Design of an On-Chip Balun With a Minimum Amplitude Imbalance Using a Symmetric Stack Layout

Abstract

This study develops a compact balun layout to minimize amplitude imbalance. Three baluns with different metal layers are fabricated using 0.13-mu m CMOS technology and their imbalance performance evaluated. Measurement made using eight metal layers in coil windings at a particular layout reveal that the proposed device exhibits minimal amplitude and phase imbalance of 0.2 dB and +/-0.5 degrees with a chip outer dimension of 100 mu m