Literature Review on Low-Noise Amplifiers for X-Band Applications

In radio frequency (RF) receiver circuits, the effectiveness of the receiver is mostly based on how good the front-end components of the receiver are. One of the components that has a direct effect on the performance of the receiver is the low noise amplifier (LNA). The LNA acts as an amplifier to amplify very small signal strength and adding minimal amounts of noise. Because of its location, right after the antenna, the features of the LNA will affect the sensitivity of the receiver greatly. In this project, the LNA design uses 150 nm gallium nitride (GaN), which has high-frequency performance, high power, and better efficiency than many of the commonly used semiconductors. A good GNSS LNA will not only be high in gain but will have low signal distortion and reduced noise, thereby improving the accuracy of positioning and communication. There are several factors considered when designing modern day LNAs, which include high gain, low noise factor, low power usage, stability, and linearity of the device at the operating frequencies. The analysis of these design factors is essential in helping design high performance LNAs that can help improve RF receiver sensitivity and efficiency.