Synthesis and design of novel active MMIC matched filters for ultra-wideband impulse radio

In this paper, novel active matched filter synthesis and design for UWB impulse radio lower band (3-5 GHz) is presented. Based on tapped delay line structure, the matched filter delays and sums UWB signal coherently to improve output signal to noise ratio (SNR). A four stages matched filter with a full cycle delay at centre frequency (4 GHz) is proposed. It has a measured power gain of 13.9 dB and a noise figure of 4.1 dB at 4 GHz. To reduce the amount of phase delay, a novel half cycle delay matched filter is then introduced. It achieves a measured power gain of 15.2 dB and a noise figure of 4.4 dB at 4 GHz. SNR improvement is verified through Monte Carlo simulations for both designs.