Decade bandwidth 2 to 20 GHz GaN HEMT power amplifier MMICs in DFP and No FP technology

Design and performance of power amplifiers that have established new benchmarks for 2 to 20 GHz power are reported. The Dual Field Plate (DFP) amplifier achieved a P3dB of 26.3 Watts max, 15.4 Watts average, 7.1 Watts min with 38.3 % max, 19.8 % average, 5.9 % min PAE and 11.2 dB max, 8.6 dB average, 5.0 dB min power gain from 2 to 20 GHz. Using an improved device, the No FP amplifier achieved a P3dB of 21.6 Watts max, 16.0 Watts average, 9.9 Watts min with 35.7 % max, 25.9 % average, 15.3 % min PAE and 11.1 dB max, 9.7 dB average, 8.0 dB min power gain from 2 to 20 GHz. This output power, bandwidth, and efficiency is superior to the best previously reported results for both GaN HEMT and PHEMT power amplifiers.

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