Optimized Low-Noise Amplifier with Switchable Carrier Aggregation Mode for LTE-Advanced and 5G Applications

Carrier aggregation, especially intra-band, could suffer from receiver desensitization due to the existence of intermodulation distortions in the bands of operation of the low-noise amplifier and/or the presence out-of-band jammer signals. Highly linear components are needed to reject these interferences. This configuration can work switchably between legacy and CA mode with minimal degradation in its linearity using load disconnection. It achieved steady 14.2dB gain (S21 and S31) in both legacy and CA mode. The noise performance variation is recorded to be 0.1dB, as the topology achieved a 1.53dB and 1.52dB of NF in legacy and CA modes, respectively. The integration of the derivative superposition method enabled the CA LNA to achieve linearity levels fit for carrier aggregation application. In all interference scenarios, the IIP3 is greater than +10dBm. Specifically, it achieved +16.9dBm and +16.5dBm of in - band IIP3 in CA and legacy modes, respectively. While in OOB linearity analysis, it achieved a +14.5dBm and +14.4dBm IIP3 value in CA and legacy modes. The proposed architecture is designed using the RF library of TSMC 65-nm CMOS technology and is tested at Long-Term Evolution (LTE) band 2. This scheme utilized the lay-out of an on-chip low-density standard spiral inductor. It also includes an ultra-thick top metal layer that has been used as the major routing metal to reduce parasitic resistances. The chip layout has an area of 0.9085mm².