A manufacturable, 26 GHz GaAs MMIC technology

A 26 GHz MMIC technology has been developed to manufacture high performance integrated circuits for microwave instrumentation. The fabrication process features an MBE active layer, a 0.4 mu m gate patterned by DUV contact lithography, Ta/sub 2/N thin-film resistors, Si/sub 3/N/sub 4/ MIM capacitors and dry-etched backside vias. The completed MESFET has a nominal f/sub t/ of 23 GHz and a f/sub max/ of 55 GHz. Two standard products are currently being manufactured. The first is a 2-26.5 GHz travelling wave amplifier (TWA) which routinely achieves 8.7 dB+or-0.5 dB gain across the band with 21 dBm saturated output power and a noise figure of better than 8 dB at 18 GHz. RF yield to a gain spec of 7 dB at 26.5 GHz and 10 dB input and output return loss is 40%. The second product is a DC-50 GHz variable attenuator which achieves 72% yield to a 26.5 GHz spec of 2.4 dB minimum insertion loss, 27 dB maximum attenuation and greater than 8 dB input and output return loss.<>