A Ka-band oscillator has been designed, fabricated and tested using InAlAs/InGaAs HBTs. Coplanar waveguide technology has been employed to improve the Q-factor of the circuit. An output power of 2.6 dBm with DC to RF conversion efficiency of 7.8% was measured at 31.7 GHz. Low phase noise of -87 and -112 dBc/Hz were achieved at an offset frequency of 100 kHz and 1 MHz respectively. These low phase noise values can be attributed to the low I If noise of the InAlAs/InGaAs HBT devices and the coplanar design used for the circuit. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.