JSTS:Journal of Semiconductor Technology and Science

The Institute of Electronics and Information Engineers (대한전자공학회)
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An X-Ku Band Distributed GaN LNA MMIC with High Gain

  • Kim, Dongmin (Department of Electrical Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST)) ;
  • Lee, Dong-Ho (Department of Information and Communication Engineering, Hanbat National University) ;
  • Sim, Sanghoon (RF core Co. Ltd.) ;
  • Jeon, Laurence (RF core Co. Ltd.) ;
  • Hong, Songcheol (Department of Electrical Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST))
  • Received : 2014.08.20
  • Accepted : 2014.09.29
  • Published : 2014.12.30
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Abstract

A high-gain wideband low noise amplifier (LNA) using $0.25-{\mu}m$ Gallium-Nitride (GaN) MMIC technology is presented. The LNA shows 8 GHz to 15 GHz operation by a distributed amplifier architecture and high gain with an additional common source amplifier as a mid-stage. The measurement results show a flat gain of $25.1{\pm}0.8dB$ and input and output matching of -12 dB for all targeted frequencies. The measured minimum noise figure is 2.8 dB at 12.6 GHz and below 3.6 dB across all frequencies. It consumes 98 mA with a 10-V supply. By adjusting the gate voltage of the mid-stage common source amplifier, the overall gain is controlled stably from 13 dB to 24 dB with no significant variations of the input and output matching.

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References

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