A Ku-Band Low-Noise Amplifier Based on Transformer Matching Network in 65-nm CMOS

A Ku-band two-stage low-noise amplifier (LNA) with transformer matching network is presented using 65-nm CMOS technology. The first stage employs transformer matching network to achieve a wide bandwidth. The second stage utilizes a triple-coupled transformer to enhance gain. The simulation results show that the proposed LNA achieves a peak gain (S<inf xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">21</inf>) of 16 dB with a -3 dB bandwidth ranging from 10.7 to 20.7 GHz. The noise figure (NF) is between 3.28 and 3.92 dB, and the input 1-dB compression point (IP1dB) ranges from -19.6 to -17.1 dBm across the effective bandwidth. The input return loss (S<inf xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">11</inf>) remains below -10 dB within the frequency range of 9.7 to 23.2 GHz. The LNA operates at a low power consumption of 3.8 mW, making it suitable for wideband applications.