Title :
Using saturated SiGe HBTs to realize ultra-low voltage/power X-band low noise amplifiers
Author :
Seth, Sachin ; Poh, Chung Hang John ; Thrivikraman, Tushar ; Arora, Rajan ; Cressler, John D.
Author_Institution :
Sch. of Electr. & Comput. Eng., Georgia Tech, Atlanta, GA, USA
Abstract :
An ultra-low voltage, monolithic 9 GHz (X-band) low noise amplifier has been implemented in 0.13 μm SiGe BiCMOS technology. The SiGe HBTs were intentionally biased in weak saturation (VCE at 0.5 V). This allows the LNA to operate at 300 K using only 2.4 mW of dc power from a 1 V supply, while delivering 16.7 dB gain and 3.5 dB noise figure at 9 GHz. At 90 K, this SiGe LNA achieves 17.5 dB of gain at only 600 μW of power, record performance for any known X-band LNA operating at sub-ambient temperatures.
Keywords :
BiCMOS analogue integrated circuits; Ge-Si alloys; MMIC power amplifiers; bipolar MMIC; field effect MMIC; heterojunction bipolar transistors; low noise amplifiers; microwave bipolar transistors; BiCMOS technology; SiGe; frequency 9 GHz; gain 16.7 dB; gain 17.5 dB; noise figure 3.5 dB; power 2.4 mW; power 600 muW; power X-band low noise amplifiers; saturated HBT; size 0.13 mum; temperature 300 K; temperature 90 K; ultra-low voltage low noise amplifiers; voltage 1 V; Gain; Heterojunction bipolar transistors; Noise figure; Radio frequency; Silicon germanium; Temperature measurement; Cryo-LNA; Low power LNA; SiGe BiCMOS; Weak saturation; X-Band;
Conference_Titel :
Bipolar/BiCMOS Circuits and Technology Meeting (BCTM), 2011 IEEE
Conference_Location :
Atlanta, GA
Print_ISBN :
978-1-61284-165-6
DOI :
10.1109/BCTM.2011.6082758
