Highly Rugged 30 GHz GaN Low-Noise Amplifiers

M. Rudolph¹, N. Chaturvedi¹, K. Hirche², J. Würfl¹, W. Heinrich¹, and G. Tränkle¹

¹ Ferdinand-Braun-Institut für Höchstfrequenztechnik, Gustav-Kirchhoff-Strasse 4, 12489 Berlin, Germany
² Tesat-Spacecom GmbH & Co. KG,2 Backnang D-7152, Germany

Published in:
IEEE Microwave Wireless Compon. Lett., vol. 19, no. 4, pp. 251-253 (2009).
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Abstract:
GaN low-noise amplifiers (LNAs) operating at 27-31 GHz are presented in this letter. The monolithically integrated LNAs were fabricated using the process line of the Ferdinand-Braun-Institut. Noise figures of 3.7 to 3.9 dB were measured. The ruggedness of the LNAs was verified by noise measurements after stressing the LNA for up to 2 h with up to 33 dBm of input power. These conditions are among the most severe stress tests reported in literature. To the best of the authors knowledge, this is the first demonstration of a GaN LNA in this frequency region.

Index Terms:
Amplifier noise, microwave field effect transistor (FET) amplifiers, millimeter wave integrated circuits, robustness, semiconductor device noise.

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