RF & Microwave Amplifiers

Dealing with RF signals in their physical circuits is always a challenge. The high-frequency signals, which are at low voltage levels, quickly accumulate added noise from many other sources. They are easily overloaded. Using a RF amplifier boosts and modifies the signals.

The RF amplifier term actually encompasses a wide array of amplifier functions across the RF spectrum, from a few MHz into the multi-GHz range.

• Though the RF amplifier does not change the shape of the signal nor perform any analog signal processing, it still has vital and different roles at each stage of the signal chain.
• A RF amplifier essentially is a tuned amplifier that enables the input signal of broadcast or transmitted information to control an output signal.
• The RF amplifier uses frequency-determining networks to convert the input signal into an output signal, providing the required response at a given frequency.

The main characteristics of an RF amplifier are linearity, efficiency, output power, and signal gain. However, RF amplifiers are categorized according to their usage.

• A typical RF amplifier application is the amplification of the signal received from an antenna before it is missed with a local oscillator signal in the first detector of a radio receiver.
• The amplifier that follows the first detector is a special type of RF amplifier known as an intermediate-frequency amplifier.

RF Amplifiers have a wide range of applications. Whenever people need to magnify a radio frequency signal into a higher power signal, the RF amplifier plays a pivotal role. They are used in commercial and defense avionics, space and deep space, electronic warfare, naval applications, mobile internet, satellite communication, and wireless communications. Low phase noise is a part of an amplifier design.

Low-Noise Amplifiers (LNAs) – RF amplifiers primarily used in communication systems to amplify weak signals captured by an antenna.

Broadband Amplifiers – RF amplifiers with a flat response over a wide range of frequencies.

RF Power Amplifiers – RF amplifiers that convert a low-power radio frequency signal into a larger signal for driving the antenna of a transmitter. They are used in a wide variety of applications, including wireless communication, TV Transmissions, Radar, and RF heating.

Solid-State Microwave Amplifiers – RF amplifiers for applications where extensive bandwidth and high gain are necessary.

RF & Microwave Amplifiers – Amplifier used for high-power amplification at low microwave frequencies.