A 5 GHz 0.95 dB NF Highly Linear Cascode Floating-Body LNA in 180 nm SOI CMOS Technology

A 5 GHz CMOS LNA featuring a record 0.95 dB noise-figure is reported. Using an inductively-degenerated cascode topology combined with floating-body transistors and high-Q passives on an SOI substrate, record noise figure and superior linearity performance at 5 GHz are obtained. The low-noise amplifier (LNA) achieves up to 11 dB of gain while consuming 12 mW dc power, and is capable of supporting 802.11a WLAN applications. The impact of SOI body-contact on the LNA RF performance is described and linked to improved intermodulation performance.