A 19-43 GHz Linear Power Amplifier in 28nm Bulk CMOS for 5G Phased Array

This paper presents a linear power amplifier (PA) implemented in 28-nm bulk CMOS process for 5G communication systems with wideband operation in order to cover all possible 5G frequency bands in the United States, Europe, and Asia. The PA is designed using FET stacking technique that allows high output power for low breakdown CMOS devices. The PA has differential inputs and a wideband balun at the output to enable direct interface with single-ended antennas. The wideband balun design will be introduced. The single stage PA shows a measured gain of 10dB, 3 dB bandwidth (BW) from 19 to 43 GHz (77.5%) with 16dBm of maximum output power, 13.6dBm output P1dB at 24 GHz, output IM3 better than 30dBc up to 8dBm output power, and with a peak power added efficiency of 26% with a 2-volt supply.