Device Noise Parameters Characterization: Towards Extraction Automation

For the first time, the experimental values of the noise parameters of a set of GaAs pHEMT obtained through the standard source tuner-based Lane technique and a new size-based, tuner-less technique, are compared. The noise parameters have been obtained independently by 2 renowned microwave laboratories after sharing the same set of devices. The laboratories are located at the University of Messina, Italy, and at the US Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, DC. This paper demonstrates 2 new accomplishments: that the noise parameters obtained through the new tuner-less technique are equivalent to the noise parameters obtained through the standard tuner-based technique; and that the new tuner-less extraction has been extended successfully up to 26 GHz. The new size-based technique supports the implementation of an automatic noise parameters extraction in a similar fashion to the automatic determination of scattering parameters.