X-Band +24 dBm CMOS power amplifier with transformer power combining

Abstract

A monolithic 10 GHz CMOS power amplifier has been demonstrated in a 0.18 μm commercially available CMOS process. The design utilizes on-chip transformer based power combining to achieve a saturated output power of 24.5 dBm at 10 GHz, with a power added efficiency of 18%. The circuit has a small signal gain of 25 dB, with a 3 dB bandwidth from 8.6 to 10.3 GHz. The circuit operates off of a 3.0V supply and can deliver >; 21 dBm of power over an 8 - 11 GHz bandwidth.