1. A 3-10 GHz SiGe LNA for Ultrawideband Applications
H. García, R. Pulido, J. del Pino, S. L. Khemchandani, A. Goñi, A. Hernández
Dto. de Ingeniería Electrónica y Automática (DIEA) & Instituto Universitario de Microelectrónica Aplicada (IUMA). Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (Spain)
Publicated in XXI Design of Integrated Circuits and
Systems Conference (Internacional),
Barcelona, España, 2006
Abstract
A fully-integrated SiGe wide band amplifier was implemented in a standard low cost 0.35 µm process up
to 12 dB of gain and a bandwidth of 3-10 GHz. Reactive matching is extended to wide bandwidths using
the impedance property of LC-ladder filters. Octagonal inductors with no ground shield were
implemented in top available metal. Design guidelines for optimizing amplifier gain are presented. Chip
dimensions are 0.665 × 0.665 mm2 and power dissipation is 39 mW, drawn from a 3.3V supply.
Wideband Amplifier Measurements & Simulations
Fig. 1. Simplified schematic of the LNA with inductive degeneration.
Fig. 7. Post layout results.
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Fig. 2. Simplified schematic of the LNA with wideband impedance matching.
Conclusions
In this paper we have reported the fundamental design
aspects of wideband low-noise amplifiers with SiGe
transistors and on chip inductors. A description of the LNA
configuration was explained emphasizing the influence of
the design parameters in the circuit performance. As an
example a wide band amplifier with on-chip matching
network spanning 3–10 GHz is presented. The circuit was
implemented in a standard low cost 0.35 µm process and
provides a worst case maximum gain of 11.6 dB. The noise
Fig. 3. Schematic of the designed wide-band LNA. and Fig. 6. Wide band amplifier layout. figure ranges from 3.5 to 7.5 in the band between 2 GHz and
8.5 GHz. The circuit core draws 5.3 mA from a 3.3-V supply.
INSTITUTO UNIVERSITARIO DE MICROELECTRÓNICA APLICADA (IUMA)
UNIVERSIDAD DE LAS PALMAS DE GRAN CANARIA (ULPGC)