The application analysis of GaN power devices in Radar transmitter

Radar and electronic warfare (EW) system designers continually seek more affordable, lower weight, lower volume, and higher performance electronics that will support improved system effectiveness.Wide bandgap semiconductors are extremely attractive for the gamut of power electronics applications from power conditioning to microwave transmitters for Radar. Of the various materials and device technologies, the GaN HEMT seems the most promising. Compared with Si power device, it has remarkable advantages in output power, power density, operating frequency, operating bandwidth, environment adaptability and total efficiency and so on. It is shown that the superior physical attributes of GaN wide bandgap power devices lead to microwave transistors that are extremely well suited for high power applications. The performance characteristics and advantages of the GaN wide bandgap semiconductor are analyzed in detail. An L band 40 W power amplifier was developed with the GaN wide bandgap semiconductor power devices. The performance test was carried out, which showed that compared with Si power device, the performance of Radar transmitter can be improved with the application of GaN wide band gap power devices. The superior properties of GaN wide band gap power devices make GaN technology a prime candidate for use in transmitters for radar systems.