A Novel Ultra-Wideband Low-Noise Amplifier Using an Extended Bandwidth RLC Topology

In this paper, a novel circuit technique is presented to extend the bandwidth of an ultra-wideband (UWB) low-noise amplifier (LNA). The proposed circuit consists of a standard symmetric center-tapped inductor and an RC series network that is connected to the center-tapped pin. Removing the series resistor in the shunt-peaking method allows increasing the headroom voltage of the LNA. Consequently, the DC current can be increased to benefit from larger S21. A differential common-gate LNA using the presented circuit is implemented in a CMOS 0.18-mu m TSMC technology. The LNA operates from 4.33 GHz up to 13.9 GHz while S-21 is 11.3 +/- 0.5 dB and S-11 is less than -10 dB over the whole of the bandwidth. Furthermore, the LNA using a combination of the proposed approach and a conventional cross-coupled capacitor (CCC) technique achieves a minimum noise figure (NF) of 3.84 dB. Post-layout simulation shows power dissipation of 2.5 mW, while the supply voltage is 0.75 V.

Automated summary

This paper presents a novel circuit technique to extend the bandwidth of an ultra-wideband low-noise amplifier (LNA). The proposed circuit utilizes a symmetric center-tapped inductor and an RC series network to increase the headroom voltage of the LNA and enable larger S21. Experimental results show that the proposed approach can effectively operate in a frequency range of 4.33 GHz to 13.9 GHz.