Compact Transformerless K-Band PA with more than 33% PAE and 14.8 dBm Output Power in 65 nm Bulk CMOS

Abstract

This paper presents a compact transformerless balanced power amplifier. The amplifier uses high-Q inductors and capacitors as matching elements instead of lossy transformers. Consequently, higher PAE and output power can be obtained than comparable state-of-the-art. For verification of the design approach a K-band power amplifier in 65 nm bulk CMOS with 33.8% PAE and 14.8 dBm output power is demonstrated. The chip draws 71.8 mA from a 1.2 V supply with 0 dBm input power and has a size of 0.24 mm 2 including all pads. © 2018 IEEE.