A Low Noise Amplifier in SiGe:C BiCMOS Technology for Ultra-wideband Applications

A low noise amplifier (LNA) for ultra-wideband (UWB) applications is presented using active impedance matching technique for efficient wideband input and output matching. Active impedance matching eliminates the use of lossy and area consuming matching network which, in turn, reduce noise figure, power consumption and chip area. The LNA achieves a -3 dB bandwidth of 2-13 GHz with a maximum gain of 11.9 dB. The frequency response is quite flat. In the UWB frequency range of 3.1-10.6 GHz the gain ripple is less than 0.8 dB. The noise figure of the LNA is 3.4 dB to 4.2 dB in the whole UWB range. The LNA consumes 3.1 mA from a 2.5 V dc supply. The LNA was fabricated in SiGe:C HBT BiCMOS process and occupies a chip area of 0.55 mm² including pads.