A 2-W W-Band GaN Traveling-Wave Amplifier With 25-GHz Bandwidth

A high-power gallium-nitride (GaN) monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) operating over the 75-100-GHz band is reported. Using an on-chip traveling-wave power-combining network, it achieves a continuous wave output power level of 34 dBm (2.5 W) ±1 dB over the 75-100-GHz bandwidth and a peak power of 3 W at 84 GHz. Operating in a pulsed mode (10% duty), the MMIC chip produces a peak power of 3.6 W at 83 GHz. This work establishes new levels of performance for GaN MMICs at these frequencies. In comparison to the previous work, these results represent improvements in output power, bandwidth, and gain/power flatness with frequency across the full 75-100-GHz band. This paper also presents design details on the combining network and the MMIC not previously reported.