A 20-GHz 130-nm CMOS front-end using baluns on glass carrier

A 20-GHz 130-nm CMOS front-end using baluns on glass carrier is presented. The front-end consists of a CMOS die featuring a differential two-stage LNA, a passive double balanced mixer, and output buffers, which is flip-chipped on a glass carrier where baluns are realized for the RF and LO signals. The front-end measures a conversion gain of 11 dB, a noise figure of 7 dB, a 60 dB LO to RF isolation, an ICP1dB of -16 dBm, an IIP3 of -5.2 dBm, and an IIP2 of +34.5 dBm. The power consumption, excluding output buffers, is 38 mW. Furthermore, the RF input is well protected as it can withstand a simulated 3 kV HBM ESD event.