A wideband 65nm CMOS transformer-coupled power amplifier for WiGig applications

This paper describes a compact two-stage pseudodifferential cascode power amplifier implemented in 7-metal-layer 65nm Low-Power CMOS process. A cascode topology is associated with wideband matching networks which combine integrated transformers and slow-wave transmission lines. The power amplifier achieves 26GHz of bandwidth from 48GHz to 74GHz, with a 1dB ripple flat gain between 50GHz and 70GHz. The circuit delivers 1dB-compressed and saturated output powers of 9.5dBm and 13dBm respectively, for a maximum power added efficiency of 6%. The active area occupies only 0.048mm
²
.