On the Coupling Imbalance of the UWB BLC in the 5G Low Noise Amplifier Design

Authors

  • Tamer G. Abouelnaga 1)Microstrip Circuits Department, Electronics Research Institute ERI, Cairo, Egypt 2)College of Industry and Energy Technology, New Cairo Technological University (NCTU)
  • Esmat A. Abdallah Microstrip Circuits Department, Electronics Research Institute ERI, Cairo, Egypt

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.13052/2022.ACES.J.370908

Keywords:

Branch-line coupler, balanced LNA amplifier, imbalance coupling, UWB

Abstract

In this article, the design and the development of ultra-wideband UWB branch-line couplers BLCs with a novel method to control the coupling imbalance are proposed. The proposed UWB BLC is suitable for the 5G low-noise amplifier (LNA) design. UWB 4-branch BLC is designed using design curves developed using even and odd mode analyses to cover the 5G (3.3-5 GHz) frequency bands. The vertical branches of the UWB BLC are replaced by modified ones, and their effect on the coupling imbalance is investigated. The proposed BLC occupies an area of 33.9 × 15.7 mm2 Both conventional and modified BLC are fabricated, and their measured S-parameters are compared with analytical and simulated models. Based on the balanced amplifier topology, a 5G UWB low-noise amplifier is designed. The proposed BLCs and the MGF3022AM InGaP-HBT (Heterojunction Bipolar Transistor) are used to produce acceptable UWB performance. The balanced amplifier return loss, noise figure, and gain are investigated as BLCs coupling imbalance varies. The ultra-wideband LNA exhibits an acceptable small-signal gain, noise figure, input return loss, and output return loss across the 5G different frequency bands.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biographies

Tamer G. Abouelnaga, 1)Microstrip Circuits Department, Electronics Research Institute ERI, Cairo, Egypt 2)College of Industry and Energy Technology, New Cairo Technological University (NCTU)

Tamer Gaber Abouelnaga was born November 1976. He received his B.Sc. degree (1994–1999, honors degree) in Electronics Engineering from Menofiya University, Egypt, and M.Sc. (2002–2007) and Ph.D. degrees (2007–2012) in Electronics and Communications from Ain Shams University, Egypt. He works at Microstrip Circuits Department, Electronics Research Institute, Egypt as a Researcher (2012–2017) and an Associate Professor (2018 to present). He also has worked as the Students Affairs Vice Dean (2018–2019) and the Community Service, Environmental Development Vice Dean (2019–2022) – Higher Institute of Engineering and Technology – Kafr Elsheikh City, as well as the Students Affairs Vice Dean (2022–2023) – College of Industry and Energy Technology, New Cairo Technological University (NCTU), Egypt. He has published 42 papers, 29 papers in peer-reviewed journals, and 13 papers in international conferences regarding antennas, couplers, filters, and dividers for different microwave applications.

Esmat A. Abdallah, Microstrip Circuits Department, Electronics Research Institute ERI, Cairo, Egypt

Esmat A. Abdallah (Senior Member, IEEE) graduated from the Faculty of Engineering, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt in 1968. She received her M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees from Cairo University in 1972 and 1975, respectively. She was nominated as an Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, and Professor in 1975, 1980, and 1985, respectively. In 1989, she was appointed President of the Electronics Research Institute (ERI), Cairo, Egypt, a position she held for approximately 10 years. She then became the Head of the Microstrip Department, ERI, from 1999 to 2006. Currently, she is at the Microstrip Department, Electronics Research Institute, Cairo, Egypt. She focuses on her research on microwave circuit designs, planar antenna systems, and nonreciprocal ferrite devices, and recently on EBG structures, UWB components, and antenna and RFID systems. She has been a single author or co-author on more than 285 research papers in highly cited international journals and proceedings of international conferences. She has 6 books and 7 patents. She supervised more than 85 Ph.D. and M.Sc. theses. She is a member of the National Council of Communication and Information Technology.

References

T. G. Abouelnaga, I. Zewail, and M. Shokair, “Design of 10 ×10 massive MIMO array in sub-6 GHz smartphone for 5G applications,” Progress in Electromagnetics Research B, Vol. 91, 2021, pp. 97–114.

I. Al-Mejibli and S. Al-Majeed, “Challenges of using MIMO channel technology in 5G wireless communication systems,” IEEE Majan International Conference (MIC), pp. 1-5, 2018.

W. Tang, K. Shaoli, Z. Jinlong, Z. Yinpu, Z. Xiurong, and Z. Zhenyu, “Design of MIMO‐PDMA in 5G mobile communication system,” IET Communications, Vol. 14, n.1, 2020, pp. 76-83.

A. Biswas, and G. Vibha, “Design, and development of low-profile MIMO antenna for 5G new radio smartphone applications,” Wireless Personal Communications, Vol. 111, n. 3, 2020, pp. 1695-1706.

5G NR specifications, document TS 38.101-1 V15.4.0 3GPP Release 15, (2018).

R. S. Kshetrimayum, “An Introduction to UWB Communication Systems,” IEEE Potentials, Vol. 28,2009, pp. 9-13.

D. K. Misra, Radio Frequency and Microwave Communication Circuits; Analysis and Design, John Wiley & Sons, 2004.

C. Y. Pon, “Hybrid-ring directional coupler for arbitrary power division,” IEEE Trans. Microw. Theory Tech., vol. 19, no. 11, pp. 529–535, Nov. 1961.

R. Levy and L. J. Lind, “Synthesis of symmetric branch line guide directional couplers,” IEEE Trans. Microw. Theory Tech., vol. 16, no. 12, pp. 80–89, Dec. 1968.

G. L. Matthaei, L. Young, and E. M. T. Jones, Microwave Filters, Impedance-Matching Network, and Coupling Structures, Norwood, MA: Artech House, 1980.

A. K. Agrawal and G. F. Mikucki, “A printed-circuit hybrid-ring directional coupler for arbitrary power divisions,” IEEE Trans. Microw. Theory Tech., vol. 34, no. 12, pp. 1401–1407, Dec. 1986.

C. Hsu, J. Kuo, and C. Chang, “Miniaturized Dual-Band Hybrid Couplers with Arbitrary Power Division Ratios,” IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques, vol. 57, no. 1, pp. 149-156, Jan. 2009.

Z. Qamar, S. Y. Zheng, W. S. Chan, and D. Ho, “Coupling Coefficient Reconfigurable Wideband Branch-Line Coupler Topology with Harmonic Suppression,” IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques, vol. 66, no. 4, pp. 1912-1920, April 2018.

S. Lee and Y. Lee, “Wideband Branch-Line Couplers with Single-Section Quarter-Wave Transformers for Arbitrary Coupling Levels,” IEEE Microwave and Wireless Components Letters, vol. 22, no. 1, pp. 19-21, Jan. 2012.

S. Y. Zheng, J. H. Deng, Y. M. Pan, and W. S. Chan, “Circular Sector Patch Hybrid Coupler with an Arbitrary Coupling Coefficient and Phase Difference,” IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques, vol. 61, no. 5, pp. 1781-1792, May 2013.

K. A. Alshamaileh, V. K. Devabhaktuni and N. I. Dib, “Impedance-Varying Broadband 90° Branch-Line Coupler with Arbitrary Coupling Levels and Higher Order Harmonic Suppression,” IEEE Transactions on Components, Packaging and Manufacturing Technology, vol. 5, no. 10, pp. 1507-1515, Oct. 2015.

L. Chiu and Q. Xue, “Investigation of a Wideband 90-degree Hybrid Coupler with an Arbitrary Coupling Level,” IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques, vol. 58, no. 4, pp. 1022-1029, April 2010.

Q. Zeeshan, S. Y. Zheng, W. S. Chan, and H. Derek, “Coupling coefficient range extension technique for broadband branch-line coupler, “Journal of Electromagnetic Waves and applications, vol. 32, no. 1, pp. 92-112, 2018.

T. G Abouelnaga and A.S Mohra, “Reconfigurable 3/6 dB novel branch line coupler,” Open Journal of Antennas and Propagation, vol. 5, n. 1, pp. 1-7, 2017.

M. Pozar, Microwave Engineering, John Wiley & sons, 2011.

M. Muraguchi, T. Yukitake, and Y. Naito,” Optimum Design of 3-dB branch-line Couplers Using Microstrip Lines,” IEEE Trans. Microw. Theory Tech., vol. 31, no. 8, pp.674-678, Aug. 1983.

W. Yongle, J. Shen, and Y. Liu, Comments on ‘Quasi-Arbitrary Phase-Difference Hybrid Coupler’, IEEE Trans. Microw. Theory Tech., vol. 61, no. 4, pp. 1725-1727, April 2013.

Downloads

Published

2023-02-10

How to Cite

[1]
T. G. . Abouelnaga and E. A. . Abdallah, “On the Coupling Imbalance of the UWB BLC in the 5G Low Noise Amplifier Design”, ACES Journal, vol. 37, no. 09, pp. 986–995, Feb. 2023.

Issue

2022: Vol 37 Iss 9

Section

Articles

Categories