CW502 Low Noise Amplifier

The LNA provides a simple amplifier for connecting equipment such as the H-Probe to the ChipWhisperer, or other devices such as oscilloscopes and spectrum analyzers. As the inputs are AC-coupled, it can also be used to amplify the signal from a resistive shunt for connection to a regular oscilloscope.

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Power

The LNA requires a power supply of between 3.0 - 3.6V. This is supplied by the CW503 Probe Power Supply box, although you can also use a lab power supply or other source.

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Typical Performance

The LNA is based on the BGA2801 device from NXP. See details in the BGA 2801 Datasheet. But a summary of important specifications are:

• 20 dB gain up to 2GHz.

• Typical 4 dB NF.

• 2 dBm maximum power output at 1 dB compression point.

The following shows an example of S21 and S11 parameters for the LNA:

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Schematic