Fully Integrated Efficient and Wideband Distributed Amplifier Employing Dual-Feed Output Stage With Active Input Split-Stage in 0.13μm CMOS

IEEE Access, vol. 11, pp. 95813–95824

Abstract

This work presents the analysis, design, and implementation of an efficient and wideband active-split dual-feed distributed amplifier (AS-DFDA) in 0.13μm CMOS technology. It consists of a dual-feed (DF) output stage with a passive combiner and an active-split (AS) input stage. The dual-feed stage is used to enhance the gain and output power of the proposed AS-DFDA by utilising both the forward and reverse gains of a conventional distributed topology. The DF stage requires an in-phase equi-amplitude signals feeding the DF gate lines from both sides which is accomplished by an active-split stage based on the split drain-line topology providing a wideband input match along with the extra leaverage in gain. An external capacitance in series with the DF stage devices is deployed to increase the cut-off frequency of the dual-feed gate lines. Further, the interstage lines are terminated with idle-line terminations on both ends to target flat gain. The amplified signal from DF stage is combined through an output impedance matched direct passive combiner. The measured results show a 13-10 dB gain from 4-22 GHz and output return loss of 6dB over the entire bandwidth. The measured output saturated power,PSAT, of 10.6 dBm with peak power added efficiency (PAE) of 15.1% is acheived at 5 GHz while a minimum peak PAE of 9% is obtained over the entire bandwidth. The AS-DFDA has a noise figure of 4-6 dB and occupies an active area of only 0.45 mm2, respectively.

Authors 3

1. Mohsin M. Tarar

   University of Chakwal

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Electronics Engineering, University of Chakwal, Chakwal, Pakistan

2. Saad Qayyum

   Pak-Austria Fachhochschule: Institute of Applied Sciences and Technology

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Pak-Austria Fachhochschule: Institute of Applied Sciences and Technology, Haripur, Pakistan

3. Renato Negra Aachen Chair of High Frequency Electronics

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Chair of High Frequency Electronics, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany