DOI: 10.1109/TMTT.2025.3561795   IEEEXplore: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10981679

28-GHz transmitter (TX) front end with a mixer and a two-stage PA connected to an on-board matching network and a wideband flipped patch antenna implemented in 40-nm CMOS technology

28 GHz

Gain peaking in the second stage of the PA mitigates compression effects and improves linearity. The inductor XF-based matching network employs a step-matching strategy calculated to address the bandwidth reduction resulting from the inductances of the bonding wires and the long transmission lines with a rigorous mathematical basis.

5G/6G wireless communication systems

30.2 dB PA gain; 20 dBm Psat, 18.5 dBm P1dB output power; 30.3% peak drain power-added efficiency (PAE) for a figure of merit (FoM) (ITRS) of 94, the highest known FoM at the time this article was written with 1.00 W/mm2 PA power density; 800 MS/s symbol rate for 64 a QAM modulated signal, -27.5 dB error vector magnitude (EVM) received over a 0.5 m link.