Authors: M Panahi S Bhaumik D George
Publish Date: 2014/10/04
Volume: 38, Issue: 3, Pages: 359-379
Abstract
This paper reports two Low Noise Amplifiers LNA for Aperture Array system of the international Square Kilometre Array SKA project LNA design for SKA is a step change in traditional LNA design approach for radio astronomy applications as the defining aspects of performance are low noise along with low power consumption and adequate gain The LNAs are designed fabricated and characterised for frequency range of 20 −1000 MHz One LNA has single ended input to single ended output configuration LNA1 while the other LNA has balanced input to single ended output LNA2 The Sparameter noise figure NF and large signal response of the LNAs are measured at room temperature Both LNAs show flat gain of higher than 30 dB over specified frequency range Average NF values of LNA1 and LNA2 are 055 dB and 075 dB respectively Mixed mode Sparameter response based on theoretical analysis of differential configuration is presented The LNAs have exceptionally low power consumption of less than 25 mW 20 times lower than the other reported LNAs available for the SKA and also covering complete frequency band with less than 1 dB NF Therefore implication of these LNAs is a significant step forward as the projected number of LNAs required for the lower frequency band of SKA Aperture Array system is 5600000 Dewdney et al Proc IEEE 978 1482–1496 2009 Faulkner et al 2010
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