A Ka-Band Ultra-Low Power GaAs MMIC LNA

In this paper, a low-noise amplifier (LNA) having ultra-low voltage is presented, intended for active antenna SATCOM applications. The amplifier is composed of three common-source stages with inductive source degeneration and is realized in a 0.1  \(\upmu \) m GaAs process provided by United Monolithic Semiconductors (UMS). The proposed LNA can operate at a sub-Volt supply voltage (nominally 0.7 V, but even lower if some performance degradation is accepted). The LNA provides a gain of 26 dB and a noise figure below 1.6 dB across an operative band from 27 to 31 GHz, while consuming only 18.9 mW. The output third-order intercept point is 13.8 dBm at 29 GHz and the saturated output power is 3.8 dBm. The LNA survived repeated input power sweeps up to 5 dBm and a 24 h stress test at \(-7\)  dBm without degradation. Chip size is \(2.3 \times 1.4\)  mm2.