2.5 dB NF 3.1-10.6 GHz CMOS UWB LNA with small group-delay variation

A 3.1-10.6 GHz ultra-wideband low-noise amplifier (UWB LNA) with excellent phase linearity property (group-delay variation is only plusmn 16.7 ps across the whole band) using standard 0.13 mum CMOS technology is reported. To achieve high and flat gain and small group-delay variation at the same time, the inductive peaking technique is adopted in the output stage for bandwidth enhancement. The UWB LNA achieved input return loss (S₁₁) of -17.5 to -33.6 dB, output return loss (S₂₂) of -14.4 to -16.3 dB, flat forward gain (S₂₂) of 7.92 plusmn 0.23 dB, and reverse isolation (S₁₂) of -25.8 to -41.9 dB over the 3.1-10.6 GHz band of interest. A state-of-the-art noise figure (NF) of 2.5 dB was achieved at 10.5 GHz.     

0.18 μm 21-27 GHz CMOS UWB LNA with 9.3 ± 1.3 dB gain and 103.9 ± 8.1 ps group delay

A 21-27 GHz CMOS ultra-wideband low-noise amplifier (UWB LNA) with state-of-the-art phase linearity property (group delay variation is only ± 8.1 ps across the whole band) is reported for the first time. To achieve high and flat gain (S₂₁) and small group delay variation at the same time, the inductive series peaking technique was adopted in the output of each stage for bandwidth enhancement. The LNA dissipated 27 mW power and achieved input return loss (S₁₁) of 213 to 220.1 dB, output return loss (S₂₂) of 28.2 to 230.2 dB, flat S21 of 9.3 ± 1.3 dB, reverse isolation (S₁₂) of 252.7 to 273.3 dB, and noise figure of 4.9?6.1 dB over the 21-27 GHz band of interest. The measured 1 dB compression point (P_1dB) and input third-order intermodulation point (IIP3) were 214 and 24 dBm, respectively, at 24 GHz.     

A 60-dB gain, 55-dB dynamic range, 10-Gb/s broad-band SiGe HBTlimiting amplifier

A limiting amplifier IC implemented in a silicon-germanium (SiGe) heterojunction bipolar transistor technology for low-cost 10-Gb/s applications is described. The IC employs 20 dB gain limiting cells, input overload protection, split analog-digital grounds, and on-chip isolation interface with transmission lines. A gain enhancement technique has been developed for a parallel-feedback limiting cell. The limiting amplifier sensitivity is less than 3.5 mV_pp at BER=10^-9 with 2-V_pp maximum input (55-dB dynamic range). The total gain is over 60 dB, and S₂₁ bandwidth exceeds 15 GHz at 10-mV_pp input. Parameters S₁₁ and S₂₂ are better than -10 dB in the 10-GHz frequency range. The AM to PM conversion is less than 5 ps across input dynamic range. The output differential voltage can be set from 0.2 to 2 V_pp with IC power dissipation from 250 mW to 1.1 W. The chip area is 1.2×2.6 mm². A 10-Gb/s optical receiver, built with the packaged limiting amplifier, demonstrated -19.6-dBm sensitivity. The IC can be used in 10-Gb/s fiber-optic receivers requiring high sensitivity and wide input dynamic range     

3–10-GHz Ultra-Wideband Low-Noise Amplifier Utilizing Miller Effect and Inductive Shunt–Shunt Feedback Technique

In this paper, we demonstrate an SiGe HBT ultra-wideband (UWB) low-noise amplifier (LNA), achieved by a newly proposed methodology, which takes advantage of the Miller effect for UWB input impedance matching and the inductive shunt-shunt feedback technique for bandwidth extension by pole-zero cancellation. The SiGe UWB LNA dissipates 25.8-mW power and achieves S₁₁ below -10 dB for frequencies from 3 to 14 GHz (except for a small range from 10 to 11 GHz, which is below -9 dB), flat S₂₁ of 24.6 plusmn 1.5 dB for frequencies from 3 to 11.6 GHz, noise figure of 2.5 and 5.8 dB at 3 and 10 GHz, respectively, and good phase linearity property (group-delay variation is only plusmn28 ps across the entire band). The measured 1-dB compression point (P₁ dB) and input third-order intermodulation point are -25.5 and -17 dBm, respectively, at 5.4 GHz.     

Reconfigurable SiGe Low-Noise Amplifiers With Variable Miller Capacitance

A new input matching method making use of shunt-shunt feedback capacitance is introduced. Based on the new input matching method, reconfigurable SiGe low-noise amplifiers (LNAs) by varying shunt-shunt feedback capacitance are proposed. Two approaches are used to vary the shunt-shunt feedback capacitance. One approach is to switch between two different bias currents while the other is to use a series combination of a switch and a capacitor. Miniaturized fully monolithic reconfigurable SiGe LNAs without emitter degenerative inductors were realized by the above two approaches. The reconfigurable SiGe LNA achieved by switching bias currents only occupies a very small area of 355 mumtimes155 mum, excluding measurement pads. This LNA achieves an input return losses (S₁₁) of -27.6 dB, a voltage gain (A _v) of 19.8 dB, and a noise figure (NF) of 3.18 dB for 2.4-GHz band when biased at a current of 3.8 mA and can be reconfigured to obtain A_v=20.4/20.3 dB, S₁₁=-47.1/-24.6 dB and NF=3.42/3.21 dB for 5.2/5.7-GHz band when bias current is switched to 3 mA. In addition, a 2.4/4.9/5.2/5.7-GHz reconfigurable SiGe LNAs for WLAN applications, whose variable shunt-shunt feedback capacitance is controlled by a switch and a capacitor, was also realized     

0.18 μm 3.1-10.6 GHz CMOS UWB LNA with 11.4±0.4 dB gain and 100.7± 17.4 ps group-delay

A3.1-10.6 GHz ultra-wideband low-noise amplifier (UWB LNA) with excellent phase linearity property (group-delay-variation is only plusmn17.4 ps across the whole band) using standard 0.18 mum CMOS technology is reported. To achieve high and flat gain and small group-delay-variation at the same time, the inductive peaking technique is adopted in the output stage for bandwidth enhancement. The UWB LNA dissipates 22.7 mW power and achieves input return loss (S₁₁) of -9.7 to -19.9 dB, output return loss (S22) of-8.4 to -22.5 dB, flat forward gain (S21) 11.4 plusmn0.4 dB, reverse isolation (S12) of -40 to -48 dB, and noise figure of 4.12-5.16 dB over the 3.1-10.6 GHz band of interest. A good 1 dB compression point (Pi dB) of -7.86 dBm and an input third-order intermodulation point (IIP3) of 0.72 dBm are achieved at 6.4 GHz. The chip area is only 681 x 657 mum excluding the test pads.     

First demonstration of monolithic InP-based HBT amplifier with PNPactive load

An InP-based integrated HBT amplifier with PNP active load was demonstrated for the first time using complementary HBT technology (CRBT). Selective molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) regrowth was employed and a merged processing technology was developed for the monolithic integration of InP-based NPN and PNP HBTs on the same chip. The availability of PNP devices allowed design of high gain amplifiers with low power supply voltage. The measured amplifier with PNP HBT active load achieved a voltage gain of 100 with a power supply (V_CC) of 1.5 V. The corresponding voltage swing was 0.9 V to 0.2 V. The amplifier also demonstrated S₂₁ of 7.8 dB with an associated S₁₁ and S₂₂ of -9.5 dB and -8.1 dB, respectively, at 10 GHz     

一种新型布局的圆极化微带天线阵优化设计

提出了一款高增益低副瓣新型圆极化微带天线阵。单元天线采用叠层切角圆极化微带结构,通过八边形边界布局和顺序旋转交叠组阵技术,实现了天线阵方向性图的对称性和圆极化辐射性能的最优化;馈电网络采用威尔金森功分器和最大平坦式阻抗变换器实现不等功分宽带阻抗匹配,通过改进馈电方向寻求对称结构,简化了馈电网络的设计。制作了天线阵实物并进行了测量。测试结果表明:天线在3.2~4.6 GHz频段内S₁₁<-10 dB,阻抗相对带宽36%;在3.8~4.5 GHz频段内顶点轴比小于3 dB,圆极化相对带宽17%;在4~4.4 GHz频段内天线增益均在15 dB以上,最高增益达17 dB。     

Wideband Circularly Polarized Dielectric Resonator Antenna

A circularly polarized quadruple strip feed cylindrical dielectric resonator antenna utilizing a pair of 90deg hybrid couplers is investigated experimentally. The antenna is shown to deliver an impedance bandwidth (S₁₁ < -10 dB) of 34.5%, from 1.75 to 2.48 GHz, and an axial-ratio bandwidth (AR < 3 dB) of 25.9%, from 1.65 to 2.14 GHz. The gain and radiation patterns are found to be stable within the passband.     

Bidirectional radiated circularly polarised square-ring antenna for portable RFID reader

A novel single-layer, dual-fed technique for a bidirectional radiated circularly polarised square-ring antenna operated in the UHF band is presented. The two feed ports of the square-ring radiating element are placed in orthogonal directions and connected to a feeding network with a Wilkinson power divider in the same plane. Properly adjusting the size of the capacitive coupling groundplane results in good impedance matching and circularly polarised radiation, and a broad impedance bandwidth (S₁₁ ⩽ -10 dB) of about 45.2% and a 3 dB axial-ratio bandwidth of about 8.7% were obtained.     

A Compact, ESD-Protected, SiGe BiCMOS LNA for Ultra-Wideband Applications

Two 3.65-mW, ESD-protected, BiCMOS ultra-wideband low-noise amplifiers (LNAs) for operation up to 10 GHz are presented. These common-base LNAs achieve significant savings in die area over more widely used cascoded common-emitter LNAs because they do not use an LC input matching network. A design with a shunt peaked load achieves a high S₂₁ (17-19 dB) and low noise figure (NF) (4-5 dB) across the band. A resistively loaded design exhibits a lower S₂₁ (15-16 dB) and higher NF (4.5-6 dB), but also utilizes 20% less silicon area. Both LNAs achieve a 1.5 kV ESD protection level and an acceptable S₁₁ (<-10 dB) across the band. Current source noise reduction is critical in common base topologies. Therefore, detailed noise analyses of MOS- and HBT-based current sources are provided     

一种采用有源电感的可调增益小面积超宽带低噪声放大器

设计了一款采用可调谐有源电感（TAI）的可调增益的小面积超宽带低噪声放大器(LNA),输入级采用共基极结构,输出级采用射随器结构,分别实现了宽带输入和输出匹配;放大级采用带有反馈电阻的共射共基结构以取得宽的带宽,并采用TAI作负载,通过调节TAI的多个外部偏压使LNA的增益可调。结果表明,该LNA在2~9GHz的频带内,通过组合调节有源电感调节端口的偏压可实现S21在16.5~21.1dB的连续可调;S11小于-14.7dB;S22小于-19.3dB;NF小于4.9dB;芯片面积仅为0.049mm2。     

Broad-band distributed amplifier impedance-matching techniques

A circuit concept is developed which allows impedance transformations to be performed over extremely broad bandwidths. The transformation is obtained by coupling one or more input or output lines of a distributed amplifier into several output or input lines, respectively. The circuit technique is demonstrated by results for an amplifier for a 1:2 impedance transformation over a 2-20-GHz bandwidth. The amplifier yields a voltage standing wave ratio (VSWR) of better than 1.7:1 into 25 Ω at the input and better than 1.5:1 into 50 Ω at the output while maintaining a gain of 9±1 dB. An application of the technique to the broadband impedance-matching problem of a laser diode driver is discussed. The circuit has a gain of 8.5±1 dB from 0.5 to 12.5 GHz and better than 10 dB return loss at both the input and output     

Broadband U-shaped dielectric resonator antenna with elliptical patch feed

A dielectric resonator antenna formed by a U-shaped dielectric resonator and a conformal elliptical patch feed is proposed for wideband communication applications. Simulated results agree well with measured ones, showing good performance in terms of bandwidth and radiation patterns. The measured impedance bandwidth of S₁₁ < -10 dB is about 72%, covering the frequency range 3.82-8.12 GHz. It has a gain of 4.3-7.6 dBi over the whole operating band with a ground size of about 1.2 lambda₀ times 1.2 lambda₀, lambda₀ being the central operating frequency.     

S-band low noise amplifier using 1μm InGaAs/InAlAs/InP pHEMT

正This paper discusses the design of a wideband low noise amplifier(LNA) in which specific architecture decisions were made in consideration of system-on-chip implementation for radio-astronomy applications.The LNA design is based on a novel ultra-low noise InGaAs/InAlAs/InP pHEMT.Linear and non-linear modelling of this pHEMT has been used to design an LNA operating from 2 to 4 GHz.A common-drain in cascade with a common source inductive degeneration,broadband LNA topology is proposed for wideband applications.The proposed configuration achieved a maximum gain of 27 dB and a noise figure of 0.3 dB with a good input and output return loss(S_(11)—10 dB,S_(22)—11 dB).This LNA exhibits an input 1-dB compression point of-18 dBm,a third order input intercept point of 0 dBm and consumes 85 mW of power from a 1.8 V supply.     

New Half-Hemispherical Dielectric Resonator Antenna for Broadband Monopole-Type Radiation

A new half-hemispherical dielectric resonator antenna (h-HDRA) is proposed and a two-element h-HDRA configuration is employed to design a broadband monopole-type radiator. Two half sections of a hemispherical DRA are employed to enhance the impedance bandwidth by introducing an additional resonant mode. Since the new geometry of an h-HDRA is studied here for the first time, it is characterized using simulation and experimental studies. Two closely spaced resonant modes, which in a two-element h-HDRA generate monopole-type radiation are investigated. Results for both the single and two-element h-HDRAs are presented. As much as 35% impedance bandwidth (S₁₁<-10dB) with more than 5 dBi peak gain, 99.08% efficiency and monopole-type radiation pattern has been demonstrated using a prototype occupying a compact volume measuring 0.48lambda₀ by 0.2lambda₀ approximately, lambda₀ being the wave length corresponding to the center of the impedance bandwidth     

一种小型化超宽带MIMO天线设计

提出了一种基于槽天线的小型化、高隔离度的超宽带(Ultra Wideband, UWB)多入多出(Multiple-Input Multiple-Output, MIMO)天线.该MIMO天线由两个槽天线单元构成, 为了增加天线阻抗带宽, 每个槽天线单元由末端带有圆形贴片的微带线和末端为圆形的槽线两部分耦合馈电.采用在地板上开槽和方向图分集方法, 减少地板表面波和空中电磁波影响, 达到提高天线隔离度的目的.数值仿真和实验结果表明:该天线在3.1~11 GHz频段内满足端口反射系数|S₁₁| < -10 dB, 隔离度|S₁₂|在7~11 GHz频段内小于-25 dB, 在3.1~7 GHz频段内小于-16 dB, 并根据仿真和测试S参数计算了包络相关系数.     

26-42 GHz SOI CMOS low noise amplifier

A complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) single-stage cascode low-noise amplifier (LNA) is presented in this paper. The microwave monolithic integrated circuit (MMIC) is fabricated using digital 90-nm silicon-on-insulator (SOI) technology. All impedance matching and bias elements are implemented on the compact chip, which has a size of 0.6 mm /spl times/ 0.3 mm. The supply voltage and supply current are 2.4 V and 17 mA, respectively. At 35 GHz and 50 /spl Omega/ source/load impedances, a gain of 11.9 dB, a noise figure of 3.6 dB, an output compression point of 4 dBm, an input return loss of 6 dB, and an output return loss of 18 dB are measured. The -3-dB frequency bandwidth ranges from 26 to 42 GHz. All results include the pad parasitics. To the knowledge of the author, the results are by far the best for a silicon-based millimeter-wave LNA reported to date. The LNA is well suited for systems operating in accordance to the local multipoint distribution service (LMDS) standards at 28 and 38 GHz and the multipoint video distribution system (MVDS) standard at 42 GHz.     

13 Gb/s Si-bipolar AGC amplifier IC with high gain and wide dynamicrange for optical-fiber receivers

A complete linear automatic-gain-control (AGC) amplifier for a 10 Gb/s optical-fiber link was integrated on a single chip, using a Si-bipolar production technology with f_T≈22 GHz. It is characterized by a high gain of 37 dB, linear operation over a wide input dynamic range of 47 dB, a maximum data rate of 13 Gb/s, and a gain-independent 3-dB cut off frequency of 10 GHz. The circuit consumes 850 mW at a single supply voltage of -6.5 V. It can be operated in both a single-ended and differential mode. A novel 50-Ω input matching circuit with only small return loss is used. Two separate output buffers with a constant output voltage swing of 500 mV_p-p allow splitting up the output signal without use of external components     

Invariance of S21/S12 and K-factor underparallel operation of linear two-port devices

Based on a generalized circuit model for parallel-operated amplifiers with linear two-port devices, it has been proved that the S-parameter ratio S₂₁/S₁₂ and hence MSG (maximum stable gain) are invariant as long as the devices have an identical value of S₂₁/S₁₂ and the input and output networks are reciprocal. The invariance of K factor has been shown to hold for two cases: (i) devices are identical and input/output networks are lossless and symmetric with respect to each device, and (ii) identical admittances are added to the networks of case (i) so as to connect every device port with each other. Thus at least in these two cases, MAG (maximum available gain) and U (unilateral gain) are invariant as well as MSG under parallel operation of linear two-port devices. The invariance of S₂₁/S₁₂ and hence MSG applies to a variety of parallel-operated amplifiers such as distributed amplifiers and linear power amplifiers