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Volume 13 | Issue 1 | Year 2026 | Article Id. IJEEE-V13I1P109 | DOI : 10.14445/23488379/IJEEE-V13I1P109

Enhancing Ultra-Wideband Breast Imaging: A Low Noise Amplifier with Minimized Group Delay Variation

Nuha A. Rhaffor, Rohana Sapawi, Sofiyah Sal Hamid, Selvakumar Mariappan

Citation :

Nuha A. Rhaffor, Rohana Sapawi, Sofiyah Sal Hamid, Selvakumar Mariappan, "Enhancing Ultra-Wideband Breast Imaging: A Low Noise Amplifier with Minimized Group Delay Variation," International Journal of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, vol. 13, no. 1, pp. 95-102, 2026. Crossref, 10.14445/23488379/IJEEE-V13I1P109

Abstract

This research presents a 180 nm CMOS technology ultra-wideband low-noise amplifier with low group delay variation for breast imaging applications. The proposed design employs a hybrid LNA configuration that integrates a cascoded architecture with inductive source degeneration and an inductive peaking structure functioning within the frequency range of 3.1 to 10.6 GHz. The measurement results demonstrate a maximum gain, S21, of 13.6 dB; an input reflection coefficient, S11, of less than –10 dB; and a reverse isolation, S12, of less than –33.5 dB at the measurement stage. It achieves an excellent group delay of 117.6 ±24.8 ps, an input 1-dB compression point of -12 dBm, an input third-order intercept point of 2 dBm, and a minimum noise figure of 5.2 dB. Furthermore, this research identifies three inductors as the dominant factor contributing to low group delay variation through simulation and theoretical analysis.

Keywords

Breast cancer, Group delay variation, Low noise amplifier, Microwave breast imaging, UWB.

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