Design and Analysis of Broadband Dual-Gate Balanced Low-Noise Amplifiers

Abstract

In this paper, we present three MMIC low-noise amplifiers using dual-gate GaAs HEMT devices in a balanced amplifier configuration. The designs target three different frequency bands including 4-9 GHz, 9-20 GHz, and 20-40 GHz. These dual-gate balanced designs demonstrate the excellent qualities of balanced amplifiers in terms of stability and matched characteristics, while demonstrating higher bandwidth than designs with a single-stage common-source device. Additionally, noise performance is excellent, with the 4-9 GHz LNA demonstrating <1.75 dB noise figure (NF), the 9-20 GHz LNA <2.75 dB NF and the 20-40 GHz LNA <2.5 dB NF. Demonstrating high gain and excellent bandwidth, the dual-gate devices seem a logical choice for the balanced amplifier topology.