First demonstration of W-band Tri-gate GaN-HEMT power amplifier MMIC with 30 dBm output power

First-ever realization of a W-band power amplifier (PA) millimeter-wave monolithic integrated circuit (MMIC) utilizing GaN-based Tri-gate high-electron-mobility transistors (HEMTs) is presented in this paper. Superior device- and circuit-level performances over conventional GaN HEMTs are proven to be empowered through implementation of the novel Tri-gate topology which exhibits a 3-dimensional gate profile. The measurements of the fabricated MMIC yield up to 30.6 dBm (1.15 W) of output power in the frequency range of 86–94 GHz with 8% of power-added-efficiency (PAE) and more than 12 dB of transducer power gain. The achieved results demonstrate the promising potential of Tri-gate GaN technology towards high-performance millimeter-wave PA designs.

[1]  Wang Weibo,et al.  W-Band MMIC PA With Ultrahigh Power Density in 100-nm AlGaN/GaN Technology , 2016, IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices.

[2]  Yu Cao,et al.  High linearity nanowire channel GaN HEMTs , 2013, 71st Device Research Conference.

[3]  H. P. Moyer,et al.  GaN Technology for E, W and G-Band Applications , 2014, 2014 IEEE Compound Semiconductor Integrated Circuit Symposium (CSICS).

[4]  Michael L. Schuette,et al.  Nanowire Channel InAlN/GaN HEMTs With High Linearity of $g_{\rm m}$ and $f_{\rm T}$ , 2013 .

[5]  Birte-Julia Godejohann,et al.  High-Current Submicrometer Tri-Gate GaN High-Electron Mobility Transistors With Binary and Quaternary Barriers , 2016, IEEE Journal of the Electron Devices Society.