W-band differential power amplifier design in 45 nm low power CMOS

In this paper, a comparison is made between two 94 GHz differential CMOS power amplifiers. Both a cascode and common source PA are designed and measured. They both show that excellent mm-wave performance can be achieved in a nanometer scale CMOS technology. Design and performance trade-offs between both topologies are discussed. Efficiency, reliability, linearity and stability are key parameters in this discussion. The PA’s were designed in a 45 nm low power CMOS process. Low loss transformers with excellent inter-stage common mode rejection are utilized to implement the matching networks.

► Design of differential CMOS power amplifiers for mm-wave applications. ► Integration of high frequency transformers for differential interstage matching. ► Comparison between power amplifier topologies. ► Small and large signal measurements of integrated mm-wave power amplifiers.