Avago Technologies

This paper describes the design and realization of a balanced low-noise amplifier (LNA) module in the 2 GHz band suitable for wireless infrastructure (base-station) receiver front-end applications. The design effort entails both aspects of MMIC and module/packaging design to realize a fully-matched solution in a miniature 5mm x 6mm footprint. The MMIC design leverages Avago Technologies' proprietary 0.5 micron enhancementmode Pseudomorphic High-Electron-Mobility Transistor (e-pHEMT) technology for best-in-class noise performance and linearity. In a balanced amplifier application with external 3-dB hybrids, this design exhibits a very low noise figure (NF) of 0.9 dB, coupled with a high OIP3 (Output Third Order Intercept Point) of 46 dBm at 31 dB gain. It is also capable of delivering a P-1dB of 31 dBm at 2.0 GHz with a 5.0 V supply.