Highly Robust 130nm SiGe BiCMOS Power Limiter, LNA and Mixer IC for a Wideband 1.5–18GHz MIMO Radar Receiver

This work presents a highly robust 1.5–18 GHz high dynamic range power limiter, low noise amplifier (LNA) and mixer IC. A novel power limiter design concept is introduced, which stands out for its low capacitive behavior. The circuit withstands input power levels up to 25 dBm while demonstrating a good noise matching up to 18 GHz. The design approach features a distributed fully differential LNA and a double balanced common base input mixer to enhance the linearity and the wideband performance. The active power limiter, LNA and mixer IC was fabricated on a 130 nm SiGe BiCMOS technology, it draws a total of 62 mA from a 3 V DC power supply and the active IC area is 0.65 mm².