5–35 GHz broadband if amplifier section in 0.13 μm SiGe technology for W ‐band heterodyne receiver RFICs

This letter presents the results of a broadband intermediate frequency (IF) section radio frequency integrated circuit designed for a W‐band heterodyne radiometer receiver in a 0.13 μm SiGe BiCMOS process. The differential IF section which consists of an amplifier and a power detector uses inductive and resistive matching to obtain a wideband response. The IF amplifier has a measured gain of 10.0–19.5 dB at 2–37 GHz, noise figure of 6–8 dB at 1–26 GHz, and OIP 3 of 7–17 dBm at 1–40 GHz. The detector has a measured responsivity of 1 kV/W and an estimated noise equivalent power (NEP) of 4–6 pW/Hz 1/2 at 5–35 GHz, respectively. For the IF section, the input return loss is better than 10 dB at 7–40 GHz and the responsivity is 10–82 kV/W at 5–35 GHz. The broadband properties over significantly wider bandwidths than earlier reported silicon ‐ based IF amplifier and power detector circuits make the SiGe 5–35 GHz IF section suitable for W‐band direct‐conversion radiometer receiver Radio Frequency Integrated Circuits with a larger predetection bandwidth and improved sensitivity. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 57:2286–2289, 2015