Integrated silicon-germanium electronics for CubeSat-based radiometers

This paper discusses the motivation for and accomplishments to date in our ongoing effort to develop an integrated G-band SiGe radiometer for use in large-scale production of remote sensing CubeSats. The constrained nature of these platforms necessitates the use of highly integrated, low-power electronics that are well-suited for large-scale production, assembly, and testing. The high speeds of emerging 4^th-generation SiGe BiCMOS technologies makes these platforms realistic targets for >100 GHz applications for the first time. The high integration level, fabrication economy-of-scale, low 1/f noise, built-in total-dose radiation tolerance, and attractive thermal properties of these technologies make them ideal for this application. Ultra-low noise SiGe LNA designs which show the potential of these technologies for use in high-quality radiometers are presented. Future designs will increase integration levels, with the ultimate goal being a full radiometer-on-a-chip containing calibration sources.