Wide bandgap semiconductor devices and MMICs for RF power applications

Abstract

High power densities of 5.2 W/mm and 63% power added efficiency (PAE) have been demonstrated for SiC MESFETs at 3.5 GHz. Wide bandwidth MMICs have also been demonstrated with SiC MESFETs, yielding 37 W at 3.5 GHz. Even higher power densities have been obtained with GaN HEMTs, showing up to 12 W/mm under pulsed conditions. Hybrid amplifiers using GaN HEMTs on SiC substrates have demonstrated a pulsed output power level of 50.1 W, with 8 dB gain and PAE of 28% at 10 GHz, and CW power levels of 36 W have also been obtained. A wide bandwidth GaN MMIC amplifier had a peak pulsed power level of 24.2 watts, with a gain of 12.8 dB and PAE of 22% at 16 GHz.