journal article·2022-11-01Open access

Design of 2–16 GHz Non-Uniform Distributed GaN HEMT MMIC Power Amplifier with Harmonic Suppression Network

Tongyao Luan, Yongqing Leng, Xin Qiu, Xingli Cui, Aizhen Hu, Bo Xu, Yatao Peng

Applied Sciences· Volume 12· Issue 21

Abstract

In this paper, an ultra-wideband (UWB) power amplifier (PA) on a 0.25 μm gallium-nitride (GaN) on silicon carbide (SiC) high-electron-mobility transistor (HEMT) process, operating in Ku-band, is presented. The broadband PA design is based on the four-stage non-uniform distributed amplifier structure. In order to improve the efficiency of the PA, a harmonic suppression network is added at the output of the drain artificial transmission line. At the same time, a capacitor is connected in series at the input of the gate, which is used to compensate for the phase offset of the gate and increase the cut-off frequency of the PA. The final gate width of the first stage is 0.56 μm, and the other three-stage gate widths are all 0.32 μm. Over the frequency range of 2–16 GHz, the simulated results of this NDPA exhibit a power-added efficiency (PAE) of 16.6–27%, a saturated continuous wave (CW) output power of 35–37 dBm, a small signal gain of 9.1–11.6 dB, and output return losses of 5–15 dB.
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Research context

OpenAlex topics: GaN-based semiconductor devices and materials · Radio Frequency Integrated Circuit Design · Advanced Power Amplifier Design

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Affiliations

Institute of Microelectronics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100029, China

School of Integrated Circuits, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China

Zhengzhou Zhongke Institute of Integrated Circuit and System Application, Zhengzhou 450000, China

The State Key Laboratory of Analog and Mixed-Signal VLSI, Department of ECE, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Macau, Taipa, Macao 999078, China

Funding

National Natural Science Foundation of China · Henan Province Key R&D and Promotion Project (Science and Technology Research) · Zhengzhou Zhongke Institute of Integrated Circuit and System Application Research Dean Fund

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