60GHz 45nm PA for linear OFDM signal with predistortion correction achieving 6.1% PAE and −28dB EVM

A 45 nm CMOS 60 GHz PA optimized for linear modulation with 6 dbm saturated power and 13 dB gain is presented when biased at 70uA/um. A maximum power added efficiency (PAE) of 19.4% 8 dBm Psat and 18 dB gain is achieved for 200 uA/um bias point. The PA was tested using a predistortion algorithm and OFDM packets, and achieved PAE of 6.1% with -28 dB EVM and 9% with -20 dB EVM at output powers of -2 dBm and +1 dBm respectively. To our knowledge this is the first publication of a 45 nm PA design analyzing the tradeoff between EVM and PAE at the 60 GHz frequency range and using predistortion algorithms to boost efficiency and power.