Class 3 HBM and class M4 MM ESD protected 5.5 GHz LNA in 90 nm RFCMOS using above-IC inductor

A 5.5 GHz LNA implemented in 90 nm RF CMOS process is protected against ESD stress using Above-IC inductors implemented as `Plug and Play', which have very high Q values (40 for 3 nH) compared to BEOL inductors (7 for 3 nH in 5 LM). The RF pin of this LNA withstands an ESD stress above 6 kV HBM and 1 kV MM, the highest ESD robustness value reported ever in a similar circuit. The LNA features a 16 dB power gain, 2.5 dB noise figure while consuming only 2.4 mW, highlighting that high ESD robustness and good RF performance can be achieved simultaneously.