Wide-band CMOS low noise amplifier for applications in radio astronomy

A CMOS low noise amplifier (LNA) is proposed for a proof-of-concept design of the Square Kilometer Array (SKA) radio telescope. A novel variation on a well-known source-degenerated LNA topology is introduced that allows tuning of the power match centre frequency independently from the frequency at which the LNAs noise figure approaches its minimum noise. The 0.7 - 1.4GHz LNA designed in 0.18 mu m CMOS achieves better than 11 dB return loss with a noise temperature of 40 K, provides a power gain of 17dB and IP1dB of -10dBm while consuming 50mW of power from a 1.8V supply. The design procedure of the LNA is presented and performance of the LNA is compared with previously published results.