Design of W-Band GaN-on-Silicon Power Amplifier Using Low Impedance Lines
- 주제(키워드) 도움말 HEMT , GaN-on-Si , IC , millimeter-wave , power amplifier , W-band
- 발행기관 MDPI
- 발행년도 2021
- 총서유형 Journal
- 본문언어 영어
초록/요약 도움말
In this paper, a high-power amplifier integrated circuit (IC) in gallium-nitride (GaN) on silicon (Si) technology is presented at a W-band (75-110 GHz). In order to mitigate the losses caused by relatively high loss tangent of Si substrate compared to silicon carbide (SiC), low-impedance microstrip lines (20-30 omega) are adopted in the impedance matching networks. They allow for the impedance transformation between 50 omega and very low impedances of the wide-gate transistors used for high power generation. Each stage is matched to produce enough power to drive the next stage. A Lange coupler is employed to combine two three-stage common source amplifiers, providing high output power and good input/output return loss. The designed power amplifier IC was fabricated in the commercially available 60 nm GaN-on-Si high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) foundry. From on-wafer probe measurements, it exhibits the output power higher than 26.5 dBm and power added efficiency (PAE) higher than 8.5% from 88 to 93 GHz with a large-signal gain > 10.5 dB. Peak output power is measured to be 28.9 dBm with a PAE of 13.3% and a gain of 9.9 dB at 90 GHz, which corresponds to the power density of 1.94 W/mm. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this result belongs to the highest output power and power density among the reported power amplifier ICs in GaN-on-Si HEMT technologies operating at the W-band.
more