Low Insertion Loss D-Band SP4T Switch using Reverse Saturated SiGe HBTs

This paper presents a D-band single-pole four-throw switch designed in a 130nm SiGe BiCMOS technology adopting a quarter-wave multiple-shunt reverse saturated topology, with the main purpose of being used in broadband and squint-free phased array transceivers. Three distinct cores were included into each branch to achieve high input-output isolation and at the same time improve the operating bandwidth. The discussed single-pole four-throw switch shows state-of-the-art performances from 110 to 170GHz in terms of insertion loss, with a minimum of 4.1dB at 138GHz including pad losses, and a I/O isolation better than 30dB across the whole D-band. The power consumption is 12mW from a 2V supply, and it occupies an area of 0.88mm<sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sup> including pads.