A 108-GHz InP-HBT monolithic push-push VCO with low phase noise and wide tuning bandwidth

This paper reports on what is believed to be the highest frequency bipolar voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) so far reported. The W-band VCO is based on a push-push oscillator topology, which employs InP HBT technology with peak f_T´s and f_max´s of 75 and 200 GHz, respectively. The W-band VCO produces a maximum oscillating frequency of 108 GHz and delivers an output power of +0.92 dBm into 50 Ω. The VCO also obtains a tuning bandwidth of 2.73 GHz or 2.6% using a monolithic varactor. A phase noise of -88 dBc/Hz and -109 dBc/Hz is achieved at 1- and 10-MHz offsets, respectively, and is believed to be the lowest phase noise reported for a monolithic W-band VCO. The push-push VCO design approach demonstrated in this work enables higher VCO frequency operation, lower noise performance, and smaller size, which is attractive for millimeter-wave frequency source applications