A High Thermal Stability 3-10 GHz Low Noise Amplifier Using Current-reused Schematic with 0.5 ¼m pHEMT Technique

Abstract

The objective of this article was to investigate if the ultra-wideband (UWB) low-noise amplifier (LNA) was modeled by utilizing a two-stage cascade circuit schematic, associated with the DC current-reused technique, which could improve the low power consumption in the 3.1–10.6 GHz frequency. The proposed UWB LNA amplifier was implemented with both the co-planer waveguide layout and 0.5-¼m GaAs Enhancement-mode pHEMT technology. Based on these technologies, this proposed UWB LNA, for which the chip size was shown to be 0.917 mm×0.816 mm, presented a flatness gain 3-dB bandwidth of 3.1-10.6 GHz, an excellent noise figure of 2.26–3.36 dB, a maximum power gain of 15.2 dB, and a power consumption of 17.7 mW, at 3 V power supply, respectively. Furthermore, the proposed UWB LNA was performed in the temperature stability measurement, for which stable characterizations of the S-parameters were obtained. Based on our experimental results, the low noise amplifier could obtain a wider band-width, low power consumption, and high flatness of gain in the 3.1–10.6 GHz frequency. Finally, the overall LNA characterization exhibited an ultra-wide bandwidth and low noise characterization, which illustrated that the proposed UWB LNA had a circuit compact size and exhibited favorable 3–10 GHz microwave characteristics.