A Ku-band Miniaturized LNA in 0.18-µm CMOS Process for Low-cost Phased Array Application

A Ku-band miniaturized CMOS low noise amplifier (LNA) for phased array application has been implemented using 0.18-µm RF CMOS technology. The methods for performance and biasing optimization under size constraint are proposed to obtain good overall performance tradeoffs while maintaining miniaturization. In the first stage, capacitor cross-coupled differential structure is utilized to realize gm enhancement, partial noise cancellation, and bandwidth extension. In the second stage, differential cascode transistors with current mirror circuit are employed to alleviate the impact of process fluctuations and temperature variation. Under a 1.8 V supply voltage, the Ku-band CMOS LNA provides a minimum noise figure of 4.5 dB at 17 GHz and a highest power gain of 16.8 dB at 17.5 GHz in measurement.