Design and performance of 16–40GHz GaN distributed power amplifier MMICs utilizing an advanced 0.15µm GaN process

Abstract

This paper describes the design and measured performance of 16-40GHz power amplifier MMICs fabricated with an advanced state of the art 0.15μm Gallium Nitride (GaN) process technology. The process features a 50μm thick Silicon Carbide (SiC) substrate and compact transistor layouts with individual source grounding vias (ISV). The designs utilize a non-uniform distributed power amplifier (NDPA) topology with Ruthroff connected output transformers. The 3-stage single-ended amplifier demonstrates 4.1-8.7 W of output power over a 16-40GHz bandwidth. For the second MMIC two of the single-ended amplifiers are balanced to produce 7.0-16.0 W over the same frequency range.