A K-band CMOS Power Amplifier with 3-Bit Phase Shifting Characteristics

A 22-GHz variable phase power amplifier(VPPA) is implemented with a CMOS 65-nm general GP process. The VPPA consists of two stages. The first stage is a common source structure with a Class-A operating point, and the second stage is a cascode CMOS amplifier with a Class-AB operating point. This is a form that can use a power supply voltage of 2.2V, and as a result, higher output power can be realized. The gain can be increased by using a drive amplifier with a Class-A operating point. The integrated design is implemented by matching the chip to 50 ohms along with the drive and power amplifiers. The fabricated amplifier occupies an area of 0.92 X 0.52 mm
²
. It exhibits 17 dBm saturation output power with over 20 dB gain.