An all-active MMIC-based chip set for a wideband 260-304 GHz receiver

A wideband 260 to 304 GHz (H-band) heterodyne receiver is formed by an MMIC chip set cascading a low-noise amplifier, resistive mixer with integrated frequency-doubler, LO power amplifier and frequency-multiplier-by-six. All MMICs use active circuit concepts and are realized in 100 and 50 nm gate-length metamorphic HEMT technology. The balanced active frequency-multiplier-by-six provides 0 dBm of output power in the frequency range from 110 to 152 GHz. When directly driven by the multiplier output power, the combination of frequency doubler and resistive mixer achieves a conversion loss of 20 dB. With the intermediate LO power amplifier, the conversion loss is reduced to 12 dB in the frequency range from less than 260 to 308 GHz. The LNA provides pre-amplification by 20 dB at 290 GHz with an estimated noise figure of 7.5 dB, taking the overall receiver performance to a maximum conversion gain of 8 dB and noise figure of 7.6 dB, rivaling the performance of state-of-the-art Schottky receivers.