Dual-Band CMOS Low-Noise Amplifier Employing Transformer-Based Band-Switchable Load for 5G NR FR2 Applications

Abstract

This letter presents a dual-band complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS) low-noise amplifier (LNA) for fifth-generation (5G) new radio (NR) frequency range 2 (FR2) applications. The proposed design utilizes a transformer-based band-switchable load to tune resonance conditions in the 26–30- and 37–40-GHz bands. Through ON–OFF control of the transformer functionality, the primary inductance can be adjusted with lesser quality-factor ( <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$Q$ </tex-math></inline-formula> -factor) degradation compared to the conventional direct inductor switching approach. The proposed design is implemented using a 65-nm CMOS process. At 28 and 39 GHz, respectively, the gains of 13.7 and 13.1 dB, noise figures (NFs) of 3.8 and 4.1 dB, input 1-dB compression points of −15.2 and −16 dBm, and input third-order intercept points of −7.15 and −6.85 dBm are realized. The implemented design draws a bias current of 11.6 mA with a 1-V supply.