On the portability and performance of fully monolithic transformer structures for RF power amplfiers in standard CMOS process

Abstract

In this paper, we examine several proposed power combining topologies for RF power amplifiers (PA). These structures are simulated in a generic 45 nm CMOS process to allow for comparison of their process portability distinguishing necessary adaptations for reasonable performance. The power combining structures are compared and explored by means of electromagnetic (EM) simulations to help establish an attainable baseline performance using classical transformer structures for fully monolithic combiners with standard CMOS processes.