A wideband gain-boosting 8mW LNA with 23dB gain and 4dB NF in 65nm CMOS process for 60 GHz applications

A three stage single-ended LNA using transformer (TF) matching and gain-boosting by capacitive feedback for wideband operation in the 57-66GHz band is presented. The LNA, fabricated in a 65nm standard CMOS process, achieves a 23dB-gain 4dB NF at 6mA and 1.25V supply, with 2dBm P_sat and 0.05mm² in size, demonstrating best reported noise figure, gain, power consumption and chip area compared to published 60 GHz LNAs. Different neutralization topologies were analyzed and compared based on analytical TF models that were created. Optimal gain-boosting is achieved by capacitive feedback after a 180-deg TF together with special decoupling capacitors of MOM and MOS stacked types.