A Blocker-Tolerant Balun-LNTA Employing LC Notch Filter for 5G New Radio Cellular Applications

In this paper, a balun-low noise transconductance amplifier (LNTA) employing a Q-boosted LC notch filter is proposed for 5G new radio (NR) sub-6 GHz cellular applications. The proposed balun-LNTA improves the noise Figure by adopting a noise-cancelling 1: N CG-CS topology with local feedback gm-boosting and modified current-bleeding technique and enhances the blocker-tolerance and linearity of the receiver by eliminating unwanted out-of-band blockers and transmitter-leakage signals. Simulated in a 65-nm CMOS technology, the balun-LNTA achieves a minimum noise Figure of 2.38 dB, a maximum transconductance gain of 44 mS and a S11 of less than.10 dB over the frequency range of 1 GHz to 6 GHz. It also provides a blocker rejection ratio of more than 15 dB in the mid-band frequency range of 5G NR. It consumes 5.9 mW and occupies a total area of $0.55 mm^{2}$.