0.13 μm CMOS Traveling-Wave Power Amplifier with On- and Off-Chip Gate-Line Termination

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.