A 30GHz-BW < -57dB-IM3 Direct RF Receiver Analog Front End in 16nm FinFET

Abstract

This paper presents a 30GHz-bandwidth analog front end for a direct RF receiver, featuring a multi-segment LC filter with distributed 0-11dB variable attenuation, and a new push-pull source-degenerated hybrid amplifier followed by a push-pull cascoded buffer. Implemented in 16nm FinFET, the prototype front end achieves < -57dB-IM3 and supports 2048-QAM with < 1.6%/< -48dB EVM/ACLR in its entire band while consuming 210mW, demonstrating beyond state-of-the-art performance.