A trimmable 24 GHz low-noise amplifier with 20 dB gain and 3.7 dB noise figure in 65 nm bulk CMOS

Abstract

A 24 GHz low-noise amplifier (LNA) with trimming capability is presented. It is demonstrated, that with the proposed trimming concept, frequency shifts due to model uncertainties, process variations, and underestimated parasitic capacitances can be compensated. The realized LNA showed a shift in peak gain of 2.5 GHz towards lower frequencies in the non-trimmed state. After trimming to the specified operating frequency of 24 GHz, a gain degradation of only 0.3 dB is observed. The trimmed LNA achieves a peak gain of 20 dB at 24 GHz with a 3 dB-bandwidth from 21 to 28 GHz, a noise figure of 3.7 dB, and an OIP3 of 15dBm. Furthermore, it is equipped with ESD protection and can be supplied with a single voltage. The active die size and the power consumption are 0.13 mm2 and 17 mW, respectively.