A Bondpad-Size Narrowband LNA for Digital CMOS

The need for a high level of integration in wireless and multi-standard radios, as well as the expensive area in downscaled CMOS pushes towards low-area circuit solutions. Feedback-type inductorless LNAs are such an example. This paper demonstrates a bondpad-size feedback type narrowband LNA using only one stacked inductor. The gain is 20.8 dB at 3.4 GHz with a noise figure of 2.2 dB. This solution is many times smaller than a classical LNA configuration with several inductors, while obtaining similar performance. It is thus an appealing solution for low-area radio integration in digital CMOS.