A 260GHz amplifier with 9.2dB gain and −3.9dBm saturated power in 65nm CMOS

Terahertz and millimeter-wave systems are known to have unique and significant applications in health, security and industry. Recently, CMOS technology is used to implement these systems for applications such as imaging, high-speed communication and radar [1]. Signal amplification for the target THz and high mm-Wave applications entails daunting design challenges, as operation frequency is getting closer to the Maximum Oscillation Frequency (f_max) of the transistors. This is mostly because the maximum available gain (G_ma) drops significantly below useful levels at frequencies close to f_max. In this paper we introduce an amplifier that can boost the gain of the transistors close to the maximum fundamental value and achieves 9.2dB of gain and -3.5dBm of saturated output power at around 260GHz.