Realization of Sub Terahertz VCOs in 130 nm BiCMOS Technology for Imaging Application

In this research thesis various very low phase noise, high output power Voltage controlled oscillators in SiGe 130-nm BiCMOS technology for millimeter wave frequency generation are realized and investigated. Nonlinear simulation methods for oscillator signal, design notes and noise analysis and device physics at high currents and high voltages are discussed. Fundamental and push push oscillators with output frequencies from 170 GHz to 370 GHz were designed and after fabrication in IHP (Innovation for high performance Microelectronics) foundry and investigated experimentally. As a block circuit for Imaging application a VCO with center frequency of 176 GHz and 5% tuning range was realized with sigle end output power of 7.3 dBm and a efficiency of 6.6%, phase noise of -110 dBc/Hz @ 10MHz offset was realized which demonstrates a state of art performance at this frequency. Furthermore, Sub THz VCO at 330 GHz conceived with a push push with the output from the common base node with resulted in a state of art performance particularly a compact size, very low power consumption, robust, an almost constant output power of 0.4 dB, and low phase noise of phase noise of -109 dBc/Hz @ 10MHz was realized for imaging application. Finally, an EM simulation and design note for sub THz circuits was discussed and a frequency divider was designed to serve as a sub circuit towards realizing a PLL was also realized. This work has been performed within the frame of the Marie Curie ITN Project CELTA (Convergence of Electronics and Photonics Technologies for Enabling Terahertz Applications), a Horizon 2020 Project funded by the European Commission. 15 Early Stage Researchers from 12 European Institutions have been cooperating within this Project.