8–27 GHz Compact, Low-Power CMOS Active Power Divider Using CG-SF Topology and Inductor Array

This work presents a CMOS-based active power divider capable of covering most of FR3 band, with an operating frequency range from 8 to 27 GHz. Unlike conventional active power dividers that employ distributed-amplifier gain cells, the proposed divider is implemented using only a common-gate amplifier and two source followers, which reduces both chip area and power consumption; the source followers also serve as isolation stages. In addition, an inductor array is employed to introduce additional resonant frequencies, enabling a wide bandwidth while reducing the chip area, and thus achieving a comparable operating band to distributed-amplifier-based active power dividers. The proposed 2-way active power divider achieves an isolation better than 17.5 dB, a maximum gain of 0.4 dB, and a return loss better than 11 dB, while occupying 0.275 mm², consuming 6.8 mW of dc power, and exhibiting a maximum OP1dB of −0.2 dBm.