A cost-effective 10 Watt X-band high power amplifier and 1 watt driver amplifier chip-set

Abstract

An X-band power amplifier chip-set for communication and radar applications has been developed and tested. The chip set consists of a two- and three-stage high-power amplifier, which have an output power of 10 Watt over the 8.5 – 10.5 GHz frequency band and a driver amplifier with an output power of more than 1 Watt over the 8.5 – 11.5 GHz frequency band. The amplifiers have been developed in the 6-inch 0.5 m power pHEMT process (PP50-10) of WIN Semiconductors. The use of this process in combination with the used innovative design approach results in a cost effective chip set, which is competitive in both performance and price with any available solution.