Efficient modeling of GaN HEMTs for linear and nonlinear circuits design

In this paper, a nonlinear modeling approach for gallium nitride high-electron mobility transistor (GaN HEMT) on Si substrate is proposed. A reliable method has been developed to extract the extrinsic elements of the model. Its main advantage is its accuracy and dependency on only pinched-off and unbiased S-parameter measurements. The extrinsic elements are de-embedded from multi-bias S-parameters to characterize the transistor intrinsic and construct a large-signal model. The validity of the developed modeling approach is verified by comparing its small-signal and large-signal (single-tone and two-tone) simulations with measured data of a 2-mm GaN HEMT on Si substrate. The model has been employed for designing a class-AB power amplifier. A very good agreement between the amplifier simulation and measurement shows the validity of the model. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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