A 0.4 dB noise figure wideband low-noise amplifier using a novel InGaAs/InAlAs/InP device

In this work, the design of a novel low-noise amplifier (LNA) based on 1 mu m gate-length InGaAs/InAlAs/InP pHEMT transistors is discussed. Designed for radioastronomy applications, this amplifier exploits a common-drain configuration as input stage and a common-source inductive degeneration topology as output stage. It exhibits a maximum gain of 30 dB within an input 1 dB compression point of 16 dBm. The noise figure is 0.4 dB with an input return loss greater than 10 dB and an output return loss of -12.5 dB. The LNA consumes 85 mW from a 1.5 V power supply. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.