A Sub-mW Low Noise Amplifier for Wireless Sensor Networks

A 1.2 V, 0.61 mA bias current, low noise amplifier (LNA) suitable for low-power applications in the 2.4 GHz band is presented. Circuit has been implemented, laid out and simulated using a UMC 130 nm RF-CMOS process. The amplifier provides a 13.3 dB power gain a noise figure NF< 2.28 dB and a 1-dB compression point of -15.69 dBm, while dissipating 0.74 mW. Such performance make this design suitable for wireless sensor networks applications such as ZigBee.

Authors:

• Gianluca Cornetta
• David J. Santos
• Balwant Godara

Keywords:

• Current Reuse
• IEEE 802.15.4 (ZigBee)
• Low NoiseAmplifiers
• Wireless Sensor Networks.

References:

[1] A. Abidi, RF CMOS Comes of Age, IEEE Journal of Solid State Circuits,
Vol. 39, n. 4, April 2003, p. 549.
[2] Kluge, W., et al., A Fully Integrated 2.4-GHz IEEE 802.15.4-Compliant
Transceiver for ZigBee Applications, IEEE Journal of Solid State
Circuits, Vol. 41, n. 12, December 2006, p. 2767.
[3] Seo, H-M., et al., A Low-Power Fully CMOS Integrated RF Transceiver
IC for Wireless Sensor Networks, IEEE Trans. on VLSI Systems, Vol.
15, n. 2, February 2007, p. 227.
[4] Song, T., et al., A Low-Power 2.4-GHz Current-Reused Receiver Front-
End and Frequency Source for Wireless Sensor Networks, IEEE Jour.
of Solid State Circuits, Vol. 42, n. 5, May 2007, p. 1012.
[5] IEEE 802.15 Working Group, Part 15.4: Wireless Medium Access Control
(MAC) and Physical Layer (PHY) Specifications for Low-Rate Wireless
Personal Area Networks (WPANs), IEEE, 2006.
[6] Zhou, J.J., and Allstot, D.J., Monolithic Transformers and their Application
in a Differential CMOS RF Low-Noise Amplifier, IEEE Jour. of
Solid State Circuits, Vol. 33, n. 12, December 1998, p. 2020.
[7] Razavi, B., RF Microelectronics, Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall,
1998.
[8] Lee, T.H., The Design of CMOS Radio Frequency Integrated Circuits,
(2nd Ed.), Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2004.