25–31 GHz GaN-Based LNA MMIC Employing Hybrid-Matching Topology for 5G Base Station Applications

Abstract

This letter presents a gallium nitride (GaN) high electron mobility transistor (HEMT)-based three-stage low noise amplifier (LNA) monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) that can apply to the fifth-generation (5G) new radio base station applications. The designed GaN-based LNA MMIC utilizes a hybrid-matching topology with double-shunt capacitors at input and output (I/O) matching networks to achieve broad return loss (RL) and bandwidth characteristics across 5G frequency range two bands. The design is fabricated in a <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$0.15~\mu \text{m}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> GaN on silicon carbide technology and attains small signal gains greater than 21 dB, noise figures of 2.4–2.9 dB, 1-dB compression points greater than 19.1 dBm, output third-order intercept points greater than 28.5 dBm, and I/O RLs greater than 10 dB at 25–31 GHz band. The implemented design consumes a power of approximately 300 mW.