CMOS stacked folded differential structure power amplifier for high power RF application

This article describes the feasibility of a Power Amplifier (PA) in 0.13 μm CMOS technology from STMicroelectronics for high power applications. To obtain a high output power with a good linearity, a new topology called Stacked Folded Differential Structure (SFDS) is proposed. It allows obtaining similar power performances to a PA with DAT in a lower die area. This PA provides 23 dBm of maximum output power ( P max ) with 20% of power added efficiency (PAE) at 1.95 GHz. The linear gain is equal to 11 dB and the output power at 1 dB compression point (OCP 1 ) achieves 21 dBm. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J RF and Microwave CAE, 2010.