Performance Of Low Noise Amplifier Research Articles

Blocker tolerant cascode LNA for Wifi & IoT applications

SummaryWithin the domain of contemporary wireless communication systems, crafting Low‐Noise Amplifiers (LNA) holds a pivotal significance in achieving heightened signal sensitivity and comprehensive system efficacy and suppresses noise contributions from subsequent stages. Additionally, the low noise figure (NF) and high gain are critical LNA performance parameters in portable applications. Normally, LNA contains issues in noise performance, amplification, bandwidth, gain, and stability. To overcome these challenges, there must be a proper selection of transistors, harmonious impedance calibration, bias optimization, and circuit fine‐tuning. Moreover, metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistors (MOSFETs) are a popular choice in LNA design because of their excellent noise performance, high input impedance, complementary metal‐oxide semiconductor (CMOS) integration capabilities, low power operation, and suitability for a wide range of frequency applications. Through simulation and iterative enhancement, the LNA showcases remarkable Noise Figure, amplification, and linearity over a designated frequency span. This creation contributes to the advancement of radio frequency (RF) circuitry by designing an approach for LNA crafting that harmonizes conflicting prerequisites and unveils effective noise mitigation tactics. The outcomes emphasize the importance of a deliberated circuit architecture and parameter adjustment in accomplishing superlative LNA capabilities, rendering it fit for assimilation into diverse communication systems that demand minimal noise and heightened sensitivity.

Graphical Design Approach for UWB Stacked CG LNA Using Inversion Coefficient

The design of ultra-wide-band (UWB) low-noise amplifiers (LNAs) entails a large number of design challenges and tradeoffs, which include sustaining good input matching over a wide bandwidth along with finding a proper compromise between various LNA performance metrics, such as gain, bandwidth, noise figure, power, and linearity. This paper presents a design approach for UWB LNAs based on the inversion coefficient (IC). The proposed approach is a graphical design approach where the proper operating point is chosen based on predefined constraints. A complete systematic solution is presented for the problem of UWB input matching with a high degree of analytical accuracy. The design approach is illustrated through the design of two UWB stacked common-gate LNAs in 65 nm technology. The post-layout simulation results show very good agreement with analytical expectations. The first LNA achieves an S11 better than −8.2 dB over a 27.6 GHz frequency range, a gain of 12.4 dB over a 16.5 GHz bandwidth, a minimum noise-figure, NF, of 4.5 dB, and an IIP3 of −5.2 dBm while consuming only 530 μW. The second LNA achieves an S11 better than −15 dB over an 8.8 GHz frequency range, a gain of 12.5 dB over a 6.8 GHz bandwidth, a minimum NF of 4 dB, and an IIP3 of −4.3 dBm while consuming only 550 μW.

Systematic analysis of the principles and application scenarios of Low-Noise Amplifier

As society advances, new ideas and products are increasingly integrated into our daily lives. 5th generation mobile networks tech enables faster, lag-free connectivity, raising performance standards for components like Low-Noise Amplifiers. Summarizing Low-Noise Amplifier tech and applications helps researchers and firms leverage past knowledge and explore innovations. This paper analyzes Low-Noise Amplifier development and application, discussing types, principles, key performance indicators, and circuit structures of basic amplifiers. Five vital Low-Noise Amplifier characteristicsnoise figure, impedance matching, linearity, stability, and gainare examined. The author introduces design and application cases in radio astronomy, navigation systems, and 5th generation mobile networks communications based on Low-Noise Amplifier characteristics and performance requirements. The author concludes that advancing radio frequency tech requires improved Low-Noise Amplifiers, especially for high-frequency signals in 5th generation mobile networks. Promising noise performance enhancements come from technologies like modified high electron mobility transistors on GaAs and InP substrates. Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuit integration reduces size while maintaining cost-effective performance. Future advancements in these areas could further boost Low-Noise Amplifier performance.

Influence of the Gain–Bandwidth of the Front-End Amplifier on the Performance of a QEPAS Sensor

The quartz tuning fork used as an acoustic sensor in quartz-enhanced photo-acoustic spectroscopy gas detection systems is usually read out by means of a transimpedance preamplifier based on a low-noise operational amplifier closed in a feedback loop. The gain–bandwidth product of the operational amplifier used in the circuit is a key parameter which must be properly chosen to guarantee that the circuit works as expected. Here, we demonstrate that if the value of this parameter is not sufficiently large, the response of the preamplifier exhibits a peak at a frequency which does not coincide with the series resonant frequency of the quartz tuning fork. If this peak frequency is selected for modulating the laser bias current and is also used as the reference frequency of the lock-in amplifier, a penalty results in terms of signal-to-noise ratio at the output of the QEPAS sensor. This worsens the performance of the gas sensing system in terms of ultimate detection limits. We show that this happens when the front-end preamplifier of the quartz tuning fork is based on some amplifier models that are typically used for such application, both when the integration time of the lock-in amplifier filter is long, to boost noise rejection, and when it is short, in order to comply with a relevant measurement rate.

An 81MV/s SR, ±12.5V swing operational amplifier with 2.15nV/√Hz noise floor

—This brief introduces a high-voltage, high-speed and low-noise operational amplifier designed with a standard BCD process. High noise performance is achieved by using the bipolar transistors as input stage. However, the significant parasitic capacitance of the bipolar transistors leads to slew rate (SR) deterioration bandwidth deterioration. To overcome these problems, an improved folded-cascode structure with bipolar-based source degeneration current mirror (BSD-CM), the mirror pole control technique and the fast response output stage is proposed. The simulation results show that the BSD-CM improves the bandwidth by 35dB compared to the traditional bipolar current mirror. The mirror pole control improves the bandwidth of amplifier by 9dB. The fast response output stage improves the SR by 2 times. The proposed amplifier is fabricated with a standard 0.18 μm BCD process. The chip area is 3.75 mm2. The measurement results show that this amplifier consumes 4.5 mA with a ±15 V voltage supply. The SR is 81MV/s, the GBW is 158MHz and the input referred noise is 2.15 nV/√Hz.

Low Noise Operational Amplifier using Current Driving Bulk by CMOS Technology

A reverse substrate bias operational amplifier using existing driver technology has been designed and implemented using 0.25μm CMOS process to achieve high noise performance. Op amps are efficient and versatile devices. Its applications include signal conditioning, custom conversion, analog equipment, competitive simulation, and various electronic industries meeting custom design requirements. As the trend of low voltage devices continues, designing high-performance analog circuits becomes increasingly difficult. The main module of analog circuits is the work amplifier. In large electronic devices, there is a trade-off between speed, power, and gain, among other drawbacks. Additionally, in order to reduce costs and integrate analog and digital circuits on a single die, analog designers must face the challenges of using the CMOS process. Design and implementation are done in 0.25μm technology using TSMC libraries and with the help of Tanner tools.

An Ultra-wideband Low-power Low-noise Amplifier Linearized by Adjusted Derivative Superposition and Feedback Techniques

Ultra-wideband (UWB) applications require low-power and low-noise amplifiers (LNAs) that can operate over a wide frequency range. However, conventional LNAs often suffer from poor linearity and high-power consumption. This research work proposes a novel LNA design that uses the adjusted derivative superposition (DS) technique and feedback to improve the linearity and reduce the power consumption of UWB LNAs. The DS technique enhances the third-order intermodulation (IM3) cancellation by adjusting the bias currents of the transistors, whereas the feedback improves the stability and input matching of the LNA. The LNA is implemented using a degenerated common source topology in a 180 nm standard CMOS technology. The simulation results show that the LNA achieves a power gain of 10–12.2 dB, an input third-order intercept point (IIP3) of about 12 dBm, and a noise figure of less than 2.5 dB over the UWB frequency band of 3.1–10.6 GHz. The input reflection coefficient is less than -10 dB, and the power consumption is 11.6 mW with a 1.5 V power supply. The designed LNA offers a novel and innovative solution for UWB applications that significantly improve the performance and efficiency of UWB LNAs whereas reducing the cost and complexity of implementation.

A breakthrough for temperature and linearity stability from device to circuit-level with 14 nm junctionless SOI FinFET: Advancing K-band LNA performance

SOI junctionless (JL) FinFETs are well-suited for future wireless communication systems; however, they suffer from the self-heating effect (SHE), which diminishes performance at higher temperatures. We proposed a novel structure called p-layer JL-FinFET (pL-JL-FinFET) to improve high-frequency performance at high temperatures. The Ge p-layer beneath the Silicon Fin increases electron current density and enhances device performance. Two high thermal conductivity 4H-SiC boxes are placed below the source and drain regions to overcome SHE. The pL-JL-FinFET exhibits the maximum transconductance of 148 μS, unity gain cut-off frequency of 455 GHz, and maximum available gain of 28.6 dB, which are improved by 208 %, 26 %, and 35 %, respectively, compared to regular JL-FinFET. Temperature analysis demonstrates suppressed SHE and better thermal stability than the regular JL-FinFET. Also, the pL-JL-FinFET shows superior thermal behavior in different fin shapes. The pL-JL-FinFET with a rectangular fin shape shows excellent linearity and high-frequency performance, achieving unconditional stability and minimum noise figure (NFmin) of less than 1 dB. An extracted small signal model is used to design a K-band low noise amplifier (LNA) with maximum NF and gain values of 0.75 dB and 18.7 dB. The pL-JL-FinFET opens opportunities for reliable, high-performance RF circuits while effectively managing thermal behavior.

Comparison of single event effect on cascoded low noise amplifier performance metrics for two different frequencies

This manuscript examines the impact of single event effects (SEEs) on the well-known cascoded low noise amplifier (LNA) topology connected with an inter-stage inductor sandwiched between the common source (CS) and common gate transistors for boosting the LNA parameters (i.e., gain, etc). In this article, we have considered that the LNA operates at two different frequencies, such as 10 and 30 GHz, in a radiation-prone environment. The effect of SEEs is analyzed in two ways: (i) non-applying a RF input with dc voltage only, and (ii) applying a RF input with dc bias voltage. The first analysis uses basic integration to evaluate the collected charge (QCollected) for a drain terminal momentary current spike with a suitable time period, and the second analysis estimates the LNA output discontinuity (distortion) using a spectrogram (short-time FFT) to determine the radiation strikes on the cascoded LNA. The collected charge is calculated in the temporal analysis, and the discontinuity of LNA’s RF output is analysed using the spectrogram in the frequency domain analysis. From the temporal and frequency analysis, the LNA that operates at a lower frequency (10 GHz) provides more discontinuity in LNA output (causing more disturbance) than the LNA that operates at a higher frequency (30 GHz).

An X-Band State Adjustable Low Noise Amplifier Using Current Reuse Technique

This article presents an on-chip state-adjustable 8 GHz~12 GHz low-noise amplifier (LNA). It has two characteristics. First, an improved current reuse topology is proposed. By connecting a small capacitor in parallel with the drain of the first-stage transistor, the bandwidth is expanded and the in-band flatness is improved. Second, an innovative adaptive bias circuit is designed to cope with the influence of temperature and process on the performance of the amplifier, and a design method for on-chip adjustment of the chip state is proposed for the first time. As a result of these technologies, the chip area is 1.1 mm × 0.8 mm, the chip provides 24.4 dB nominal gain with merely 0.75 dB noise at 10 GHz, and yields 14.5 dBm output power at 1 dB compression point (OP1dB) when biased at 30 mA quiescent current, meanwhile, gain, OP1dB, and quiescent current can be adjusted on-chip. This design improves the comprehensive performance of X-band LNA and provides more flexibility for system engineers in application. The chip is fabricated using Win Semiconductors’ 0.15 um InGaAs pHEMT E-mode process.

Design and Implementation of Low Noise Amplifier Operating at 868 MHz for Duty Cycled Wake-Up Receiver Front-End

The integration of wireless communication, e.g., in real- or quasi-real-time applications, is related to many challenges such as energy consumption, communication range, quality of service, and reliability. The improvement of wireless sensor networks (WSN) performance starts by enhancing the capabilities of each sensor node. To minimize latencies without increasing energy consumption, wake-up receiver (WuRx) nodes have been introduced in recent works since they can be always-on or power-gated with short latencies by a power consumption in the range of some microwatts. Compared to standard receiver technologies, they are usually characterized by drawbacks in terms of sensitivity. To overcome the limitation of the sensitivity of WuRxs, a design of a low noise amplifier (LNA) with several design specifications is required. The challenging task of the LNA design is to provide equitable trade-off performances such as gain, power consumption, the noise figure, stability, linearity, and impedance matching. The design of fast settling LNA for a duty-cycled WuRx front-end operating at a 868 MHz frequency band is investigated in this work. The paper details the trade-offs between design challenges and illustrates practical considerations for the simulation and implementation of a radio frequency (RF) circuit. The implemented LNA competes with many commercialized designs where it reaches single-stage 12 dB gain at a 1.8 V voltage supply and consumes only a 1.6 mA current. The obtained results could be made tunable by working with off-the-shelf components for different wake-up based application exigencies.

Development of a novel high-performance readout circuit for α and β energy spectrum measurement

A novel high-performance readout circuit with multi-Junction field-effect transistors (Multi-JFETs) and high-speed integrated operational amplifiers as the core was designed. By coupling the circuit to a large area passivated ion injection planar silicon (PIPS) detector, excellent α and β energy spectrum can be obtained. Therefore, it can be applied to radon monitor, radioactive aerosol monitor and other equipment to achieve high precision information on radioactive substances in the environment. The input stage of the circuit adopts the parallel structure of JFETs to achieve the matching between the amplifier circuit with the detector junction capacitance. The bias circuit adopts JFETs to form a constant current source while using the gate-source self-biased parallel structure to obtain large transconductance gain and good amplification linearity. The main amplifier circuit adopts a high-speed and low-noise operational amplifier with the advantages of high open-loop gain and stable quiescent point. The performance of this readout circuit was tested, in which the rise time of the signal is 35 ns, the sensitivity of charge-voltage conversion is better than 0.979 mV/fC when the input capacitance is less than 100 pF, and the equivalent noise charge is 1.55 fC, noise slope is 0.00366 fC/pF. By coupling the readout circuit to a PIPS detector with a sensitive area of 450 mm2, the signal-to-noise ratio of the output signal is 116:1 for the 241Am alpha source and 20:1 for the 90Sr-90Y beta particles. The energy spectrum measurement of the 238Pu source was performed, providing FWHM is 16.90 keV@5499 keV.

Analytical Performance of Low Noise Amplifier Using Single-Stage Configuration for ADS-B Receiver

Automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) is an equipment of a radar system to reach difficult areas. For radar applications, an ADS-B requires a low noise amplifier (LNA) with high gain, stability, and a low noise figure. In this research, to produce an LNA with good performance, an LNA was designed using a BJT transistor 2SC5006 with DC bias, VCE = 3 V, and current Ic = 10 mA, also a DC supply with VCC = 12 V, to achieve a high gain with a low noise figure. The initial LNA impedance circuit was simulated using 2 elements and then converted into 3 elements to obtain parameters according to the target specification through the tuning process, impedance matching circuit was used to reduce return loss and voltage standing wave ratio (VSWR) values. The LNA sequence obtains the working frequency of 1090 MHz, return loss of -52.103 dB, a gain of 10.382, VSWR of 1.005, a noise figure of 0.552, stability factor of 0.997, and bandwidth of 83 MHz. From the simulation results, the LNA has been successfully designed according to the ADS-B receiver specifications.

AN EXTENSIVE REVIEW ON: LOW NOISE AMPLIFIER FOR MILLIMETER AND RADIO FREQUENCY WAVES

In today’s world, radio receiver system is a prevailing wireless technology in that the major part is Low Noise Amplifier (LNA) which widely used to improve weak signals in many applications with millimeter and radio frequency waves such as optical communication, multimode transceivers and measurement instrumentations. The real drawbacks of LNA is that it fails to maintain specific properties in critical conditions like as minimum power consumption, provide low noise figure, input matching and linearity. Additionally, promoted by various application demands, design methods and control methods must require to improve performance of LNA. The performance of LNA can be improved by adding extra components in basic circuit by proper arrangement for millimeter and radio frequency waves. The review paper provides information about design methodology, optimization techniques and control techniques. The different design of LNA is reviewed and analyzed such as 3-stage near-mm Wave LNA, 5-stage near-mm Wave LNA, common-gate amplifier, shunt-feedback amplifier, Resistor-terminated common-source amplifier, Traditional inductor-less amplifiers, cascode connection and double common source. This review paper also provides the information about design circuit diagram. The performance improvement of LNA can be achieved with the help of different techniques and our review based on optimization and control techniques with parameter tuning. Finally, the direction for the future study is presented based on review analysis of LNA.

Design method of optical detection systems based on transimpedance amplifiers

Designing detection systems based on transimpedance amplifiers is a complex task because noise, frequency response, and stability are coupled constraints. This work presents a straightforward design method of detection systems based on transimpedance amplifiers. We take into account the objectives, scope of the design, and requirements and specifications, including the input signal levels. According to the small-signal model, the noise and stability are analyzed in detail. We present a systematic procedure to search for the acceptable values of the feedback network components based on these analyses. Then, we define a merit function to compare the performance of the acceptable combinations of feedback network components. For every acceptable combination, the function gives a quantitative measure of the degree of compliance for each design parameter: signal-to-noise ratio, highest operating frequency, and phase margin. As an example, we apply the method to optimize the design of an optical detection system using a PIN photodiode and a low-noise operational amplifier.

Multichannel Approach for Arrayed Waveguide Grating-Based FBG Interrogation Systems.

In this manuscript, an optically passive fiber Bragg grating (FBG) interrogation system able to perform high-frequency measurement is proposed. The idea is mainly based on the use of an arrayed waveguide grating (AWG) device which is used to discriminate the fiber optic sensor (FOS) wavelength encoded response under test in function of its output channels. As made clear by the theoretical model studied in the proposed manuscript, the Bragg wavelength shift can be detected as in linear dependence with the proposed interrogation function which changes with the voltage produced by two (or more) adjacent AWG output channels. To prove the feasibility of the system, some experimental analyses are conducted with a custom electrical module characterized by high-speed and low-noise operational amplifiers. As static measurements, three FBGs with different full width at half maximum (FWHM) have been monitored under wide-range wavelength variation; while, as dynamic measurement, one FBG, glued onto a metal plate, in order to sense the vibration at low and high frequency, was detected. The output signals have been processed by a digital acquisition (DAQ) board and a graphical user interface (GUI). The presented work highlights the characteristics of the proposed idea as competitor among the entire class of interrogation systems currently used. This is because here, the main device, that is the AWG, is passive and reliable, without the need to use modulation signals, or moving parts, that affect the speed of the system. In addition, the innovative multi-channel detection algorithm allows the use of any type of FOS without the need to have a perfectly match of spectra. Moreover, it is also characterized by a high dynamic range without loss of sensitivity.

An In-Field Programmable Adaptive CMOS LNA for Intelligent IoT Sensor Node Applications

As the Internet of Things (IOT) is growing rapidly, there is an emerging need to facilitate development of IOT devices in the design cycle while optimized performance is obtained in the field of operation. This paper develops reconfiguration approaches that enable post-production adaptation of circuit performance to enable RF IC re-use across different IOT applications. An adaptable low noise amplifier (LNA) is designed and fabricated in 130nm CMOS technology to investigate the post-production reconfiguration concept. A statistical model that relates circuit-level reconfiguration parameters to circuit performances is generated by characterizing a limited number of samples. A deep learning algorithm is used to generate the model. This model is used to predict the performance parameters of the device in the field. The estimation error for LNA performance parameters are obtained in the simulation environment as well as chip measurements.

Design of High Performance Low-Noise Amplifier Circuit Based on Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor Technology

This paper designs a body-biased (BB) differential cascode low-noise amplifier (LNA) with current bias (CR) and capacitor cross-coupling (CCC) technology that meets the bandwidth requirements of 5 GHz wireless applications. In the design, the CCC technology in the differential cascode topology is used to effectively suppress the common mode noise, thereby improving the noise figure. The series resonant network eliminates parasitic capacitance at the input and output ends, thereby improving the power transmission efficiency. The CR technology formed by the intermediate capacitor shares the DC current input to the output device, thereby increasing the gain. This paper uses BB technology in the design to lower the threshold of the cascode device and improve the transconductance, which further improves the gain and reduces the power consumption. The CCC technology used in the paper improves linearity by eliminating the non-linear components present in the input device, which will not interfere with the transconductance of the output stage. This article has obtained excellent performance parameters including gain, noise figure (NF) and linearity without affecting the power consumption, integration and cost of the proposed design.

Analysis and Experimental Study of Radiative Microwave Pulses Effects on the Nonlinear Performance of a Low-Noise Amplifier

In this article, the performance of an unshielded low-noise amplifier (LNA), which is subjected to the incident high power microwave (HPM) pulse waves, is investigated analytically and experimentally. For this purpose, a time-domain algorithm is proposed, which uses the finite difference time domain (FDTD) method and a globally convergent iterative method to solve linear and nonlinear equations of the problem simultaneously. In particular, the effects of external incident electromagnetic (EM) field illumination with different types of waveforms, including HPM pulses and sinusoidal waves, on the nonlinear performance of a microwave LNA are investigated and discussed by this method. Furthermore, using a measurement setup comprised of a transverse EM (TEM) cell, the proposed method is validated by comparing with the measurement results in good agreement. The presented analysis would be useful in EM interference/compatibility (EMI/EMC) analysis, such as radiated susceptibility analysis of RF/microwave nonlinear circuits excited by the incident HPM pulse wave.

2.4-GHz Bluetooth Low Energy Receiver Employing New Quadrature Low-Noise Amplifier for Low-Power Low-Voltage IoT Applications

In this article, a 2.4-GHz Bluetooth low-energy (BLE) receiver employing a new quadrature low-noise amplifier (LNA) is presented for low-power low-voltage Internet of Things (IoT) applications. The proposed quadrature LNA consists of a common-source (CS) amplifier with inductive degeneration, an active-type poly-phase filter (PPF), and an LC tank. The proposed active-type PPF between the CS amplifier and the LC tank provides quadrature generation, and the CS amplifier determines and optimizes the overall LNA performance parameters. Moreover, the proposed active-type PPF shares the dc bias current with the CS amplifier, thereby eliminating the necessity for additional current consumption. The implemented BLE receiver is composed of the quadrature LNA, a $G_{m}$ -stage, a double-balanced current-mode passive mixer, a transimpedance amplifier, and an active- RC complex bandpass filter. The proposed design was fabricated in a 65-nm CMOS process and mainly characterized in the BLE operating frequency bands. The receiver achieves a noise figure of 8.2 dB, a conversion gain of 49.5 dB, an image rejection ratio of more than 33 dB, and an IIP3 of −25.75 dBm. The active die area of the implemented receiver is 1.16 mm2, and it draws a bias current of 2.7 mA from a nominal supply voltage of 0.8 V.