A 8W High efficiency X-band Power pHEMT amplifier

A monolithic two-stage high power, high efficiency and high robustness amplifier was developed for X-band applications. The combination of the improvement of the UMS Power PHEMT technology called PPH25X in term of breakdown, and the adapted design regarding output mismatch and overdrive explain the performances of this device. The MMIC HPA, with a surface of 14.6 mm², provides 8 W output power in pulsed mode associated to a PAE of about 45% at ambient temperature and can operate at 6 dB compression in a wide frequency bandwidth (35% of frequency band). The good level of performance, the low sensitivity to the environment make this amplifier an excellent candidate for X band applications such as phased array active antennas.