Design of Low Noise Amplifiers for Portable Ground Penetrating Radar Systems

Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) systems are widely used in subsurface imaging applications such as geophysical surveys, utility detection and archaeology. An important component of these systems is the Low Noise Amplifier (LNA), which directly impacts the radar's ability to detect weak signals from buried objects. This project focuses on the design of a high gain, low Noise Amplifier specifically optimized for GPR receivers. The primary objective is to achieve an optimal balance between gain and low noise figure to enhance signal detection sensitivity, especially in environments with high levels of interference. To reduce Noise figure, power consumption and to increase gain, the proposed LNA employs a Folded Cascode and an inductive source Degeneration. The proposed Low Noise Amplifier (LNA) has been designed using the Process Design Kit 180nm CMOS process. The proposed LNA demonstrates a 30.42dB gain, a 1.9dB noise figure (NF), IIP3 of -48.9dBm, return loss of -20dB, stability of 1.65dB and 1dB compression point of-18.62dBm. The LNA consumes only 9mW of power, showcasing its efficiency and effectiveness using the specified design techniques. The development of lightweight and energy-efficient GPR systems, enhancing their practicality for field use while maintaining high detection accuracy.