MACOM Technology Solutions Holdings, Inc.
DISTRIBUTED DARLINGTON PAIR AMPLIFIER

Abstract:

Aspects of a distributed Darlington pair amplifier are described. In one example, a distributed amplifier device includes a number of distributed amplifier cells. The distributed amplifier cells can each include an input coupled to an input line and an output coupled to an output line. The amplifier device also includes a radio frequency input coupled to the input line and a radio frequency output coupled to the output line. One or more of the distributed amplifier cells can include a Darlington transistor pair rather than a common source transistor. The Darlington transistor pair can have a smaller gate-source capacitance than the common source transistor. This results in the ability to omit a series capacitor used with the common source transistor, improving the noise figure and gain over a range of operating frequencies for the distributed Darlington pair amplifier.