A 311-GHz Fundamental Oscillator Using InP HBT Technology

This is the first fundamental HBT oscillator operating above 300 GHz.

This oscillator uses a single-emitter 0.3-μm InP heterojunction bipolar transistor (HBT) device with maximum frequency of oscillation (f_max) greater than 500 GHz. Due to high conductor and substrate losses at submillimeter-wave frequencies, a primary challenge is to efficiently use the intrinsic device gain. This was done by using a suitable transmission-line media and circuit topology. The passive components of the oscillator are realized in a two-metal process with benzocyclobutene (BCB) used as the primary transmission line dielectric. The circuit was designed using microstrip transmission lines.