K-band SiGe dual-input LNA and detector for SoC radiometers for remote sensing of atmosphere

Abstract

SoC miniaturization of radiometric sensors could dramatically improve quantitatively the study of Earth's atmosphere in the microwave and millimeter-wave frequency spectrum, enabling cost and weight reductions both for ground- and space-based observation instruments. This paper reports the K-band silicon-germanium (SiGe) dual-input low noise amplifier (DILNA) and detector designed for the system-on-chip (SoC) Dicke radiometers, and the results of their experimental characterization. The DILNA exhibits power gain close to 16 dB and noise figure close to 6 dB at 24 GHz. The power consumption amounts to 21.9 mW. The detector exhibits a responsivity of 28.1 kV/W and a noise equivalent power (NEP) of 3.1 pW/VHz. The system analysis of the SoC Dicke radiometer incorporating the fabricated DILNA and detector shows that a resolution of 1 K can be achieved with reasonable integration time (14.5 s).