GaN MMIC High Power Amplifiers for K-Band Satellite Payload

Abstract

This contribution presents the activities carried out towards the realization of a high-power solid state power amplifier, based on Gallium Nitride (GaN) technology, targeting more than 125W of output power in the frequency range 17.320.2 GHz, conceived for the next generation K-band Very High Throughput Satellites (vHTS). For this purpose, specific Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuits (MMICs) Power Amplifiers (PAs) were developed on a commercially available 100 nm gate length GaN on Silicon (GaN-Si) process (OMMIC process D01GH). The design was carried out considering space reliability constraints on electrical parameters and accounting for the spacecraft temperature limits, which are extremely challenging for this technology, to keep the junction temperature of all devices below $160^{\circ}\mathrm{C}$ in the worst-case condition (i.e., maximum environmental temperature of $85^{\circ}\mathrm{C})$. The final MMIC, based on a three-stage architecture, demonstrates on wafer and in pulsed condition to achieve a minimum output power and power added efficiency (PAE) of 10W (40dBm) and 35% (with a peak of 45%) in the full Ka-band satellite downlink, i.e., from 17.3 GHz to 20.2 GHz. The packaged version demonstrates in continuous wave (CW) conditions an output power larger than 39.5dBm with a PAE better than 30%. Moreover, long-term (24h) CW test at saturated output power has shown almost negligible performance degradation, thus providing confidence in the robustness of the selected GaN-Si technology.