A Concurrent 26/48 GHz Low-Noise Amplifier With an Optimal Dual-Band Noise Matching Method Using GaAs 0.15 μm pHEMT

Abstract

This brief presents the design and fabrication of a concurrent 26/48 GHz low-noise amplifier (LNA) that includes a dual-band matching network for moderate gain and optimized noise performance. The proposed dual-band matching network achieve simultaneous dual-band impedance matching for noise figure (NF) optimization by utilizing series and parallel resonance methods. A cascode structure with inductive source degeneration is employed to simultaneously achieve both gain and noise performance optimization. The fabricated LNA has a small-signal gain of 12.5 dB at 26 GHz and 14.5 dB at 48 GHz, and the NF was measured at 2.61 dB at 26 GHz and 3.41 dB at 48 GHz, respectively. Moreover, the output 1 dB compression point (OP1dB) is 2.3 dBm at 26 GHz and -2.7 dBm at 48 GHz. The LNA was fabricated with an area of 1.34×0.7mm2 using a GaAs 0.15 μm pHEMT process.