A high gain, W-band SiGe LNA with sub-4.0 dB noise figure

This paper presents a W-band LNA implemented in a 90 nm SiGe BiCMOS technology. The LNA achieves a maximum gain of 34 dB and a minimum NF of 3.5 dB at 80 GHz with greater than 25 dB gain and less than 4.5 dB NF over the full W-band. Input and output return losses are greater than 10 dB from 78-149 GHz. The circuit nominally operates from a 1.2 V supply while consuming 15.6 mW of DC power. Due to the low DC resistance presented to the base, the LNA can be operated above BV_CEO for an IP_1dB of -21 dBm and a P_SAT as high as +8.5 dBm. To the authors´ best knowledge, this work demonstrates the lowest NF achieved at W-band by an LNA in any silicon-based technology to date.