3-dB output bandwidth from 120 to 158 GHz corresponding to 27.3 % relative bandwidth. The power efficiency is 11.9 % at 124 GHz output and 5 dBm input power. The doubler chip consumes a dc-power of 19 mW and the chip dimension is 0.45 × 0.4 mm². The tripler chip can provide output power of 3.8 dBm and has 3-dB output bandwidth of 27 GHz from 162-189 GHz. The balanced topology and band pass filter were utilized in tripler circuit for harmonic suppression. The fundamental- and second-harmonic suppressions are better than 20 dBc and 28 dBc, respectively. The dc power consumption is 26 mW. The chip surface is 0.9 × 0.4 mm².