Ultra-low noise InP pHEMTs for cryogenic Deep-Space and Radio-Astronomy applications

InP HEMTs provide the best available low-noise transistor performance. The availability of InP HEMTs for cryogenic front-ends is of paramount importance in ultra-low noise Deep-Space Network (DSN) and Radio-Astronomy (RA) applications. In DSN applications, cryo-cooled InP HEMT front-ends are at the heart of the ESA 34 m antennas used to detect data carrying signals and telemetry information from deep space probes, and excellent HEMT noise performances are key to reducing antenna size and cost, as well as to simplifying spacecraft payloads. In RA, very low noise temperatures are required because of the cold cosmic microwave background (~2.73K).