An educational tool for RF LNA analysis based on an implementation of the Smith Chart in Excel

This paper describes a simple tool for the analysis and design of single-stage Radio Frequency Low Noise Amplifiers based on standard Smith-Chart procedures that has been implemented in Excel. The tool allows the user to enter the transistor´s s-parameters and details of the source and load networks and to interactively explore the effects of these quantities on design variables such as gain, noise figure and stability. It also facilitates the design of two-element matching networks to transform the source and load impedances to optimum values to achieve the desired gain and noise performance.