A 26-GHz Low Noise Amplifier With 16-dB Minimum Noise Figure in 015-μm GaN-on-SiC Process

Abstract

A 24.8–29.1-GHz four-stage gallium nitride (GaN) low noise amplifier (LNA) monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) is presented in this letter which is fabricated in a 0.15-μm GaN-on-SiC process. The proposed GaN LNA utilizes gate/drain bypass networks and source degeneration (SD) to achieve both 0–40-GHz unconditional stability and broadband simultaneous noise and input matching (SNIM). The measured results show a peak gain of 19.9 dB with a 3-dB bandwidth of 4.3 GHz and a low noise figure (NF) of 1.58–2.57 dB. The input and output return losses are better than 11 dB and the output-referred third-order intercept point (OIP3) is greater than 21 dBm. The presented LNA has a core area of 4.2 mm² and consumes a power dissipation of 150 mW. Compared with other state-of-the-art GaN LNA designs, the proposed LNA exhibits competitive NF and overall performance.