M. Biedenbender

Highpower 0.15-mm V-band pseudomorphic InGaAs-AlGaAs-GaAs HEMT

The DC and RF power performance of double heterostructure pseudomorphic InGaAs-AlGaAs-GaAs HEMTs at V-band is reported. A 0.15-mm*400-mm device has demonstrated output power of 225 mW (0.55 W/mm) with 4.5-dB power gain and 25.4% power-added efficiency (PAE) at 60 GHz. A 0.15-mm*320-mm device demonstrated 31.1% PAE with 170-mW (0.53 W/mm) output power and 5.3-dB power gain. These data represent the highest reported combination of output power, power gain and power-added efficiency for a single device at V-band.<<ETX>>

A Ka-band HEMT MMIC 1 watt power amplifier

A 34-36-GHz, 1-W, 9-dB-gain monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) power amplifier which utilizes 0.15- mu m pseudomorphic InGaAs-GaAs high-electron-mobility transistor (HEMT) process technology is discussed. Power amplifier sites across the wafer were fully characterized with an on-wafer pulsed large-signal S-parameter test set. Test results from these amplifier chips showed output powers >30 dBm, with >9-dB gain, and power-added efficiencies >20%. Overall chip size is 4.8 mm*2.3 mm. A two-stage power amplifier module using one chip to drive three chips has been developed. The resulting amplifier module has achieved 3-W output power and 17-dB gain from 34-36 GHz.<<ETX>>

A low phase-error 44-GHz HEMT attenuator

Radio frequency (RF) subsystems for emerging millimeter-wave applications require monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) attenuators with constant phase over the attenuation range. In this work, we present the results for a 44 GHz stepped attenuator implemented in high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) MMIC technology. Use of a switched-path topology provides a high attenuation range (>30 dB) with good phase flatness ( 14.5 dB) over the attenuation range. The same design topology should be well suited for other frequencies throughout the upper microwave and lower millimeter-wave range.

A novel W-band monolithic push-pull power amplifier

Monolithic W-band push-pull power amplifiers have been developed using 0.1-/spl mu/m AlGaAs/InGaAs/GaAs pseudomorphic T-gate power HEMT technology. The novel design approach utilizes a push-pull topology to take advantage of a virtual ground between the device pair, eliminating the series feedback of the via hole inductance, and thus improving the performance of the power amplifier at millimeter-wave frequencies. For a two-stage design presented in this paper, the measurement results show a small signal gain of 13 dB and a saturated output power of 19.4 dBm at 90 GHz. The best power added efficiency of 13.3% has been achieved at an output power of 18.8 dBm under a lower bias condition. The gain and efficiency results represent state-of-the-art performance. These are the first reported monolithic push-pull amplifiers at millimeter-wave frequencies. >

Compact W-band solid-state MMIC high power sources

Presented is the development of two >2 W W-band solid-state monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) power amplifier modules using TRWs advanced GaAs- and InP-based HEMT MMICs. The GaAs HEMT at version delivers a record power of 2.4 W at 8.2% power-added efficiency with an associated gain of 12 dB at CW condition. The InP HEMT version delivers a compatible power of 2.24 W at 9.9% PAE with much higher associated gain of 19.5 dB. These are the highest recorded W-band power module using solid-state MMIC technology. The measured results clearly show that InP HEMT technology, though operating at a lower drain voltage (2.5-3 V) than GaAs HEMT device (typically 3.5-4 V), offers a better power-efficiency combination at much higher associated gain than its GaAs counterpart at millimeter-wave frequency. The overall module only weighs 10 oz. in a volume of <4 in/sup 3/. This is the smallest 2.4-watt W-band highpower module to date.

A W-band monolithic 175-mW power amplifier

A monolithic W-band power amplifier has been developed to promote the output power performance, This monolithic two-stage balanced power amplifier has demonstrated a small signal gain of 7 dB and an output power of 175 mW at 90 GHz, which represents state-of-the-art output power performance for a monolithic amplifier at this frequency. This monolithic chip is fabricated using 0.1-/spl mu/m AlGaAs-InGaAs-GaAs pseudomorphic power HEMT MMIC production process.<<ETX>>

A high efficiency V-band monolithic HEMT power amplifier

We report the performance of a monolithic V-band power amplifier using 0.15-/spl mu/m double heterostructure pseudomorphic InGaAs/AlGaAs/GaAs HEMTs. The amplifier using a 400-/spl mu/m device driving a 2/spl times/400-/spl mu/m device. It has demonstrated output power of 313 mW (0.39 W/mm) with 8.95 dB power gain and 19.9% PAE at 59.5 GHz. These data represent the highest reported combination of output power, power gain, and power-added efficiency reported for a V-band monolithic power amplifier.<<ETX>>

A 0.1 /spl mu/m W-band HEMT production process for high yield and high performance low noise and power MMICs

We have developed a W-band HEMT MMIC process which has demonstrated reproducible high performance for both low noise and power amplifier designs. This paper presents the details of the fabrication process as well as device and circuit results from 69 wafers. Three-stage LNAs have demonstrated noise figure as low as 4.4 dB with gains as high as 27 dB from 92 to 96 GHz. The LNA RF lot yield was as high as 78%. The same process has demonstrated power amplifiers with output power of 19 dBm at 94 GHz, with RF yield of 37%.

A monolithic W-band high-gain LNA/detector for millimeter wave radiometric imaging applications

We have demonstrated a monolithic W-band six-stage low noise amplifier/detector, using 0.1 /spl mu/m passivated pseudomorphic Al/sub 0.25/Ga/sub 0.75/As/In/sub 0.22/Ga/sub 0.78/As/GaAs HEMT technology. The front-end LNA, over the band from 85 to 96 GHz has achieved an average small signal gain of 40 dB which is the highest gain value ever reported for a MMIC operating in the W-band. The measured minimum resolvable temperature of the MMIC is about 1.6 K, where the dominant noise source is attributed to be the 1/f noise of the monolithically integrated HEMT diode.<<ETX>>

Large scale W-band focal plane array for passive radiometric imaging

This paper discusses the development of a large scale W-band focal plane array (FPA) for passive radiometric imaging application. The goal is to develop a 40/spl times/26 (1040-pixels) FPA to cover 15/spl deg//spl times/10/spl deg/ instantaneous field-of-view. Each receiver consists of a single direct detection MMIC which is a W-band high gain, wide bandwidth switched LNA with integrated Schottky barrier diode detector. A 1/spl times/4 FPA module, employing linearly tapered slot antenna, is used as the basic building block for the FPA. Typical receiver temperature sensitivity is 0.4 K with 10 ms integration time. For the first time, an automated assembly process is used to produce W-band MMIC modules in large volume.