Book excerpt: This book is based on recent research work conducted by the authors dealing with the design and development of active and passive microwave components, integrated circuits and systems. It is divided into seven parts. In the first part comprising the first two chapters, alternative concepts and equations for multiport network analysis and characterization are provided. A thru-only de-embedding technique for accurate on-wafer characterization is introduced. The second part of the book corresponds to the analysis and design of ultra-wideband low- noise amplifiers (LNA).