GaN Takes the Lead

Gallium nitride (GaN) technology is transforming RF monolithic microwave integrated circuits (MMICs) for power amplifiers (PAs), switches, low noise amplifiers, and more. Vendors are now producing GaN MMICs in volume and achieving outstanding performance. GaNs characteristics enable PA MMICs with 35 times the output power of GaAs alternatives or much smaller die sizes from L-band through Ka-band. High-power switches with low insertion loss up through 18 GHz have been developed. Low-noise amplifiers have been demonstrated with noise figures equivalent to gallium arsenide (GaAs) but with much higher input power survivability. The market for GaN RF MMICs spans commercial and military applications, including base station, cable television infrastructure, communications, radar and electronic warfare (EW), among others.