A 94GHz differential power amplifier in 45nm LP CMOS

• Published in: 2011 IEEE Radio Frequency Integrated Circuits Symposium pp. 1 - 4
• Main Authors: Deferm, N., Osorio, J. F., de Graauw, A., Reynaert, P.
• Format: Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: IEEE 01-06-2011
• Subjects: CMOS; CMOS integrated circuits; differential design; Gain; mm-wave; power amplifier; Power amplifiers; Power generation; Stability analysis; Transistors; Transmission line measurements; W-band
• ISBN: 1424482933; 9781424482931
• ISSN: 1529-2517; 2375-0995
• DOI: 10.1109/RFIC.2011.5940685

This paper presents a 94 GHz 4-stage differential transformer-coupled power amplifier with capacitive neutralization. The use of transformers results in excellent common mode isolation between the different stages while providing a good impedance match. The neutralized differential pairs guarantee differential stability. The PA was designed in a 45 nm LP CMOS technology. An output 1 dB compression point of +4 dBm and a gain of 18 dB was measured. The total chip area is 0.43 mm 2 and the active part consumes only 0.07 mm 2 . The 3 dB bandwidth is 14 GHz. Power consumption is 120 mW from a 1V supply, resulting in a peak PAE of 4.6%.