Millimeter-wave frequency reconfigurable low noise amplifiers for 5G

In this brief, designs of two millimeter wave (mmWave) reconfigurable multi band low noise amplifiers (LNA) are presented targeted for fifth generation (5G) communications. A reconfigurable tunable load based on electrical and magnetic tuning is proposed to cover three mmWave frequency bands for 5G, i.e. 24 GHz, 28 GHz and 39 GHz. Two LNA structures are designed and fabricated using 45nm CMOS SOI technology. The first toplogy (LNA1) is composed of a single input wideband matching circuit to cover frequency operations from 24 GHz to 40 GHz. On the other hand, second topology (LNA2) uses three separate narrowband match inputs, one for each frequency band, with combined output. Design methodology of passive and active devices is presented towards compact integration of LNAs for systems such as, phased arrays. Ground plane and its impact on the performance parameters is also discussed in this work. Measurement results show a wideband noise figure (NF) ranging from 3.8 dB to 4.9 dB and gain of 8.5 dB to 12.5 dB for LNA1 at different bands. Similarly, LNA2 exhibits NF of 4.5 dB to 5.5 dB and gain of 9.5 dB to 15.5 dB across all bands. Total area (including pads) of LNA1 and LNA2 are 0.316 mm² and 0.695 mm², respectively.