Fully Integrated Ka-Band Power Amplifier with Parallel Power Combiner using Single-Winding Transformer

  • Hyun Jjn Ahn Pusan National University
  • Ock Goo Lee Pusan National University
DOI: https://doi.org/10.23075/jicas.2020.6.4.004
Keywords: 5G, 65nm, CMOS, High Efficiency, High Output Power, Ka-band, Power Amplifier(PA), Power combiner

Abstract

This paper presents a Ka-band linear CMOS power amplifier (PA) with a parallel power combiner using single-winding transformer to increase the output power with low loss in 65nm CMOS technology for fifth generation (5G) applications. Two differential cascode unit PAs are combined with the proposed parallel power combiner as a current combining topology. Compared with the conventional transformer power combining techniques, the proposed parallel power combiner can offer high output power with a compact die area. Upon simulation with a 28 GHz continuous-wave signal, the proposed PA achieves a saturated output power (PSAT) of 25.0 dBm, output 1-dB compression power (PO,1dB) of 22.6 dBm, and peak power added efficiency (PAE) of 34.7%, respectively. A power gain of 28.1 dB is achieved with a 3 dB bandwidth of 5 GHz. This PA achieves one of the highest figures-of-merit (FOM) among the recently reported 5G millimeter-wave (mmwave) PAs in CMOS.

Author Biographies

Hyun Jjn Ahn, Pusan National University

Hyun Jin Ahn received the B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering from Pusan National University, Busan, Korea, in 2015, and is currently working toward PhD integrated program in electrical engineering at Pusan National University, Busan, Korea. His interests include high-frequency integrated circuits and system design for wireless communications.

 

Ock Goo Lee, Pusan National University

Ock Goo Lee received the B.S. degree in electrical engineering from Sungkyunkwan University, Korea, in 2001, the M.S. degree in electrical engineering from the KAIST, Korea, in 2005, and the Ph.D. degree in electrical and computer engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology, USA, in 2009.

Upon completion of the doctoral degree, he joined Qualcomm Inc., USA, as a Senior Engineer, where he was involved in the development of transmitters and integrated passive circuits on mobile applications. He is currently a faculty member with the Department of Electrical Engineering, Pusan National University, Korea. His research interests include high-frequency integrated circuits and system design for wireless communications.

Homepage : https://olee143.wixsite.com/wicspusan

Published
2020-09-29
How to Cite
Ahn, H. J., & Lee, O. G. (2020). Fully Integrated Ka-Band Power Amplifier with Parallel Power Combiner using Single-Winding Transformer. Journal of Integrated Circuits and Systems, 6(4), 17-22. https://doi.org/10.23075/jicas.2020.6.4.004
Issue
Vol 6 No 4 (2020)
Section
Articles