Ka/Q-band broadband, Ka and W-band low noise HEMT amplifiers

The authors describe the design and fabrication of a Ka/Q-band (27-46-GHz) balanced amplifier, a W-band (81-GHz) low-noise amplifier (LNA), and a Ka-band (28-40-GHz) LNA. These three amplifiers utilize three types of high-electron-mobility-transistor (HEMT) technology. The three technologies are planar-doped/nonplanar-doped AlGaAs and pseudomorphic InGaAs HEMT technologies. The Ka/Q-band balanced amplifier exhibited a 1-dB compression point between +10 and +14 dBm at 27 and 44 GHz utilizing the three HEMT technologies. The W-band LNA exhibited a 7.7-dB noise figure with a 7-dB gain at 80.5 GHz with the AlGaAs planar-doped HEMT and a 9.5-dB gain at 81.5 GHz with the pseudomorphic InGaAs HEMT. The Ka-band LNA exhibited a maximum noise figure of 3.9 dB with a minimum gain of 4.5 dB across the 28-40-GHz band.<
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