Low noise amplifiers for MetOp-SG

We present low-noise amplifiers (LNA) that have been developed in the framework of two pre-qualification ESA projects for frequencies between 54 and 229 GHz for the METOP-SG satellite program. The main goal of these satellites is to provide data for operational weather forecast and climate change. Specifically temperature and water vapor measurements can be only achieved by advancing the current state of the art for the metamorphic high electron mobility transistor (mHEMT) technology. The MMIC amplifiers are based on the In0.52Al0.48As/In0.8Ga0.2As/In0.53Ga0.47As heterostructure and utilize transistors with a gate length of 50 nm. On-wafer measurements will be presented for all frequency bands as well as results of packaged LNAs.