A 2.8-W Q-Band High-Efficiency Power Amplifier

Author

Aust, Michael V. ; Sharma, Arvind K. ; Fordham, Owen ; Grundbacher, Ronald ; To, Richard ; Tsai, Roger S. ; Lai, Richard

Author_Institution

Northrop Grumman, Redondo Beach, CA

Volume

41

Issue

10

fYear

2006

Firstpage

2241

Lastpage

2247

Abstract

A highly efficient and high-power monolithic power amplifier operating at Q-band is presented utilizing 0.15-mum pseudomorphic InGaAs/GaAs HEMT production process on 2-mil-thick substrate. Over 42-46 GHz frequency range, the amplifier demonstrated maximum power of 2.8 W (34.5 dBm) and power-added efficiency (PAE) of 23% to 26% when operated at 5 V and 250 mA/mm. The amplifier attained maximum PAE of 24% to 29% and power of 33.6-34 dBm when biased at 5 V and 125 mA/mm. At these power levels and PAEs, the amplifier exhibited power densities in excess of 430 mW/mm. With device periphery ratio of 1:2.857, effective phase compensation of the input feed network, and low-loss output-combining network, the power amplifier has been able to attain state-of-the-art efficiency and power performance

Keywords

HEMT integrated circuits; III-V semiconductors; MIMIC; gallium arsenide; indium compounds; millimetre wave power amplifiers; 0.15 micron; 2.8 W; 42 to 46 GHz; 5 V; InGaAs-GaAs; MMIC power amplifier; MODFET; millimeter wave amplifier; monolithic power amplifier; phase compensation; pseudomorphic HEMT; Frequency; HEMTs; High power amplifiers; MMICs; Millimeter wave communication; Millimeter wave technology; Millimeter wave transistors; PHEMTs; Power amplifiers; Power generation; HEMT; MMIC power amplifier; MODFET; millimeter wave amplifier; power combining;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Solid-State Circuits, IEEE Journal of

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0018-9200

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/JSSC.2006.878102

Filename

1703678