A dual-mode RF CMOS power amplifier with nonlinear capacitance compensation

A fully integrated dual-mode CMOS power amplifier (PA) with nonlinear MOS capacitance compensation is presented using 0.18-μm RF CMOS process. The proposed technique is used to implement dual mode structure as well as reduces AM-PM distortion. Dual-mode output matching network using transmission line transformer (TLT) is implemented for efficient dual mode operation. With a supply voltage 3.5V, the PA has the power gain of 26.2 and 14.2dB in low power mode (LPM) and high power mode (HPM), respectively. The quiescent current is only 28mA at LPM. The maximum linear output power satisfying 3GPP WCDMA modulated signal is 28/16.3dBm with a PAE 33.8/10.2% in the HPM/LPM.