A 12-dB High-Gain Monolithic Distributed Amplifier

By reducing gate and drain line loss associated with the active elements of a distributed amplifier, significant gain improvements are possible. Loss reduction is achieved in a novel monolithic distributed amplifier by replacing the common-source FET's of the conventional design with cascode elements having a gate length of one-quarter micron. A record gain of over 10 dB from 2 to 18 GHz and a noise figure of 4 dB at 7 GHz have been achieved on a working amplifier. Details of the design and fabrication process are described.