Cryogenic Low-Noise mHEMT-Based MMIC Amplifiers for 4–12 GHz Band

Two broadband very low-noise amplifiers operating in the frequency range from 4 to 12 GHz at cryogenic temperature are presented. The amplifier circuits have been developed using a 100 nm gate length InAlAs/InGaAs metamorphic high electron mobility transistor (mHEMT) technology. The three-stage amplifiers are monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) chips manufactured in coplanar technology. At cryogenic temperature the first MMIC amplifier achieved a linear gain of 22 dB and an average noise temperature of 11.6 K with a power dissipation of 41 mW. The second MMIC amplifier, with external input matching network, exhibited a gain of 26 dB, and an excellent average noise temperature of 8.1 K with a power dissipation of 12 mW. Both LNA units demonstrate broad bandwidth, high gain, low noise temperature, and compact chip size. The results obtained prove that mHEMT technology is suitable for applications in large instantaneous bandwidth cryogenic receivers for radio astronomy applications.