Design and implementation of multi-octave low-noise power amplifier (LNPA) using HIFET configuration

This paper reports an low-noise-power amplifier (LNPA) MMIC using HIFET (High-Voltage, High-Impedance FET) configuration with very broadband performance in terms of noise figure, output power and linearity. Based on 0.15μm pHEMT technology, this MMIC delivers a gain of 12.5 ± 1dB, 1.5 ~ 2.5 dB noise figure (NF), good impedance match with S11/S22 less than -10 dB, and over 15 dBm of output P_1dB covering the entire 2 GHz to 13 GHz with 25% peak efficiency, at a bias voltage of 4 V. The proposed LNPA also demonstrates excellent thermal stability. The measured thermal-sensitivity coefficient for the small-signal gain is as low as 0.0144 dB/°C with respect to the temperature variation from -30°C to 150°C. The overall chip area is as small as 0.93 mm² excluding test pads.