VLSI Design 
Volume 2008 (2008), Article ID 479173, 6 pages
doi:10.1155/2008/479173
Research Article

Design of CMOS Tunable Image-Rejection Low-Noise Amplifier with Active Inductor

Ler Chun Lee,1,2 Abu Khari bin A'ain,1 and Albert Victor Kordesch2

 1Microelectronics and Computer Department, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, University of Technology Malaysia, Skudai 81310, Johor, Malaysia
2Device Modeling Department, Silterra Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., 09000 Kulim, Kedah, Malaysia
Received 13 June 2007; Accepted 17 December 2007

Recommended by Jose Silva-Martinez

Abstract

A fully integrated CMOS tunable image-rejection low-noise amplifier (IRLNA) has been designed using Silterra's industry standard 0.18 μm RF CMOS process. The notch filter is designed using an active inductor. Measurement results show that the notch filter designed using active inductor contributes additional 1.19 dB to the noise figure of the low-noise amplifier (LNA). A better result is possible if the active inductor is optimized. Since active inductors require less die area, the die area occupied by the IRLNA is not significantly different from a conventional LNA, which was designed for comparison. The proposed IRLNA exhibits S21 of 11.8 dB, S11 of −17.8 dB, S22 of −10.7 dB, and input 1 dB compression point of −12 dBm at 3 GHz