Class J Power Amplifier for 5G Applications in 28 nm CMOS FD-SOI Technology

Abstract

With the ongoing race to deploy the fifth generation of wireless technologies, the research is directed towards the millimeter wave carrier frequencies as a result of the demand for high speed data and the need for more spectrum bandwidth. Beside the large bandwidth, one of the major challenges of the 5G is reducing energy consumption. The power amplifier is the most critical element of the radiofrequency front-end in terms of power consumption and bandwidth. In this work, we present the design of a wideband and highly efficient class J power amplifier. Post-layout simulation results show a broadband behavior over 12 GHz of bandwidth, with a power added efficiency of 38 % and a saturated output power of 16.2 dBm at 28 GHz. In addition, the linearity and the efficiency of the power amplifier are reconfigurable with to the back-gate of the 28 nm CMOS FD-SOI technology.