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A D-band Active Imager in a SiGe HBT Technology

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Abstract

In this paper, an amplifier and a detector operating near 140 GHz have been developed and integrated together with an on-chip antenna for an integrated active imager based on a 0.13-μm SiGe HBT technology. The 5-stage differential common-emitter (CE) amplifier shows a peak gain of 14 dB and noise figure (NF) down to 10 dB around 140 GHz with a DC power dissipation of 18 mW. The common-base (CB) differential detector exhibits a peak responsivity of 52.5 kV/W and a noise equivalent power (NEP) of 3.3 pW/Hz1/2. For the integrated imager, a peak responsivity of 1,740 kV/W and a minimum NEP of 80 fW/Hz1/2 were achieved with a DC power dissipation of 18 mW. With the fabricated active imager with on-chip antenna, which occupies an area of 2,200 × 600 μm2 including the antenna and bonding pads, images of various objects were successfully acquired.

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Correspondence to Jae-Sung Rieh.

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Yoon, D., Song, K., Kim, J. et al. A D-band Active Imager in a SiGe HBT Technology. J Infrared Milli Terahz Waves 36, 335–349 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10762-014-0137-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10762-014-0137-1

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