An F-Band Power Amplifier with Skip-Layer Via Achieving 23.8% PAE in FinFET Technology

Abstract

This paper presents an F-band power amplifier (PA) designed using novel back-end-of-line (BEOL) in Intel 16 technology. In the PA transistor array, skip-layer vias which directly connect transistor to thick metal layers are used to reduce parasitics from BEOL and improve the PA performance. This 2-stage PA shows excellent peak PAE and gain per stage. At 110GHz, the measured $\mathrm{P}_{\text{sat}}$, peak PAE, linear power gain, and OP1dB are 11.8dBm, 23.8%, 17.1dB, and 9.2dBm, respectively. The core area of the PA is 0.023mm2, enabling compact integration into phased array or waveguide based transceivers. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first circuit demonstration using skip-layer via that operates beyond 100GHz.