Implementation of Single Chip 28 GHz SPDT Switch-less Front-end Circuits in a 65nm CMOS process

This paper presents the implementation results of a single-chip 28 GHz SPDT-less front-end IC for 5G mobile communication services. The focus of the present paper is on investigating the implementation performance of a low-loss RF front-end architecture eliminating the SPDT switch in a conventional front-end. According to the measurement results, the SPDT-less design shows negligible loss at the output stage and hence higher output power. The fabricated CMOS chip exhibits excellent performance, with a peak gain of 20.8 dB and a 3-dB bandwidth of 4 GHz (28 GHz – 32 GHz) in the Tx-mode. In Rx-mode, a wider bandwidth characteristic of 7.4 GHz (25.6 GHz – 33 GHz) and a peak gain of 18.9 dB are observed. The overall results demonstrate the potential of the SPDT-less front-end for efficient reception and future low-loss RF front-end designs