An 8–16 GHz SiGe Low Noise Amplifier With Performance Tuning Capability for Mitigation of Radiation-Induced Performance Loss

We present a wideband, low noise amplifier (LNA) implemented in a Silicon-Germanium Heterojunction Bipolar Transistor (SiGe HBT) technology. This SiGe LNA covers a frequency range of 8-16 GHz and achieves a peak gain of 17.5 dB at nominal bias and a peak OIP3 of 15.8 dBm at 10 GHz at nominal bias. The noise figure (NF) of the LNA is 4.5-8.1 dB across band, and it nominally consumes 4 mA from a 4 V supply. Samples were irradiated with 63.3 MeV protons to proton-equivalent doses ranging from 200 krad(Si) to 2 Mrad(Si). This LNA incorporates bias control “tuning-knobs” to enable bias tuning to mitigate for RF performance loss due to total dose exposure and process variation in performance metrics. The effectiveness of the tuning “knobs” to compensate for lost post-irradiated performance was investigated. It was found that the LNA performance can be restored with the use of the tuning knobs with a performance tuning algorithm.