A fully integrated dual-band CMOS power amplifier (PA) is developed for 802.11n WLAN applications using wafer-level package (WLP) technology. This paper presents a detailed design for the optimal impedance of dual-band PA (2 GHz/5 GHz PA) output transformers with low loss, which is provided by using 2:2 and 2:1 output transformers for the 2 GHz PA and the 5 GHz PA, respectively. In addition, several design issues in the dual-band PA design using WLP technology are addressed, and a design method is proposed. All considerations for the design of dual-band WLP PA are fully reflected in the design procedure. The 2 GHz WLP CMOS PA produces a saturated power of 26.3 dBm with a peak power-added efficiency (PAE) of 32.9%. The 5 GHz WLP CMOS PA produces a saturated power of 24.7 dBm with a PAE of 22.2%. The PA is tested using an 802.11n signal, which satisfies the stringent error vector magnitude (EVM) and mask requirements. It achieved an EVM of -28 dB at an output power of 19.5 dBm with a PAE of 13.1% at 2.45 GHz and an EVM of -28 dB at an output power of 18.1 dBm with a PAE of 8.9% at 5.8 GHz.Key Words: CMOS, Integrated Circuit, Power Amplifier, Transformer, WLAN. This is an Open-Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. ⓒ
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