Distributed Amplifier With Blue Noise Active Termination

Active terminations can be used to reduce the low frequency noise figure of distributed amplifiers. In this letter we show extension and improvement upon previous active termination techniques. We use a combination of active and passive elements to create a termination with a blue noise spectrum rather than a broadband white noise spectrum. The novel technique is tested in a 180 nm CMOS distributed amplifier and demonstrates a 44% reduction in low frequency noise with no impact on gain, bandwidth or matching when compared to conventional design.