60GHz CMOS Current-Reuse Cascade Amplifier

High gain in a millimeter-wave CMOS amplifier is difficult to obtain because the amplifying transistor in the circuit is required to operate at a significant fraction of its cut-off frequency. Although the commonly-used cascade amplifier may increase gain, the cascade connection also leads to higher power consumption. To obtain sufficient gain without increasing power consumption, a new cascade amplifier employing shared bias current is proposed. This technique can boost the gain by approximately 6dB using 90nm CMOS process according to theoretical analysis and simulations presented. This technique is further verified by measurement results with a single-stage gain of 5.1dB, having a power consumption of 18.5mW at 60GHz.