An Environmentalized Low-Noise Parametric Amplifier

A 14-oz low-noise, X-band parametric amplifier has been developed for an airborne environment (-55 to +71/slp deg/C). This unit exhibits a 1.8-dB noise figure at 10 GHz and, at 18-dB peak gain, a 3-dB single-tuned bandwidth of 230 MHz that is electronically tunable over 700 MHz. A 1-dB gain compression occurs at -27-dBm input power. Performance is achieved through use of unique upper sideband terminated circuitry and a new low-parasitic, hermetic varactor package.