A 0.3–28-GHz Frequency Range, 1.2-dB Noise Figure, Cascode Distributed LNA With Wide Temperature Range for Satellite Communications

A broadband cascode distributed low-noise amplifier (CDLNA) with a wide operating temperature range is proposed in this work. A series of diodes are used as bias networks to achieve temperature compensation. To enhance the gain level in the passband, the negative resistance network is employed to offset drain transmission line losses. An attenuator based on reverse-biased diodes and resistors is designed to improve stability across the wideband. The circuit is implemented using a 0.15-<inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mu $ </tex-math></inline-formula>m GaAs pHEMT process with a chip area of <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$2.6\times 1.55$ </tex-math></inline-formula> mm2. Test results show that the CDLNA achieves an average gain of 17.5 dB, a linearity index OP1 dB of 14.0 dBm, a minimum noise figure (NF) of 1.2 dB, and an operating frequency range of 0.3–28 GHz. The operating temperature range is -55 °C to 85 °C, within which the gain variation is less than 742 ppm/°C, and the NF variation is less than 2667 ppm/°C