X-BAND MMIC LOW-NOISE AMPLIFIER MMIC ON SiC SUBSTRATE USING 0.25-μm ALGaN/GaN HEMT TECHNOLOGY

In this article, we demonstrate a 9.7-12.9-GHz monolithic microwave integrated circuit low-noise amplifier (LNA) designed and fabricated using a AlGaN/GaN 0.25-mu m high-electron mobility transistor on silicon carbide (SiC) technology. Microstriplines are used for matching circuits, except for the MIM capacitors acting as DC blocks in the matching circuits of the LNA circuit. The matching and bias circuits of the LNA are merged and meandered to simplify the structure of the amplifier and reduce the chip size. The LNA shows a noise figure of 1.7-2.1 dB with a small-signal gain of 20-26 dB and an isolation of 45-52 dB across the 9.7-12.9 GHz frequency range. Under continuous wave conditions, a saturated output power of 34 dBm is shown at 11.2 GHz, and an output third-order intercept point of 42 dBm is also achieved at 11.4 GHz. (c) 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 56:96-99, 2014