Recent developments in compound semiconductor microwave power technology

This paper addresses the state-of-the-art in microwave and millimeter-wave power amplifier technology, including both discrete transistors and fully monolithic microwave integrated circuits (MMICs). The relative performance of microwave power transistor technology from 1 GHz to 60 GHz is reviewed. The presentation will consider the key characteristics of these technologies. The fundamental technological drivers in the design of microwave compound semiconductor power transistors are presented. A newly developed high yield power FET process is described and the application of this technology to multicarrier microwave power amplifiers is discussed, achieving output powers of up to 120 W with 70% efficiency at 2 GHz.