A 2.4 GHz 87 μW low-noise amplifier in 65 nm CMOS for IoT applications

Abstract

As the Bluetooth devices for the internet of things require extremely low-power dissipation to maintain longer battery life, a low-noise amplifier (LNA) as the main power-consuming part in the circuit needs more current-efficient topologies on power saving. This paper proposes a low-noise transconductance amplifier that combines the techniques of passive impendence transformation, [Formula: see text]-boosting technique, and current reuse, leading to a low power under the 1.2 V power supply. The transformer-based [Formula: see text]-boosted structure is applied in the four-transistor-stacked current-reuse topology leading to a [Formula: see text] power saving. The proposed LNA simulated in 65 nm CMOS shows the NF of 3.3 dB and the IIP3 of −8 dBm, respectively, while dissipating 87 [Formula: see text]W dc power. Compared to the previous low-power LNA, this design has fairly low-power consumption and low NF while other performance metrics remain competitive.