Amplifier Boosts LTE Base Stations

Sept. 12, 2012

Model PHA-1+ is a broadband GaAs MMIC amplifier from Mini-Circuits that is versatile for a number of different wireless applications.

Jack Browne

Model PHA-1+ is a broadband GaAs MMIC amplifier from Mini-Circuits that is versatile for a number of different wireless applications. In fact, the firm’s free technical note AN-60-041 describes the use of the PHA-1+ amplifier for Long-Term-Evolution (LTE) cellular base-station applications, while technical note AN-60-042 instructs on the assembly of a test fixture for evaluating the PHA-1+ MMIC amplifier for TD-SCDMA base-station applications.

The robust amplifier is supplied in an SOT-89 package. The E-PHEMT amplifier is usable from 10 MHz to 6 GHz and draws only 150 mA from a +5-VDC supply. It provides +22 dBm output power at 1-dB compression at 2 GHz, with 13.5-dB gain at 2 GHz, and only 2.3-dB noise figure at 4 GHz. The amplifier boasts +42-dBm third-order intercept (IP3) at 2 GHz.

About the Author

Jack Browne | Technical Contributor

Jack Browne, Technical Contributor, has worked in technical publishing for over 30 years. He managed the content and production of three technical journals while at the American Institute of Physics, including Medical Physics and the Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology. He has been a Publisher and Editor for Penton Media, started the firm’s Wireless Symposium & Exhibition trade show in 1993, and currently serves as Technical Contributor for that company's Microwaves & RF magazine. Browne, who holds a BS in Mathematics from City College of New York and BA degrees in English and Philosophy from Fordham University, is a member of the IEEE.