Design of a complementary silicon-germanium variable gain amplifier

This thesis presents an overview of the simulation, design, and measurement of state-of-the-art Silicon-Germanium Heterojunction Bipolar Transistor (SiGe HBT) variable gain amplifier (VGA). The VGA design trade-off space is presented and methods for achieving an optimized design are discussed. We demonstrate in this thesis that SiGe HBT VGA has the capability to meet the demanding needs for the next generation wireless systems.M.S.Committee Chair: John D. Cressler; Committee Member: Joy Laskar; Committee Member: Kevin Kornega