Design of a High-Gain, Low-Noise CMOS LNA for Compact Front-End Ground Penetrating Radar Systems
Received: 5 August 2025 | Revised: 26 August 2025, 8 September 2025, and 11 September 2025 | Accepted: 13 September 2025 | Online: 30 October 2025
Corresponding author: M. Asharani
Abstract
This paper presents the design and simulation of a high-performance cascoded common-source degenerated Low-Noise Amplifier (LNA) using standard 180-nm CMOS technology and the Cadence Virtuoso platform. The proposed LNA provides excellent Radio Frequency (RF) performance while maintaining low power consumption and a compact layout, making it ideal for integration into portable Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) systems. The amplifier has an input return loss of –20 dB across the ultra-wideband frequency range, ensuring effective impedance matching, while delivering a high peak gain of 28.5 dB and exhibiting a low minimum Noise Figure (NF) of 0.666 dB. This improves the signal sensitivity and overall system performance. The linearity metrics include a 1-dB compression point (P1 dB) of –18 dBm and a third-order intercept point (IIP3) of –17 dBm, indicating a good dynamic range for wideband applications. The circuit operates at 1.5 V power supply with a total power consumption of only 1.67 mW. The combination of low noise, high gain, and low power consumption makes the proposed LNA ideal for modern UWB receiver front ends in radar and communication systems.
Keywords:
common source topology, Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR), gain, Low Noise Amplifier (LNA), noise figure, RF front endDownloads
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