Loss-Compensated Cascaded Multistage Distributed Power Amplifier in 65nm CMOS Technology

IEEE Access, vol. 12, pp. 98917–98927

Abstract

This work presents the analysis, design, and implementation of a fully integrated loss-compensated cascaded multistage distributed amplifier (LC-CMSDA) in$65nm$CMOS technology. The proposed LC-CMSDA consists of three distributed stages in cascade configuration. The input stage utilizes three gain-cells in a distributive topology and offers 10 dB of gain. The second stage deploys two-sections while the output stage has three gain-sections in a distributive configuration. The interstage artificial lines are tapered towards large gain and high output power. Interstage inductive peaking in the gain-cell and high frequency loss-compensation at the gate of the cascode, extend the bandwidth. The RF chokes of all three stages have been realized on-chip that leads to a fully integrated design. Small-signal measurement results demonstrate measured peak gain of 21.5 dB and minimum gain of 9 dB through 50GHz of bandwith, resulting into a 146 GHz gain-bandwidth product. Large-signal characterization show peak saturated output power of 14.93 dBm with a peak drain efficiency of 8.95%. The third-order intercept point is better than 15 dBm. The proposed LC-CMSDA occupies only an area of$1.33~mm^{2}$.

Authors 4

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, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

3. Ali A. Ali

   University of Chakwal

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Physics, University of Chakwal, Chakwal, Pakistan

4. Renato Negra Aachen Chair of High Frequency Electronics

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

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