Optimal design and experimental characterization of high-gain GaInP/GaAs HBT distributed amplifiers

The design methodology of high-gain GaInP/GaAs HBT distributed amplifiers is presented. Distributed amplifiers with different active cells and number of stages have been compared for high-gain (>12 dB) and high-bandwidth (>25 GHz) performance. Based on the results, a 3-stage distributed amplifier with a S/sub 21/ gain of 12.7 dB over 27.5 GHz bandwidth was successfully fabricated and tested.