A four-stage power amplifier (PA) with 10 GHz 1-dB bandwidth (56–66 GHz) is presented. The broadband performance is achieved owing to π-section interstage matching network. Three-stage-current-reuse topology is proposed to enhance efficiency. The amplifier has been fabricated in 65 nm digital CMOS. 18 dB power gain and 9.6 dBm saturated power (Psat) are achieved at 60 GHz. The PA consumes current of 50 mA at 1.2 V supply voltage, and has a peak power-added efficiency (PAE) of 13.6%. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this work shows the highest PAE among the reported CMOS PAs that covers the worldwide 9 GHz ISM millimeter-wave band with less-than-1.2 V supply voltage.

A novel structure of bandpass filter using NRD guide E-plane resonators is proposed. The NRD guide E-plane resonator is constructed by inserting metal foils in the E-plane of NRD guide. Simulation, fabrication and handling of the filter are very easy because each resonator is separated by simple metal foils. Chebyshev response bandpass filters are designed based on the theory of direct-coupled resonator filters and fabricated at 60 GHz. Simulated and measured filter performances agreed well with the design specifications. Insertion losses of the fabricated filters were found to be around 0.3 dB for 3-pole filter and 0.5 dB for 5-pole bandpass filter, respectively.

In order to highlight a rapid progress attained in the field of millimeter waves in Japan, this paper describes several key topics including transistors, integrated circuits, planar antennas, millimeter wave photonics, and others.