W-band low-power millimeter-wave low noise amplifiers (LNAs)using SiGe HBTs in saturation region

Advanced SiGe HBTs maintain quite reasonable performance even at a forward biased base-collector junction. The associated operation in saturation enables a significant reduction in power consumption. One goal of this work is the exploration of mm-wave circuits with lowest possible power consumption while maintaining reasonable performance for possible integration into mobile systems where battery lifetime is of utmost importance. A second goal is the evaluation of HBT compact models in saturation and under realistic circuit operation. This paper presents the measured and simulated results of a narrow-band and a wide-band low-noise amplifier (LNA), both operating in the W-band. The supply voltage of the narrow-band LNA is as low as 0.5V.