D-Band Power Amplifier with 27 dBm Peak Output Power and 14.9% PAE in 250-nm InP HBT Technology

We present a D-band power amplifier (PA), implemented in Teledyne (TSC)-250-nm InP technology, that produces 27.2dBm output power and 14.9% associated PAE at 150 GHz. The measured saturated output power exceeds 26 dBm over 126-150 GHz. The output stage power-combines sixteen 24-mu m common-base cells, each having capacitive series feedback that increases the real part of the input impedance, reducing inter-stage matching losses. Each power cell is independently biased by an adaptive bias network that prevents thermal runaway and increases bias currents with increased RF power to maintain nearly constant gain. The IC consumes 3mm(2).