Compact low‐noise power amplifier design and implementation for millimetre wave frequencies. Issue 7 (15th October 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Tsao, Chien‐Ming; Tsao, Yi‐Fan; Lin, Tzu‐Shuen; Huang, Ting‐Jui; Hsu, Heng‐Tung
• Is Part Of: IET circuits, devices & systems. Volume 14:Issue 7(2020)
• Page Start: 1026
• Page End: 1031
• Publication Date: 2020-10-15
• Subjects: HEMT integrated circuits -- low noise amplifiers -- gallium arsenide -- high electron mobility transistors -- CMOS integrated circuits -- III‐V semiconductors -- radio transceivers -- MMIC power amplifiers -- field effect MIMIC -- millimetre wave field effect transistors; millimetre wave frequencies -- two‐stage low‐noise power amplifier -- LNPA -- resistive feedback network -- Ka‐band -- configuration features size compactness -- implementation complexity -- pseudomorphic high electron mobility transistor technology -- power consumption -- compression output power -- compact low‐noise power amplifier design -- compact RF front‐end -- transceiver‐receiver module -- antenna arrays -- antenna elements -- pHEMT technology -- output third‐order interception point -- frequency 36.0 GHz to 40.0 GHz -- power 152.0 mW -- size 0.15 mum -- GaAs; Electronic circuits -- Periodicals; Electronic systems -- Periodicals; 621.381505
• DOI: 10.1049/iet-cds.2020.0274
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1751-858X

Abstract

Abstract : In this paper, we have designed and realized a two‐stage low‐noise power amplifier (LNPA) with resistive feedback network targeting for Ka‐band compact RF front‐end applications. Featuring the characteristics of both low noise and high power at the same time, the LNPA is expected to be a possible one‐chip replacement of power and low noise amplifiers integrated in a conventional transceiver/receiver (T/R) module. Such configuration features size compactness while reduces implementation complexity which is of crucial importance for integration in antenna arrays with large number of antenna elements. Implemented in 0.15‐μm GaAs pseudomorphic high electron mobility transistor (pHEMT) technology, the LNPA, operating at 36–40 GHz, exhibits a peak gain of 15.96 dB, a minimum noise figure of 2.88 dB, a power consumption of 152 mW and a measured 1‐dB compression output power of 14.92 dBm at 38 GHz, respectively. The LNPA also featured a very good linearity performance with a measured output third‐order interception point (IP3) of 22.22 dBm at 38 GHz.