A high linearity low noise amplifier with modified differential inductor for bluetooth profiles

Abstract

In today’s rapidly evolving communication landscape, electronic devices rely heavily on high-performance components to ensure seamless connectivity. A low-noise amplifier (LNA) is a critical front-end element in any receiver chain, where its performance significantly influences the overall system efficiency. As integrated circuits continue to shrink with advancements in technology, challenges such as linearity degradation have become increasingly prominent. This work presents a modified derivative (MD) narrowband common source low-noise amplifier (CSLNA) designed using 0.13 µm CMOS technology, offering improved linearity and frequency characteristics. The proposed design adopts a hybrid architecture, combining a folded cascode gain stage with a common-gate configuration. An optimized modified differential inductor is employed at the input for effective impedance matching and reduced noise figure (NF). The implemented LNA achieves a gain of 25.81 dB, an input return loss of –24.86 dB, and maintains a low NF of 0.3 dB at an operating frequency of 2.4 GHz. Furthermore, the linearity metrics-third-order input intercept point (IIP3) and 1 dB compression pointare significantly improved to –16.70 dBm and –21.89 dBm, respectively. These results highlight the LNA's suitability for Bluetooth and other shortrange wireless communication applications.