A Ku-Band SiGe:C Power Amplifier with 24.8 dBm Output Power and 35.6% Peak PAE

This paper presents a wideband power amplifier for the Ku-Band. The architecture of the single PA cell is a fully differential topology. For full characterization of the differential topology and its benefits additional PAs with passive power combining and baluns are also investigated. The PAs are fabricated in Infineon's BiCMOS production technology B11HFC which offers HBTs with an fT of 250 GHz and fmax of 370 GHz. The single PA cell achieves a peak output power of 24.8 dBm and a peak PAE of 35.6% at 13 GHz. The quiescent current of the single PA-cell is 181 mA from a single 3.3V supply.