A Very Low Cost Ku-Band 2W Power Amplifier MMIC using a Plastic-Molded QFN Package

A low cost molded MMIC in a QFN package is designed and fabricated for a Ku-band high power amplifier. The generic plastic-molded QFN package contributes to the reduction of the assembly cost. To achieve high reliability with respect to humidity, the MMIC chip is covered with SiN passivation and polyimide coating. The MMIC circuit is designed with accurate distributed FET model and EM simulation. Excellent characteristics of 2W output power and remarkable linearity are achieved, which is compatible with conventional packaged MMICs. The reliability and the mass productivity data are also described in this paper. This MMIC provides a cost effective alternative to a conventional metal-and/or ceramic-based packaged MMIC