Analysis of packaging effects and optimization in inductively degenerated common-emitter low-noise amplifiers

The effects of packaging on the performance of inductively degenerated common-emitter low-noise amplifiers (LNAs) are examined and the equations describing the input impedance, transconductance, voltage gain, and noise figure of the packaged amplifier are derived. From the equations, several guidelines for the LNA design are obtained and a systematic approach for the LNA design can be derived. Furthermore, by applying the formulas, the performance of the amplifier can be readily estimated and optimized in the very early stage of the circuit design, immediately as the process data is available. The measurement results of the implemented 0.35-/spl mu/m SiGe RF front-end with an inductively degenerated common-emitter LNA at 1.575 GHz agree well with calculations and simulations.

[1]  P. Sivonen,et al.  A SiGe RF front–end with on–chip VCO for a GPS receiver , 2002 .

[2]  Robert G. Meyer,et al.  Analysis and Design of Analog Integrated Circuits , 1993 .

[3]  Jussi Ryynanen,et al.  A 2-GHz wide-band direct conversion receiver for WCDMA applications , 1999, IEEE J. Solid State Circuits.

[4]  P. Leroux,et al.  A 0.8 dB NF ESD-protected 9 mW CMOS LNA , 2001, 2001 IEEE International Solid-State Circuits Conference. Digest of Technical Papers. ISSCC (Cat. No.01CH37177).

[5]  Rinaldo Castello,et al.  Implementation of a CMOS LNA plus mixer for GPS applications with no external components , 2001, IEEE Trans. Very Large Scale Integr. Syst..

[6]  T.H. Lee,et al.  A 1.5 V, 1.5 GHz CMOS low noise amplifier , 1996, 1996 Symposium on VLSI Circuits. Digest of Technical Papers.

[7]  Asad A. Abidi,et al.  A 900 MHz dual conversion low-IF GSM receiver in 0.35 μm CMOS , 2001 .

[8]  Asad A. Abidi,et al.  A single-chip 900-MHz spread-spectrum wireless transceiver in 1-μm CMOS. II. Receiver design , 1998, IEEE J. Solid State Circuits.

[9]  A. Abidi,et al.  A 900 MHz dual conversion low-IF GSM receiver in 0.35 /spl mu/m CMOS , 2001, 2001 IEEE International Solid-State Circuits Conference. Digest of Technical Papers. ISSCC (Cat. No.01CH37177).

[10]  Asad A. Abidi,et al.  A Single-Chip 900-MHz Spread-Spectrum Wireless Transceiver in 1m CMOS — Part II : Receiver Design , 1998 .

[11]  Behzad Razavi,et al.  RF Microelectronics , 1997 .

[12]  Giuseppe Palmisano,et al.  Noise figure and impedance matching in RF cascode amplifiers , 1999 .

[13]  Thomas H. Lee,et al.  The design and implementation of low-power CMOS radio receivers , 1999 .

[14]  P. De Vita,et al.  A sub-1-dB NF±2.3-kV ESD-protected 900-MHz CMOS LNA , 2001, IEEE J. Solid State Circuits.

[15]  Thomas H. Lee,et al.  The Design of CMOS Radio-Frequency Integrated Circuits: RF CIRCUITS THROUGH THE AGES , 2003 .

[16]  Osama Shanaa,et al.  Frequency-scalable SiGe bipolar RF front-end design , 2001 .

[17]  Razavi.  A 900-MHz CMOS Direct Conversion Receiver , 1997, Symposium 1997 on VLSI Circuits.