Fully integrated high power RF front-end circuits in 2 GHz using 0.18um standard CMOS process

A high PA and an antenna switch were implemented in a single die with low noise amplifier to study feasibility of integration of all the RF front end components in a standard bulk CMOS process. Low voltage operation which is the biggest obstacle to implement a high power amplifier and a high power switch in the CMOS technology were resolved to by employing power combining technique using transformer and adaptive voltage swing distribution techniques. 30 dBm output power was obtained at 2 GHz with -40 dBc second and third harmonics. This is very promising data to open the possibility to integrate high power components in a standard CMOS process at cellular applications.