A packaged 2.4 GHz LNA in a 0.15 µm CMOS process with 2kV HBM ESD protection

This paper presents the first 2.4 GHz LNA with 2kV HBM ESD protection integrated in a 0.15 µm CMOS process. The LNA has been packaged in a standard TQFP48 package and achieves the best overall performance reported to date in a CMOS process at low power. The LNA has a NF of 2.77 dB, an S21of 12.1 dB and an IIP3 of +2.4 dBm at a current consumption of 3 mA from a 1.5V supply. A comparison of this LNA with another LNA having a similar schematic and pinout but without ESD protection demonstrates performance degradation due to the ESD structures at high frequencies. The LNA without ESD protection has a NF of 2.36 dB, an S21of 14 dB and an IIP3 of -2.2 dBm at the same bias condition.