Wave-Based Approach for Microwave Noise Characterization

Abstract

The noise behavior of a two-port is usually described through the conventional set of noise parameters Fmin, Rn, and the complex Yopt. However, noise parameters developed using wave-based techniques also have their merit as they could offer different insights to a two-port's noise behavior. Unlike the conventional noise parameters, these wave-based noise parameters could be terminal-invariant and describe only the intrinsic noise behavior of a two-port. In this paper, several important noise parameters derived from wave-based approaches are reviewed. The derivation of each set of parameters is discussed and illustrated. The measurement approach of each set of parameters is also briefly covered.

Accuracy Issues of on-Wafer Microwave Noise Measurements

“…The first category involves the forward and reverse noise measurements based on the concept of noise wave [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22]. The wave-based approach, first introduced by P. Penfield in [4], has been reviewed in details in [23] and therefore will not be discussed in this paper. In the second category, however, only the forward measurements are conducted to obtain the noise powers or noise factors of the noisy two-port at different source admittances (or impedances).…”

Thermal Noise in Modern CMOS Technology

“…Based Wedge's noise parameters and using a similar approach to Engen's work, Randa presented a method in which the available noise temperature for the input port of the device can be also obtained (Randa & Walker, 2007;Randa, 2002). A reverse measurement is still necessary, but this more generalized approach removes the assumption that the reverse available power gain of the two-port is negligible (Chen, Wang & Bakr, 2008). The major issue stopping the wave-based approach from the on-wafer noise measurements in practice is the requirement of the reverse measurements.…”