A 28GHz Quadrature Up-conversion Transmitter in 65nm CMOS for 5G mmWave Radio

Abstract

A 28GHz RF transmitter is designed in 65nm CMOS for 5G millimeter-wave radio applications. The transmitter is based on a direct-conversion quadrature up-conversion architecture for achieving small silicon area and low power dissipation. The image suppression is improved by adopting I/Q LO mismatch calibration at the LO driving buffer of mixer. The power amplifier is designed in a differential type with cross-coupled neutralized capacitors for stability and reverse-isolation improvement. Combined schematic and EM simulation results show that the transmitter gives the power gain of 37 dB, OP1dB of +5.8 dBm, and Psat of +11.6 dBm. The total transmitter consumes 111 mW from a 1.2 V supply and occupies 1.78 mm2.