Commercial wideband MMIC low noise amplifier with 50nm gate-length E-mode InGaAs PHEMT

This paper reports a wideband MMIC low noise amplifier using a 50nm Lg E-mode InGaAs PHEMT technology. It demonstrates simultaneous 22dB S21 gain and 1.0dB noise figure at 24GHz operation. The MMIC was designed for 18–35GHz bandwidth; however, noise figure is low and gain is appreciable from 4–40GHz. The amplifier survived being separately subjected to high-power bursts (18dBm Pin, 60-sec), and elevated temperature burn-in (85°C for 24-hours) to verify its power handling capability and long-term reliability. The overall amplifier performance, yield, and reliability show that this InGaAs PHEMT technology has the requisite figures-of-merits to advance receiver system performance in hostile environments, as well as the increasingly more demanding commercial environment.