A Low Power Sub-harmonic Self-Oscillating Mixer with 16.8dB conversion loss at 310GHz in 65nm CMOS

Abstract

A 310GHz sub-harmonic self-oscillating mixer (SHSOM) with on-chip LO generation is demonstrated in this paper. The mixer consists of four Clapp oscillators that are differentially coupled to the adjacent one. Two patch antennas deliver the differential RF signal to the mixer/oscillator and with the large LO swings at the transistor terminals, high conversion gain is achieved. By controlling the phase shift of the RF signal between gate and drain, the conversion gain is boosted. Using a 65nm CMOS technology, the prototype of the SHSOM achieves 16.8 dB conversion loss and 21.3 dB noise Figure at 310GHz. The 3-dB IF bandwidth is more than 8GHz and DC power consumption is around 55mW in total.