Title :
A 6-W Ka-band power module using MMIC power amplifiers
Author :
Ingram, Daisy L. ; Stones, D. Ian ; Elliott, Jeffrey H. ; Wang, Huei ; Lai, Richard ; Biedenbender, Michael
Author_Institution :
TRW Inc., Redondo Beach, CA, USA
fDate :
12/1/1997 12:00:00 AM
Abstract :
This paper presents the development of a 6-W 24% power-added efficiency (PAE) Ka-band power module with an associated power gain of 21.5 dB. The power module consists of a driver amplifier and two power amplifier chips. These monolithic millimeter-wave integrated (MMIC) amplifiers were fabricated with a 2-mil-thick substrate using 0.15-μm InGaAs/AlGaAs/GaAs high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) technology. The driver amplifier is a fully matched single-ended design with an output power of 27.5 dBm, a 10.7-dB power gain and 27% PAE. We use a hybrid approach for the output power amplifier, which consists of two partially matched MMIC chips and an eight-way Wilkinson combiner fabricated on alumina substrate. The MMIC power amplifiers delivered a record power of 35.4 dBm (3.5 W) with a PAE of 28% and an associated power gain of 11.5 dB. The eight-way combiner has an insertion loss of 0.6 dB
Keywords :
HEMT integrated circuits; III-V semiconductors; MMIC power amplifiers; aluminium compounds; field effect MIMIC; gallium arsenide; indium compounds; millimetre wave amplifiers; power amplifiers; power combiners; radio transmitters; 0.15 micron; 0.6 dB; 10.7 dB; 11.5 dB; 2 mil; 21.5 dB; 24 percent; 27 percent; 28 percent; 3.5 W; 6 W; HEMT technology; InGaAs-AlGaAs-GaAs; Ka-band; MMIC power amplifiers; driver amplifier; eight-way Wilkinson combiner; insertion loss; output power; partially matched MMIC chips; power gain; power module; power-added efficiency; single-ended design; Driver circuits; Gain; HEMTs; Indium gallium arsenide; MMICs; Millimeter wave technology; Millimeter wave transistors; Multichip modules; Power amplifiers; Power generation;
Journal_Title :
Microwave Theory and Techniques, IEEE Transactions on
