A 100-175-GHz Single-Chip Frequency Extension Module for VNAs with Large Dynamic Range in a 90-nm SiGe BiCMOS Technology

This work presents a fully-integrated millimeter-wave vector network analyzer frequency extension module, realized in a commercial 90-nm SiGe BiCMOS technology with an ft/max of 300/530 GHz. The circuits cover a frequency bandwidth of 100\-175 GHz, employing frequency multiplication-by-four circuitry to generate the stimulus signal. Receivers are based on a mixer-first architecture optimized to achieve a large dynamic range, resulting in a receiver dynamic range of 115 dB calculated from their 1-dB compression point at a resolution bandwidth of 100 Hz. Due to the large available output power of more than -10 dBm, the system dynamic range calculated from the 0.1-dB compression point of the receivers amounts to 105 dB at a resolution bandwidth of 100 Hz. To prove functionality as a vector network analyzer extension (VNAX) system, one-port measurements of WR-4 waveguide component are compared to a commercially available state-of-the-art VNAX module, demonstrating high similarity between both measurements.