Design of a 55 W packaged GaN HEMT with 60% PAE by internal matching in S-band

This paper reports a package synthesis method in order to ensure good performances in PAE, output power and bandwidth. The internal matching circuits of the optimized package enable to reach the best impedance pre-matching at fundamental frequencies and also to confine the harmonic impedances seen by the internal GaN power bar into safe-efficiency regions whatever the external impedances presented to the package at second harmonic frequencies. In a 50Ω environment, the packaged GaN HEMT delivers 55 W output power associated with 60% PAE and 13.3 dB power gain at 2.7 GHz. By optimizing source and load impedances at the fundamental frequencies, the packaged GaN HEMT demonstrates more than 58% PAE from 2.6 GHz to 3.0 GHz.