Computer-aided synthesis of matching networks for multi-stage broadband microwave amplifiers

Design of amplifier matching networks typically involve graphical or numerical methods which are tedious and time-consuming. We report here a technique to synthesize broadband matching networks using a commercially available mathematical package which speeds up the synthesis process. The package developed in this study offers an additional capability of producing inter-stage networks with prescribed gain-frequency slopes. This feature compensates for the transistor roll-off thus giving an amplifier with a flat broadband response. A broadband microwave amplifier design is presented in this paper to illustrate the capability of the package, and the amplifier which result was then simulated on a commercially available microwave design package for comparison.