Ultra-Low-Noise InGaAs mHEMT Technology and MMICs for Space Missions and Radio Astronomy

This paper demonstrates a set of wideband state-of-the-art low-noise amplifier (LNA) monolithic microwave integrated circuits (MMICs) ranging from 2 to 190 GHz. All MMICs are fabricated in a 50-nm gate-length InGaAs metamorphic high-electron-mobility transistor (mHEMT) technology. The LNAs achieve state-of-the-art noise performance for MMICs at room temperature (RT) and cryogenic conditions. The paper discusses specific design tradeoffs, such as the optimization of the input-matching network for best noise performance at RT or cryogenic condition or a lowest possible S 11. The discussion is exemplified with the design and measurement of three different W-band (75-110 GHz) LNAs. Linearity considerations are discussed based on bias-dependent single- and two-tone circuit measurements. An RF stress test and statistics over five runs and 17 wafers of the measured noise performance of W-LNA1 MMICs complete the picture of a highly reliable InGaAs mHEMT technology with state-of-the-art RT and cryogenic noise performance.