60GHz 45nm PA for linear OFDM signal with predistortion correction achieving 6.1% PAE and −28dB EVM

A 45nm CMOS 60 GHz PA optimized for linear modulation with 6dbm saturated power and 13dB gain is presented when biased at 70uA/um. A maximum power added efficiency (PAE) of 19.4% 8dBm Psat and 18dB gain is achieved for 200uA/um bias point. The PA was tested using a predistortion algorithm and OFDM packets, and achieved PAE of 6.1% with −28dB EVM and 9% with −20dB EVM at output powers of −2dBm and +1dBm respectively. To our knowledge this is the first publication of a 45nm PA design analyzing the tradeoff between EVM and PAE at the 60 GHz frequency range and using predistortion algorithms to boost efficiency and power.

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