On the Design of Wideband Transformer-Based Fourth Order Matching Networks for E -Band Receivers in 28-nm CMOS

摘要

This paper discusses the design of on-chip transformer-based fourth order filters, suitable for mm-Wave highly sensitive broadband low-noise amplifiers (LNAs) and receivers (RXs) implemented in deep-scaled CMOS. Second order effects due to layout parasitics are analyzed and new design techniques are introduced to further enhance the gain-bandwidth product of this class of filters. The design and measurements of a broadband 28-nm bulk CMOS LNA and a sliding-IF RX tailored for E -band (i.e., 71–76-GHz and 81–86-GHz) point-to-point communication links are presented. Leveraging the proposed design methodologies, the E -band LNA achieves a figure of merit ≈10.5 -dB better than state-of-the-art designs in the same band and comparable to LNAs at lower frequencies. The RX achieves 30.8-dB conversion gain with <1-dB in-band ripple over a 27.5-GHz BW−3-dB while demonstrating a 7.3-dB minimum NF with less than 2-dB variation from 61.4 to 88.9-GHz. The worst cases in-band ICP1-dB and IIP3 are −30.7 and −23.8-dBm, respectively, from a 0.9-V power supply. This wideband state-of-the-art performance enables robust and low power multi-Gb/s wireless communication over short to medium distance over the complete E -band with wide margin.