Design of a Non-Linear Sized I/Q Digital PA for 5G mm-Wave Communications in 28 nm CMOS

Abstract

This paper presents the design of a DPA for 5G telecommunications applications in TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company) 28 nm CMOS. A modified Gilbert cell is proposed to perform the function of amplification and reversing the phase within a compact layout, improving the efficiency. To overcome the linearity issue of DPAs, a non-linear sizing technique of the PA cells is employed. The effective widths of relative bit cells need to be increased to conform to non-linear sizing thus providing linearity with acceptable INL (Integral Non-Linearity)and DNL (Differential Non-Linearity) results. The simulated saturated output power is 11.7 dBm with power added efficiency at 13 percent with the device working off a carrier frequency of 28 GHz.