Wideband 1 to 6 GHz Ten and Twenty Watt Balanced GaN HEMT Power Amplifier MMICs

Design and performance of power amplifiers that have established benchmarks for 1 to 6 GHz power are reported. The 6 mm periphery balanced amplifier achieved a P3dB of 14.5 Watts max, 11.1 Watts average, 8.2 Watts min with 46.1 % max, 31.8 % average, 18.1 % min PAE and 9.6 dB max, 8.5 dB average, 7.5 dB min power gain from 1 to 6 GHz. The 8 mm periphery balanced amplifier achieved a P5dB of 26.7 Watts max, 20.6 Watts average, 13.9 Watts min with 44.4 % max, 30.8 % average, 17.8 % min PAE and 10.6 dB max, 10 dB average, 8.4 dB min power gain from 1 to 7 GHz. This output power, bandwidth, and efficiency is superior to the best previously reported results for both GaN HEMT and PHEMT power amplifiers [1, 2, 3].