An open-source-input, ultra-wideband LNA with mixed-voltage ESD protection for full-band (170-to-1700 MHz) mobile TV tuners

An ultra-wideband low-noise amplifier (LNA) covering the full mobile TV bands (170-to-1700 MHz) is presented. It features an ESD-protected open-source-input structure to interface the off-chip balun, such that a rail-to-rail input swing and an inductorless broadband input impedance matching can be achieved concurrently, while providing better linearity and inducing less noise. In the amplification core, double- current reuse and single-stage wideband thermal noise cancellation techniques are proposed. Optimized in a 90-nm CMOS process, the LNA achieves 20.6-dB voltage gain, 2.4-to-2.7 dB noise figure and + 10.8 dBm IIP3, while consuming 9.6 mW of power at 1.2 V. |S11| ≪ −10 dB is achieved up to 1.9 GHz without needing any external resonant network. Human Body Model ESD zapping tests of ± 4 kV at the RF pins cause no failure of any device.