Abstract
This paper presents an X-band 40 W power amplifier with high efficiency based on 0.25 μm GaN HEMT (High Electron Mobility Transistor) on SiC process. An equivalent RC (Resistance Capacitance) model is presented to provide accurate large-signal output impedances of GaN HEMTs with arbitrary dimensions. By introducing the band-pass filter topology, broadband impedance matching networks are achieved based on the RC model, and the power amplifier MMIC (Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuit) with enhanced bandwidth is realized. The measurement results show that this power amplifier at 28 V operation voltage achieved over 40 W output power, 44.7% power-added efficiency and 22 dB power gain from 8 GHz to 12 GHz. The total chip size is 3.20 mm × 3.45 mm.
Highlights
Broadband power amplifiers with high efficiency are key components employed widely in modern electric systems such as phased array radar and high-power electronic warfare systems [1,2,3]
The accuracy of the GaN HEMT model is especially important for broadband power amplifier designs
The output impedance of the GaN HEMT is one of the key parameters that decide the quality of the broadband matching and bandwidth enhancement
Summary
Broadband power amplifiers with high efficiency are key components employed widely in modern electric systems such as phased array radar and high-power electronic warfare systems [1,2,3]. The accuracy of the GaN HEMT model is especially important for broadband power amplifier designs. The output impedance of the GaN HEMT is one of the key parameters that decide the quality of the broadband matching and bandwidth enhancement. To obtain accurate large-signal models for GaN, HEMTs are always big problems especially in board level designs with discrete transistors [4,5,6]. An 8–12 GHz broadband power amplifier manufactured using 0.25 μm GaN HEMT on SiC process is designed based on the RC model. The design of broadband impedance matching networks of the power amplifier is described in detail. Based on the RC model, accurate output impedances of GaN HEMTs with arbitrary dimensions can be achieved by scaling up gate periphery. Show that the proposed power amplifier achieved excellent performance with more than 40 W output power and 44.7% power-added efficiency over a bandwidth from 8 GHz to 12 GHz
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