CMOS Distributed Amplifiers

This paper reviews the characteristics of broadband distributed amplifiers (DA) and traveling wave amplifiers (TWA) implemented in CMOS technology. The basic equations that govern the performance and design of DAs in terms of gain, bandwidth, matching and noise are summarized, as well as the implications of the use of transmission lines to replace on-chip inductors. The difficulties that arise for the implementation of passive components for DAs in conventional CMOS processes are discussed. A review of the CMOS distributed amplifier implementations reported to date is presented.