US-20260128717-A1 - LOW NOISE AMPLIFIER AND ELECTRONIC DEVICE USING LOW NOISE AMPLIFIER IN WIRELESS COMMUNICATION SYSTEM

US20260128717A1US 20260128717 A1US20260128717 A1US 20260128717A1US-20260128717-A1

Abstract

A low noise amplifier (LNA) in a wireless communication system includes a first amplifier including a first transistor and configured to amplify a first input signal based on a first gain to generate a first output signal, a second amplifier including a plurality of second transistors and configured to amplify a second input signal based on a second gain to generate a second output signal, and a balun coupled between the first amplifier and the second amplifier, and configured to input the first output signal and to output the second input signal. The balun includes a first inductor, a second inductor, and a third inductor. The third inductor is coupled with sources of the plurality of second transistors.

Inventors

Jinhyun Kim
Kihyun Kim
Bohee SUH

Assignees

SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260507
Application Date: 20250922
Priority Date: 20241106

Claims (20)

1 . A low noise amplifier (LNA) in a wireless communication system, the LNA comprising: a first amplifier comprising a first transistor and configured to amplify a first input signal based on a first gain to generate a first output signal; a second amplifier comprising a plurality of second transistors and configured to amplify a second input signal based on a second gain to generate a second output signal; and a balun coupled between the first amplifier and the second amplifier, and configured to input the first output signal and to output the second input signal, wherein the balun comprises a first inductor, a second inductor, and a third inductor, and wherein the third inductor is coupled with sources of the plurality of second transistors.
2 . The LNA of claim 1 , wherein the balun further comprises a metal stack comprising a plurality of metal layers on a substrate.
3 . The LNA of claim 2 , wherein the first inductor, the second inductor, and the third inductor are disposed on a first metal layer of the plurality of metal layers, wherein the first inductor is disposed at an outermost portion of the first metal layer among the first inductor, the second inductor, and the third inductor, wherein the third inductor is disposed at an innermost portion of the first metal layer among the first inductor, the second inductor, and the third inductor, and wherein the second inductor is between the first inductor and the third inductor.
4 . The LNA of claim 2 , wherein the first inductor, the second inductor, and the third inductor are disposed on a first metal layer of the plurality of metal layers, and wherein the second inductor is cross-coupled with gates of the plurality of second transistors.
5 . The LNA of claim 2 , wherein the first inductor, the second inductor, and the third inductor are disposed on a first metal layer of the plurality of metal layers, and wherein the third inductor is cross-coupled with the sources of the plurality of second transistors.
6 . The LNA of claim 1 , wherein the second inductor and the third inductor are cross-coupled with the second amplifier.
7 . The LNA of claim 2 , wherein the third inductor is coupled with a ground.
8 . The LNA of claim 2 , wherein the third inductor is coupled with the first inductor.
9 . The LNA of claim 1 , wherein the balun further comprises: a power supply; and a capacitor coupled with the power supply.
10 . The LNA of claim 1 , wherein the first amplifier comprises a single-ended amplifier, and wherein the second amplifier comprises a differential amplifier.
11 . An electronic device in a wireless communication system, the electronic device comprising: a plurality of antennas; a processor configured to process received signals; and a radio frequency front end (RFFE) circuit comprising at least one low noise amplifier (LNA) and configured to: transmit a sounding reference signal (SRS) via each antenna of the plurality of antennas; convert at least one radio frequency (RF) signal, received via one or more antennas of the plurality of antennas, into a baseband signal; amplify the baseband signal using the at least one LNA; and transfer, to the processor, the amplified baseband signal to perform additional processing of the amplified baseband signal, wherein each LNA of the at least one LNA comprises: a first amplifier comprising a first transistor and configured to amplify a first input signal based on a first gain to generate a first output signal; a second amplifier comprising a plurality of second transistors and configured to amplify a second input signal based on a second gain to generate a second output signal; and a balun coupled between the first amplifier and the second amplifier, and configured to input the first output signal and to output the second input signal, wherein the balun comprises a first inductor, a second inductor, and a third inductor, and wherein the third inductor is coupled with sources of the plurality of second transistors.
12 . The electronic device of claim 11 , wherein the balun further comprises a metal stack comprising a plurality of metal layers on a substrate.
13 . The electronic device of claim 12 , wherein the first inductor, the second inductor, and the third inductor are disposed on a first metal layer of the plurality of metal layers, wherein the first inductor is disposed at an outermost portion of the first metal layer among the first inductor, the second inductor, and the third inductor, wherein the third inductor is disposed at an innermost portion of the first metal layer among the first inductor, the second inductor, and the third inductor, and wherein the second inductor is between the first inductor and the third inductor.
14 . The electronic device of claim 12 , wherein the first inductor, the second inductor, and the third inductor are disposed on a first metal layer of the plurality of metal layers, and wherein the second inductor is cross-coupled with gates of the plurality of second transistors.
15 . The electronic device of claim 12 , wherein the first inductor, the second inductor, and the third inductor are disposed on a first metal layer of the plurality of metal layers, and wherein the third inductor is cross-coupled with the sources of the plurality of second transistors.
16 . The electronic device of claim 11 , wherein the second inductor and the third inductor are cross-coupled with the second amplifier.
17 . The electronic device of claim 12 , wherein the third inductor is coupled with a ground.
18 . The electronic device of claim 12 , wherein the third inductor is coupled with the first inductor.
19 . The electronic device of claim 11 , wherein the balun further comprises: a power supply; and a capacitor coupled with the power supply.
20 . The electronic device of claim 11 , wherein the first amplifier comprises a single-ended amplifier, and wherein the second amplifier comprises a differential amplifier.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation application of International Application No. PCT/KR2025/014368, filed on Sep. 16, 2025, which claims priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2024-0156304, filed on Nov. 6, 2024, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosures of which are incorporated by reference herein in their entireties. BACKGROUND 1. Field The present disclosure relates generally to wireless communication systems, and more particularly, to a low noise amplifier (LNA) and an electronic device using the LNA in a wireless communication system. 2. Description of Related Art Wireless communication technologies may have been developed to provide services, such as, but not limited to, voice, multimedia, and/or data communications. For example, using 5th-generation (5G) communication systems that may be commercially available, deployment of connected devices may be expected to significantly increase, as well as, the number of devices connected to a communication network. Examples of devices connected to a network may include, but not be limited to, vehicles, robots, drones, home appliances, displays, smart sensors installed in various infrastructures, construction machinery, factory equipment, or the like. Mobile devices may evolve into various form factors, such as, but not limited to, augmented reality (AR) glasses, virtual reality (VR) headsets, hologram devices, or the like. As part of development in a subsequent generation of communication systems (e.g., 6th-generation (6G)), efforts may be being made to develop an enhanced communication system that may provide various services by connecting far greater numbers of devices (e.g., hundreds of billions of devices). Consequently, a 6G communication system may be referred to as a beyond 5G system. In a 6G communication system that may be realized in the near future, maximum transmission rates in the range of one (1) tera bit per second (bps) (e.g., 1,000 gigabits per second (gbps)) and/or wireless latencies of about 100 microseconds (usec) may be achieved. That is, transmission rates of a 6G communication system may be approximately 50 times faster than transmission rates of a 5G communication system, and/or the wireless latency of a 6G communication system may be reduced to approximately one tenth (e.g., 1/10) of the wireless latency of a 5G communication system. To potentially achieve these relatively high data rates and/or relatively low latencies, 6G communication systems may be considered to be implemented in terahertz bands (e.g., 95 gigahertz (GHz) to 3 terahertz (THz) bands). However, as path loss and/or atmospheric absorption issues may worsen in the terahertz band as compared with millimeter wave (mmWave) bands introduced in 5G communication systems, technologies and/or techniques that may guarantee and/or improve signal reach (e.g., coverage) may become more important. Possible techniques for ensuring and/or improving coverage may be directed to multi-antenna transmission techniques, such as, but not limited to, new waveform, beamforming, massive multiple-input and multiple-output (MIMO), full dimensional MIMO (FD-MIMO), array antennas, and/or large-scale antennas, which may exhibit better coverage characteristics than radio frequency (RF) devices and orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM). New technologies, such as, but not limited to, a metamaterial-based lens and antennas, high-dimensional spatial multiplexing technology using an orbital angular momentum (OAM), and a reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS), may also be being discussed to potentially enhance coverage of the terahertz band signals. 6G communication systems may also potentially enhance frequency efficiency and/or the system network by including full-duplex technologies. That is, recent developments may include, but not be limited to, full-duplex technology in which uplink and downlink may simultaneously utilize the same frequency resource at the same time, network technology that may comprehensively use satellite and/or high-altitude platform stations (HAPSs), network architecture innovation technology that may enable optimization and/or automation of network operation and may support mobile base stations, dynamic spectrum sharing technology through collision avoidance based on prediction of spectrum usages, artificial intelligence (AI)-based communication technology that may use AI from the stage of designing and may internalize end-to-end AI supporting function to potentially optimize the system, and next-generation distributed computing technology that may realize services that may exceed the limitation of the UE computation capability by using ultra-high performance communication and mobile edge computing (MEC) and/or clouds. Further, attempts may have been made to reinforce connectivity between devices, further optimizing the network, prompting implementation of network entities in software, and/or increasing