New results using membrane-supported circuits: a Ka-band power amplifier and survivability testing

Author

Weller, T.M. ; Katehi, L.P.B. ; Herman, M.I. ; Wamhof, P.D. ; Lee, K. ; Kolawa, E.A. ; Tai, B.H.

Author_Institution

Microwave & Wireless Lab., Univ. of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA

Volume

44

Issue

9

fYear

1996

fDate

9/1/1996 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

1603

Lastpage

1606

Abstract

This paper describes recent results which pertain to the integration and reliability testing of micromachined, membrane-supported transmission line circuits. These circuits employ a 1.4-μm-thick dielectric membrane to support thin-film conducting lines above an air substrate. With regard to integration, the development of a Ka-band solid state power amplifier (SSPA) is presented. The design includes a membrane-supported Wilkinson power divider/combiner with 0.2 dB loss, along with a commercially available monolithic microwave/millimeter wave integrated circuit (MMIC) amplifier stage. Also reported are tests which investigated the survivability of membrane lines under space qualification conditions. No failures occurred as a result of thermal cycling and vibration testing at levels which reached 39.6 grms

Keywords

MIMIC; MMIC power amplifiers; integrated circuit reliability; membranes; micromachining; microstrip circuits; millimetre wave devices; power combiners; power dividers; 0.2 dB; 1.4 micron; Ka-band power amplifier; MIMIC; MMIC amplifier stage; SSPA; Wilkinson power divider/combiner; air substrate; dielectric membrane; membrane-supported circuits; micromachined transmission line circuits; reliability testing; solid state power amplifier; space qualification conditions; survivability testing; thermal cycling; thin-film conducting lines; vibration testing; Biomembranes; Circuit testing; Dielectric substrates; Dielectric thin films; Distributed parameter circuits; Integrated circuit reliability; MMICs; Power amplifiers; Solid state circuits; Thin film circuits;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Microwave Theory and Techniques, IEEE Transactions on

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0018-9480

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/22.536614

Filename

536614