A CMOS class-A 65nm power amplifier for 60 GHz applications

A millimeter-wave power amplifier (PA) implemented in a 65 nm CMOS process with 8-metal layers and transistor f
_T
/f
_MAX
of 160/200 GHz is reported. The PA operates from a 1.2 V supply voltage. A power gain of 13.4 dB, an output P
_1dB
of 12.2 dBm with 7.6 % PAE and a saturated output power of 13.8 dBm at 58 GHz are measured. S
₁₁
and S
₂₂
are lower than 10 dB, which ensures an input and output matching to a 50 ¿ impedance. These results are obtained thanks to accurate millimeter wave models for MOS and integrated microstrip lines used as passive components. The amplifier design takes electromigration constraints at 105°C into account. Excellent agreement between measurement and simulation results is observed.