A CMOS Linear Cascode Power Amplifier for Bluetooth Dual-Mode Long-Range Applications

A new topology of power amplifier (PA) is developed in 0.18 μm CMOS for the Bluetooth dual-mode long range applications. To meet the high P
_OUT
with linearity requirement, the proposed PA utilizes a built-in pre-distortion linearizer to improve the output 1 dB(OP
_1dB
) gain compression power while maintaining high power added efficiency (PAE). The circuit achieves measured 25.1 dBmOP
_1dB
, 25.8dBm PSAT, and 34.7 dB gain with 36 % peak PAE at 4.2 V.