A Ka-band ultra-compact low-noise MMIC amplifier

A Ka-band ultra-compact low-noise MMIC two-stage amplifier has been designed and fabricated using 0.15 /spl mu/m gate AlGaAs/InGaAs pseudomorphic HEMTs. To realize both low-noise performance and small chip size, circuit element parameters were successfully optimized and close-set layout design was introduced into the chip layout pattern. The experimental results showed that the IC exhibits a low-noise figure of less than 2.2 dB and an associated gain of over 12.5 dB from 33 to 40 GHz. The chip size of 0.6 mm/sup 2/, which includes all matching circuits and bonding pads, is extremely small, compared to conventional MMICs.