Broadband amplifiers are essential building blocks used in high data rate wireless, radar, and instrumentation systems, as well as in optical communication systems. Only a traveling-wave amplifier (TWA) provides sufficient bandwidth for broadband applications without reducing modern linearization techniques. TWA requires gate-line and drain-line termination, which can be implemented on- and off-chip. This article compares the performance of identical 0.13 μm CMOS TWAs, differing only in gate-line termination placement. Measurement results revealed that the designed TWAs with on- and off-chip termination have a bandwidth of 10 GHz with a maximum gain of 15 dB and a power-added efficiency (PAE) of 5%–22% in the whole operating frequency range. Placing the gate-line termination off-chip results in an S21 flatness reduction, compared to the gain of a TWA with on-chip termination. Gain fluctuation over frequency is reduced by 4–8 dB when the termination resistor is placed as an external circuit.
Investigation of Channel Coding Techniques for High Data Rate Mobile Wireless Systems