A Novel Current-Mode Differential Transconductance LNA for IEEE 802.11a Application

Abstract

In this paper, a novel current-mode differential transconductance low noise amplifier (LNA) designed in the chartered 0.18 µm CMOS technology is proposed to realize the receiver front-end. The proposed LNA frequency ranges from 4.7 GHz to 6 GHz,mainly targeting at IEEE802.11a application. It utilizes two stage structure, with a PMOS current-mirrorr using inductive series peaking technique to achieve optimized current output. The noise performance is improved through the use of a gmboosting technique, while the gain performance is improved and power consumption is saved by using current-reused technique. Measured results demonstrate that the circuit provides flat transconductance gain higher than 17.0 dB, noise figure lower than 2.31 dB and low operating voltage of 0.85 V in frequency band. A comparison with other LNAs in similar and nearby frequency bands shows the proposed LNA has advantages of higher gain, lower noise figure and better other performances.