A 1.6-dB minimum NF, 28-38GHz GaAs low noise amplifier using wideband multistage noise matching technique

Abstract

This letter presents a 28-38 GHz low-noise-amplifier (LNA) monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) using 0.15 µm GaAs pseudomorphic high electron mobility transistor (pHEMT) process. Inductive degeneration and shunt-series peaking techniques are employed to obtain simultaneous input and noise matching (SINM) and wideband flat gain. A novel wideband multistage noise matching technique based on a high-pass matching network is proposed to achieve low NF and further improve gain flatness over a wide frequency range. A four-stage LNA prototype is designed and fabricated based on the proposed technique. Measurement results show that the proposed LNA has a 1.6-dB minimum NF and an average gain of 23.7 dB in the entire operating band. S11 and S22 are better than −10 dB from 30 to 37 GHz. The measured output 1-dB compression point (OP 1d B ) is higher than 14.8 dBm from 28 to 38 GHz. The chip is realized within 2.1*1.5 mm 2 and consumes 56 mA current from a 5 V supply.