Analysis and Design of Gain Enhanced Cascode Stage Utilizing a New Passive Compensation Network

This paper analyzes the influence of the Miller effect on the gain performance of the cascode stage. A passive compensation network is proposed to cancel Cbc at the millimeter-wave range without distinct penalty on noise figure and stability. Using this passive compensation network, the cascode stage can achieve a higher gain in a wider bandwidth than other cascode topologies. Furthermore, a W-band amplifier based on the new cascode stage is designed and fabricated using the 0.13-μm BiCMOS process successfully. The proposed passive compensation network has a potential to be used in other building blocks, which need improvement through Miller effect cancellation.