LAUSR

This letter presents the design of a 160 GHz cascode based differential power amplifier (PA) realized in a 130 nm SiGe BiCMOS technology. It consists of 4 driving stages and an output power stage, providing a peak differential gain of 30 dB and a 3-dB small-signal bandwidth of around 50 GHz. Gain is enhanced by means of inductive positive feedback in the common-base stage. By using optimally sized HBTs in the power stage and operating in the weak avalanche region, high output power is achieved. The designed PA achieves a peak differential $P_{\textrm {sat}} $ of 15.5 dBm at 160 GHz and a PAE of 7.2%, which is to-date the highest reported output power for PAs above 150 GHz, in Si-based technologies.