Wideband MMIC Research Articles

A Linear and Wideband GaN MMIC Distributed Efficient Power Amplifier Design Using Unequal Power Splitting and Bandpass Unit Network

A Linear and Wideband GaN MMIC Distributed Efficient Power Amplifier Design Using Unequal Power Splitting and Bandpass Unit Network

3–20-GHz GaN MMIC Power Amplifier Design Through a COUT Compensation Strategy

This letter presents the design approach for a compact, single-stage, wideband MMIC power amplifier. A method is proposed to compensate for the output capacitance of the active device over a frequency range as wide as possible, with minimum impact on the achievable output power, which leads to a two-element compensating network. A three-section transformer is then adopted for a real-to-real transformation. The CW characterization shows the output power higher than 32 dBm and the drain efficiency between 35% and 45%, over a fractional bandwidth of 148%, from 3 to 20 GHz.

(Invited) Critical Recent Advancement of GaN Technology and MMICs for Millimeter-Wave Applications

In this paper, we will present the in-development of Qorvo’s 90nm GaN technology imbedded within Qorvo’s existing 3-Metal-Interconnect (3MI) MMIC process flow, to make active and passive devices fully compatible with state-of-the-art GaN MMIC process, for V- and W-band MMIC High Power Amplifier (HPA) applications. By applying an advanced epitaxial material structure, dedicated T-gate configuration and process refinement, as well as 50-mm SiC substrate with Individual Source Via (ISV) FET construction, this technology demonstrates GaN FET devices with >145GHz Ft and >850mS/mm Gm, enables circuit designers to utilize this technology to pursue millimeter-wave market opportunities. Using this technology, a Technology characterization vehicle (TCV) MMICs using 5-stage 85GHz GaN power amplifiers have been demonstrated through circuit design, fabrication and measurements. This MMIC achieves greater than 38 dB small signal gain at 85GHz (8dB small signal gain per stage), and greater than 30 dB small signal gain over 72 – 90 GHz bandwidth. Further test results for both FET device and MMIC, including DC, small signal and power characteristics, will be reported in conference. This emerging GaN on SiC transistor technology is well suited for next generation millimeter-wave HPA, wideband and multi-function MMIC applications and beyond. This work was funded by ONR (Program Manager: Dr. Paul A. Maki, ONR N00014-13-C-0071). Figure 1

A 77–100 GHz power amplifier using 0.1-μm GaAs PHEMT technology

A wideband MMIC power amplifier at W-band is reported in this letter. The four-stage MMIC, developed using 0.1 μm GaAs pseudomorphic HEMT (PHEMT) technology, demonstrated a flat small signal gain of 12.4 ± 2 dB with a minimum saturated output power (Psat) of 14.2 dBm from 77 to 100 GHz. The typical Psat is better by 16.3 dBm with a flatness of 0.4 dB and the maximum power added efficiency is 6% between 77 and 92 GHz. This result shows that the amplifier delivers output power density of about 470 mW/mm with a total gate output periphery of 100 μm. As far as we know, it is nearly the best power density performance ever published from a single ended GaAs-based PHEMT MMIC at this frequency band.

An 85–120 GHz high-gain and wide-band InP MMIC amplifier

An 85–120 GHz high-gain and wide-band InP MMIC amplifier

A novel wideband MMIC voltage controlled attenuator with a bandpass filter topology

The theory, analysis, and systematic design guidelines for a novel wideband monolithic bandpass pi-network voltage controlled attenuator (VCA) are presented. A 24-32-GHz VCA was designed and manufactured using 0.15-mum GaAs pseudomorphic high electron-mobility transistor (pHEMT) technology. This is the first reported VCA to use a bandpass filter topology to achieve the required operating frequency band and eliminate the effects of parasitic capacitances of the pHEMTs. The bandpass filter absorbs the parasitic capacitances and thereby eliminates their detrimental effects. The measured attenuation dynamic range is 12 dB plusmn 0.5 dB with minimum insertion loss of 2-3 dB. The input power handling capability is up to 0 dBm. The VCA is well matched and may be placed in a 50-Omega system

40-Gb/s wide-band MMIC pHEMT modulator driver amplifiers designed with the real frequency technique

With the use GaAs pseudomorphic high electron-mobility transistor technology, the bandwidth performances of Cherry-Hooper driver amplifiers need to be improved. To fulfill these requirements, we propose an original driver circuit topology dedicated to 40-Gb/s optical communication systems. To flatten the transducer gain response of the circuit, passive networks have been added in the design. These networks have been optimized by means of the real frequency technique (RFT). A modified procedure of the classical RFT is introduced to perform the optimization in the presence of an overall resistive feedback.

A 78-114 GHz monolithic subharmonically pumped GaAs-based HEMT diode mixer

A W-band subharmonically pumped (SHP) diode mixer is designed for fixed LO frequency operation. It is fabricated on a 4-mil substrate using 0.15 /spl mu/m GaAs PHEMT MMIC process. The on-wafer measurement results show that the conversion loss is about 10 to 14 dB across the W band, as a 10 dBm 48 GHz LO signal is pumped. To our knowledge, this is the state-of-the-art result on low-conversion-loss wideband MMIC SHP diode mixer. The packaged module measurement shows a similar result. Both the simulation and measurement results are shown to be in good agreement.

A cryogenically-cooled wide-band HEMT MMIC low-noise amplifier

A balanced single-stage wideband HEMT MMIC low-noise amplifier (LNA) was designed, fabricated, cooled to a temperature of 19 K, and evaluated from 8-18 GHz. The MMIC LNA performed without damage at all test temperatures. The amplifier gain flatness over the 8-18-GHz frequency band was maintained at both room and cryogenic temperature, indicating that the broadband design topology is relatively insensitive to operation temperature. Gain increased an average of 2 dB, while the noise temperature exhibited as much as an eightfold reduction from 160 K to 20 K at 19 K operation temperature. This is the first result on performance of a cryogenically cooled HEMT MMIC LNA. >