Title :
A switchable-core SiGe HBT low-noise amplifier for millimeter-wave radiometer applications
Author :
Ulusoy, A. Cagri ; Schmid, Robert L. ; Coen, Christopher ; Cressler, John D.
Author_Institution :
Sch. of Electr. & Comput. Eng., Georgia Inst. of Technol., Atlanta, GA, USA
Abstract :
This work presents a switchable-core SiGe HBT low-noise amplifier topology that can greatly improve the performance of millimeter-wave Dicke radiometer front-ends. In the presented topology, instead of implementing a Dicke switch preceding the amplifier, a switchable core is proposed that enables Dicke radiometer operation without any insertion loss penalty and substantially improved isolation. A prototype amplifier is realized in a 90 nm SiGe BiCMOS technology. The measured results indicate the switchable amplifier core can provide Dicke radiometer functionality with minimum performance degradation.
Keywords :
BiCMOS analogue integrated circuits; Ge-Si alloys; field effect MIMIC; heterojunction bipolar transistors; low noise amplifiers; millimetre wave amplifiers; radiometers; BiCMOS technology; Dicke switch; SiGe; insertion loss penalty; millimeter wave Dicke radiometer; size 90 nm; switchable-core HBT low noise amplifier topology; Microwave radiometry; Millimeter wave measurements; Millimeter wave technology; Noise measurement; Silicon germanium; Switches; Topology; Millimeter wave integrated circuits; SiGe; low-noise amplifiers; radiometers; silicon-germanium;
Conference_Titel :
Silicon Monolithic Integrated Circuits in Rf Systems (SiRF), 2014 IEEE 14th Topical Meeting on
Conference_Location :
Newport Beach, CA
DOI :
10.1109/SiRF.2014.6828508
