Patent ID: 8451059

Claim:
A distributed amplifier (DA) comprising: a plurality of amplifier segments, such that each of the plurality of amplifier segments has an input gate and an output drain; a first plurality of inductive elements coupled in series between a DA input and a first output to form a first plurality of connection nodes, such that each of the first plurality of connection nodes is coupled to a corresponding adjacent pair of the first plurality of inductive elements; an input network, such that each of the first plurality of connection nodes is associated with a corresponding input gate of the plurality of amplifier segments; and a second plurality of inductive elements coupled in series between a first input and a DA output to form a second plurality of connection nodes, such that each of the second plurality of connection nodes is coupled to a corresponding adjacent pair of the second plurality of inductive elements and to a corresponding output drain of the plurality of amplifier segments, wherein respective ones of the first plurality of connection nodes are directly connected only to corresponding ones of the first plurality of inductive elements and the input network and respective ones of the second plurality of connection nodes are directly connected only to corresponding ones of the second plurality of inductive elements and the corresponding output drain; wherein the DA input is adapted to receive a first input signal and the DA output is adapted to provide a first output signal based on amplifying the first input signal; wherein the DA is a non-uniformly distributed amplifier (NDA), such that an inductance of each of the second plurality of inductive elements decreases moving from the first input to the DA output to compensate for decreasing impedance along the second plurality of inductive elements; and wherein the input network comprises a plurality of capacitive elements associated with corresponding connection nodes and a capacitance of each of the plurality of capacitive elements decreases moving from the DA input to the first output to compensate for varying phase velocity along the second plurality of inductive elements.