This article presents the design of a low-power low noise amplifier (LNA) implemented in 45 nm silicon-on-insulator (SOI) technology using the ${\mathrm{g}}_m$/${\mathrm{I}}_D$ methodology. The Ka-band LNA achieves a very low power consumption of only 1.98 mW andis the first time the ${\mathrm{g}}_m$/${\mathrm{I}}_D$ approach is applied at such a high frequency. The circuit is suitable for Ka-band applications with a central frequency of 28 GHz, as the circuit is intended to operate in the n257 frequency band defined by the 3GPP 5G new radio (NR) specification. The proposed cascode LNA uses the ${\mathrm{g}}_m$/${\mathrm{I}}_D$ methodology in an RF/MW scenario to exploit the advantages of moderate inversion region operation. The circuit occupies a total area of 1.23 mm² excluding pads and draws 1.98 mW from a DC supply of 0.9 V. Post-layout simulation results reveal a total gain of 11.4 dB, a noise figure (NF) of 3.8 dB, and an input return loss (IRL) better than 12 dB. Compared to conventional circuits, this design obtains a remarkable figure of merit (FoM) as the LNA reports a gain and NF in line with other approaches with very low power consumption.

The design of transformers, a key component of radio frequency integrated circuits (RFICs), is traditionally carried out through an iterative process involving extensive electromagnetic simulations. While process design kits (PDKs) offer tools based on interpolation or fitting equations to simplify parameter estimation, these tools are restricted to standard geometries, leaving designers to manually simulate and optimize custom designs. This approach is inefficient and resource intensive. This paper proposes an automated process to generate a database containing the physical and electrical parameters of a wide range of transformers. This database is part of a tool designed to efficiently identify the desired transformer. To evaluate the tool’s effectiveness in reducing the time required for design, a millimeter-wave (mm-Wave) 69.4–74.2 GHz differential low-noise amplifier (LNA) is designed using GlobalFoundries 45 nm silicon-on-insulator (SOI) technology. This circuit demonstrates a noise figure (NF) of 4.1 dB, a gain of 10.1 dB, an input third-order intercept point (IIP3) of −10.78 dBm, and a power consumption of 4.7 mW from a 0.406 V DC supply. Moreover, the simulated performance achieves these specifications within a highly compact area of 0.12 mm². The transformer selection process for the circuit takes only a few seconds, whereas the conventional method of manual transformer design and electromagnetic simulation would require a significantly greater amount of time.