A Compact 6–24-GHz Current-Reuse LNA With Bandwidth and Noise Enhancement

This letter presents a three-stage current-reuse (CR) low-noise amplifier (LNA) monolithic microwave-integrated circuit (MMIC) design for broadband applications. The proposed LNA employs virtual ground and resistive feedback to achieve bandwidth extension and low noise. With the proposed techniques, the LNA is fabricated using a 0.15- $\mu \text{m}$ E-mode GaAs pseudomorphic high-electron-mobility transistor (pHEMT) process. The measurement results show a peak gain of 27.1 dB with a 3-dB bandwidth of 6–24 GHz and a dc power consumption of 130 mW. The noise figure (NF) of 0.71–1.9 dB, 9.2–12.6 dBm OP1dB, and 20–23.5 dBm OIP3 are achieved. The fabricated LNA, including the testing pads, has a chip size of $1.3\times0.8$ mm.

I. Introduction

Broadband transceiver front-end design has drawn intensive attention from military and aerospace applications. The low-noise amplifier (LNA) is a crucial component in transceiver design that characterizes the receiver’s whole performance. To obtain the operation frequency from the L-band to more than a few tens of gigahertz, distributed LNA (DLNA) [1], [2], multiple cascode transistors with active load (AL) [3], [4], [5] configurations have been investigated. However, the DLNA has a lower unity gain and large size with limited noise figure (NF) performance. The reported multiple-stage cascode LNAs with AL consume high dc power and use a larger active area. The multiple-stage common source (CS) with coupled interstage feedback [6], [7], [8] can broaden the bandwidth, which needs a larger interstage coupling line area in the low frequency. Therefore, it usually works at a frequency higher than X-band.