Wideband Dual-Gate GaN HEMT Low Noise Amplifier for Front-End Receiver Electronics

Abstract

A highly survivable wideband low noise amplifier (LNA) for front-end receiver electronics is presented utilizing 0.2 mum AlGaN/GaN HEMT process on SiC substrate. This novel amplifier utilizes dual-gate devices with current feedback and drain bias network to attain wideband performance in terms of lower noise and higher gain. Nominal operation at 125 mA/mm at a drain voltage of 10 volts provided 12.5 to 18 dB gain and 1.3 to 2.5 dB noise figure. Due to high breakdown voltage, the amplifier is capable of better than 25 dBm of output power and can withstand an input power level approaching 38 dBm. This paper will also document performance comparison with a similar circuit using 0.15 mum pseudomorphic InGaAs/AlGaAs/GaAs HEMT low noise amplifier to demonstrate the outstanding survivability of AlGaN/GaN low noise amplifiers