A 156 GHz high-power doubler-embedded cross-coupled local oscillator in 55 nm CMOS technology

Abstract

Abstract The driving power of the local oscillator (LO) determines whether the mixers can work in an optimal state. Implementing high-power LO sources is challenging for transceivers in the terahertz band beyond 100 GHz. In this paper, a cross-coupled oscillator based on Cascode amplifiers is proposed. Using the principle of current-reuse, a high-power doubler-embedded cross-coupled local oscillator is designed by combing a frequency doubler and a cross-coupled oscillator. The circuit is processed by 55-nm CMOS technology. With a supply voltage of 1.6 V, the output power reaches −1.3 dBm at 156 GHz, and the DC-to-RF efficiency is 2.1%. In addition, this local oscillator has been used in an up-conversion mixer.