A novel W-band monolithic push-pull power amplifier

Abstract

A monolithic W-band push-pull two-stage power amplifier has been developed using 0.1 pm AlGaAs-InGaAs-GaAs pseudomorphic T-gate power HEMT technology. This novel design utilizes the push-pull scheme to take the advantage of a virtual ground in a push-pull HEMT device pair which eliminates the via hole inductance, and improves the power amplifier performance at millimeter-wave frequency. The measurement results show that a small signal gain of 12 dB, an output power of 19.4 dBm, and a power added efficiency of 13.3% have been achieved at 90 GHz, and presents state-of-the-art performance for a monolithic power amplifiers at this frequency. To our knowledge, this is the first reported monolithic push-pull amplifier at millimeter-wave frequencies.