X-band low noise amplifier using SiGe BiCMOS technology

Abstract

An X-band (8-12 GHz) low-noise amplifier (LNA) for receiver systems is presented. The microwave monolithic integrated circuit (MMIC) with no external matching components has been demonstrated using a 0.18 /spl mu/m silicon germanium (SiGe) bipolar CMOS (BiCMOS) technology. The amplifier employs a two-stage topology to achieve low noise figure and high linearity across 8-12 GHz. At 10 GHz the LNA yielded a gain of 24.2 dB, a noise figure of 1.68 dB, and a third-order intercept point of 17.5 dBm. The power dissipation of the circuit is 33.6 mW using a 1.8 V supply voltage. To the best of our knowledge, the circuit achieves the lowest noise figure for a wide bandwidth LNA realized in a SiGe technology.