A K-band linearized amplifier with a modified third-order transconductance cancellation technique in 0.18 µm CMOS process

A modified third-order transconductance (g_m3) cancellation technique is employed to improve the linearity of a MOSFET amplifier. The method is based on the main transistor (MT) in parallel with the auxiliary transistors (ATs). The magnitude of the ATs´ equivalent g_m3 is close to the MT with out of phase. The third-order intermodulation (IM3) of the transistor cell can be suppressed. The linearized amplifier is fabricated in 0.18 μm CMOS process. The amplifier demonstrates a small signal gain of 10 dB, an input 1-dB compression point (P_1dB) of -7 dBm, an input third-order-intercept point (IIP3) of 2.3 dBm, and an IIP3 improvement of 6.5 dB without extra dc power consumption. The dc power consumption of the proposed linearized amplifier is 23.4 mW with a dc supply voltage of 1.8 V.