A high-linearity broadband 55 – 77 GHz differential low-noise amplifier with 20 dB gain in SiGe technology

This paper presents a broadband differential current re-use low-noise amplifier with 30% fractional bandwidth at a center frequency of 66 GHz. The circuit has been manufactured in an advanced SiGe:C HBT technology with f
_t
/f
_max
= 220/285 GHz. The amplifier is unconditionally stable and achieves a maximum differential gain of 19.7 dB while operating over a 3-dB bandwidth of 22 GHz. At the upper corner frequency of 77 GHz the amplifier exhibits a noise figure of 5.8 dB and linearity measurements show a 1-dB output referred compression point above +3 dBm. The circuit consumes 40 mW from a 3.3 V supply and occupies a chip area of 728 × 728 μm
²
including bond pads.