Advances in monolithic microwave and millimeter wave integrated circuits

It is noted that the microwave marketplace demands lower noise, higher power, higher efficiencies, increased linearity and/or lower cost. MMIC (monolithic microwave integrated circuit) technology has responded to these demands by providing advances which included noise figures less than 1 dB at 10 GHz, 6 W of power output at X-band, and high levels of integration. The commercial high volume market will continue to push for higher levels of integration on a single MMIC chip as low cost is required to compete with the hybrid MIC counterpart. Examples of advances in MMIC components applicable to microwave systems such as active aperture radars, electronic warfare, and communication systems are presented