S Band Wideband LNA for Future GNSS Receiver with L Band Legacy

Abstract

A new realization of a pHEMT Low Noise Amplifier (LNA) for use in future S Band satellite navigation receivers is presented in this paper. In recent years, the use of GNSS technology has very much advanced with such competence that today satellite navigation also works in the jamming environment where GNSS was never thought to serve. This has lift up the importance in every country for developing their own satellite navigation system in order to meet the advancements of the world. The congestion in current spectrum has caused increase probability for search of new frequency bands in near future to be used for GNSS in addition to L Band. Thus the S Band frequency from 2483.5-2500 MHz has been allocated for future satellite navigation systems. The given LNA is made by using the balanced design using AVAGO Technology ATF-34143 Ultra Low Noise pHEMT. ATF-34143 can be used in the beginning of receiver chain because it has rapid switching capability. It also exhibits very low Noise Figure (NF) and high stability. At present, the GNSS system positioning performance is greatly decayed in wooden areas, jamming or multipath environment as well as the received signal under the tunnel. Therefore, using the GPS/GNSS system with single band reception is not capable to furnish suitable positioning and navigation accuracy. Thus the LNA with multiband reception for navigation purposes is proposed. In the contemporary wireless system, the design of a wideband amplifier is one of the toughest jobs as the requirement of good gain or least noise figure can only be attained for narrow bandwidth. The given LNA exhibits a wideband frequency response from 1.1 to 2.5 GHz making it suitable for great diversity of applications especially for use in future S Band Satellite Navigation Receiver in addition to L Band. The given LNA has a Noise Figure (NF) of 0.620 dB which is less as compared to the existing LNA designs for satellite navigation. The LNA is unconditionally stable with the maximum available gain of 16 dB. Due to its wide bandwidth, the given LNA is best suited for a number of wireless communication applications. Simulation and measurements are carried out using Advanced System Design (ADS) software.