Design of a Ka-Band LNA Based on 150 nm GaN-on-Si Technology

Abstract

In this paper a 150 nm GaN on Si technology design-based Ka-band monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) low noise amplifier (LNA) for 5G front-end wireless systems is presented. The LNA is created using a multi-stage noise matching approach realized with a topology of series inductive degeneration common source. Using this method, active devices may retain high flat gain while achieving a low noise figure (NF) throughout a larger frequency spectrum. The LNA has a typical small-signal gain of over 12 dB, according to the post-layout simulation, while a noise figure performance of less than 2.9 dB was achieved over a bandwidth from 22 to 30 GHz. The proposed LNA linearity characterization indicates that the third-order intercept point (OIP3) of 28 dBm was obtained, respectively. The Ka-band MMIC LNA die has a full size of $900\times 900\mu\mathrm{m}^{2}$ including the pads.