Low-noise amplifier

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A low-noise amplifier (LNA) is an electronic component that amplifies a very low-power

electronic amplifier will increase the power of both the signal and the noise present at its input, but the amplifier will also introduce some additional noise. LNAs are designed to minimize that additional noise, by choosing special components, operating points, and circuit topologies. Minimizing additional noise must balance with other design goals such as power gain and impedance matching
.

LNAs are found in

intermodulation distortion
.

Communications

feed line
. Losses in the feed line lower the received signal-to-noise ratio: a feed line loss of 3 dB degrades the receiver signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) by 3 dB.

An example is a feed line made from 10 feet (3.0 m) of RG-174

GHz
; approximately 5 dB at the GPS frequency (1.57542 GHz). This feed line loss can be avoided by placing an LNA at the antenna, which supplies enough gain to offset the loss.

An LNA is a key component at the front-end of a radio receiver circuit to help reduce unwanted noise in particular. Friis' formulas for noise models the noise in a multi-stage signal collection circuit. In most receivers, the overall NF is dominated by the first few stages of the RF front end.

By using an LNA close to the signal source, the effect of noise from subsequent stages of the receive chain in the circuit is reduced by the signal gain created by the LNA, while the noise created by the LNA itself is injected directly into the received signal. The LNA boosts the desired signals' power while adding as little noise and distortion as possible. The work done by the LNA enables optimum retrieval of the desired signal in the later stages of the system.

Design considerations

Low noise amplifiers are the building blocks of communication systems and instruments. The most important LNA specifications or attributes are:[2]

  • Gain
  • Noise figure
  • Linearity
  • Maximum RF input

A good LNA has a low NF (e.g. 1 dB), enough gain to boost the signal (e.g. 10 dB) and a large enough inter-modulation and

voltage standing wave ratio
(VSWR).

For low noise, a high amplification is required for the amplifier in the first stage. Therefore, junction field-effect transistors

Gain-bandwidth product
).

Gain

Amplifiers need a device to provide gain. In the 1940s, that device was a

bipolar transistors or field-effect transistors. Other devices producing gain, such as tunnel diodes
, may be used.

Broadly speaking, two categories of transistor models are used in LNA design: Small-signal models use quasi-linear models of noise and large-signal models consider non-linear mixing.

The amount of gain applied is often a compromise. On the one hand, high gain makes weak signals strong. On the other hand, high gain means higher-level signals, and such high-level signals with high gain may exceed the amplifier's dynamic range or cause other types of noise such as harmonic distortion or nonlinear mixing.

Noise figure

The noise figure helps determine the efficiency of a particular LNA. LNA suitability for a particular application is typically based on its noise figure. In general, a low noise figure results in better signal reception.

Impedance

The circuit topology affects input and output impedance. In general, the source impedance is matched to the input impedance because that will maximize the power transfer from the source to the device. If the source impedance is low, then a

impedance match
may not produce the lowest noise figure.

Biasing

Another design issue is the noise introduced by biasing networks. In communication circuits, biasing networks play a critical role in establishing stable operating points for active components, but they also introduce noise. The primary types of noise introduced by these networks are thermal noise and flicker noise. Thermal noise arises from resistive elements in the network, which is inevitable as any resistive component generates noise due to the random motion of charge carriers. This type of noise is especially problematic at high frequencies. Flicker noise, also known as 1/f noise, is related to the current flow through devices like transistors and becomes more significant at lower frequencies.[3]

For instance, in low-noise amplifiers (LNA), the biasing network must be carefully designed to minimize the impact of noise on the overall performance. Improper biasing can lead to increased noise figures, compromising the signal-to-noise ratio and degrading communication system performance. The design and selection of components within the bias network are therefore crucial to ensuring low-noise operation, particularly in systems that rely on amplifying weak signals.[4]

In addition, matching networks and careful biasing techniques, such as using low-noise transistors and optimizing impedance matching, help mitigate the noise effects introduced by bias circuits

Applications

LNAs are used in communications receivers such as in

satellite communications
.

In a satellite communications system, the ground station receiving antenna uses an LNA because the received signal is weak since satellites have limited power and therefore use low-power transmitters. The satellites are also distant and suffer path loss: low Earth orbit satellites might be 120 miles (190 km) away; a geosynchronous satellite is 22,236 miles (35,785 km) away.

The LNA boosts the antenna signal to overcome

feed line
losses between the antenna and the receiver.

LNAs can enhance the performance of software-defined radio (SDR) receiver systems. SDRs are typically designed to be general purpose and therefore the noise figure is not optimized for any one particular application. With an LNA and appropriate filter, performance is improved over a range of frequencies.

See also

References

  1. ISBN 9780549667391
    .
  2. ^ "An Introduction to Low Noise Amplifier Specifications". Software-Defined Radio Simplified. January 11, 2020. Retrieved January 11, 2020.
  3. arXiv:1912.13029
    , retrieved September 16, 2024
  4. ISSN 2079-9292
    .

Further reading
Wikiversity has learning resources about Low Noise Amplifiers
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