A BiCMOS monolithic Ka-band down-converter for satellite communication systems

A high performance Ka-band down-converter front-end for satellite communications in 0.18-μm BiCMOS is demonstrated. By using the dual-transformer-feedback design, the low-noise amplifier (LNA) can achieve low noise figure (NF) and wide matching bandwidth simultaneously. Also, the G_M-boosted mixer together with the IF amplifier with adaptive bias and 3D inductor provides high gain and high linearity to relax the overall system requirements. The measured NF is lower than 6.25 dB with an average conversion gain of 47.5 dB covering the entire RF band from 18.2 to 21.4 GHz. A high linearity (OP_1dB > 4.2 dBm) with an excellent gain flatness (±1.5dB) are achieved under a power consumption of only 80 mW. Compared with previously reported works, the presented design has the highest gain and linearity, lower NF, and a smallest chip size (core area: 0.24 mm²).