Low-Power mm-Wave Frequency Quadrupler Using Deep Class-C Doublers

In this paper, a low-power mm-wave frequency quadrupler is introduced. The proposed quadrupler comprises two push-push frequency doublers operating in deep class-C mode to ensure minimal static power consumption. The quadrupler is fabricated in the 22-nm FD-SOI process technology and uses an area of 0.5×0.41mm<sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sup>. It generates a ≈ 60 GHz signal with a P<inf xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">out</inf> of -10 dBm from a 15 GHz input signal and provides 10.8GHz output bandwidth (18% fractional bandwidth). Its low power consumption and wide bandwidth make it attractive for many operations in the 60GHz spectrum, including advanced communication with a high data rate. Operating from 54.9− 65.7GHz, its total power consumption is 12 mW, which includes the output pad driver; however, the core frequency quadrupler consumes only 5 mW due to deep class-C operation.