Full W-Band GaN Power Amplifier MMICs Using a Novel Type of Broadband Radial Stub

Cwiklinski, Maciej; Friesicke, Christian; Brückner, Peter; Schwantuschke, Dirk; Wagner, Stefan; Lozar, Roger; Mabler, Hermann; Quay, R.; Ambacher, O.

doi:10.1109/tmtt.2018.2878725

Cited by 19 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…31 shows a traveling-wave three-stage GaN amplifier presented by Quinstar in [167] achieves more than 33 dBm power and at least 16 dB gain from 75 to 100 GHz. On the other hand, in [168], a broadband radial stub is deployed in a W-band PA using a 100 nm Fraunhofer IAF GaN HEMT process to cover the completed W-band from 70 to 110 GHz. The MMIC in Fig.…”

Section: W-band (75-110 Ghz)mentioning

confidence: 99%

A Review of Technologies and Design Techniques of Millimeter-Wave Power Amplifiers

Camarchia

Quaglia

Piacibello

et al. 2020

IEEE Trans. Microwave Theory Techn.

126

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This paper reviews the state-of-the-art of millimeterwave power amplifiers, focussing on broadband design techniques. An overview of the main solid-state technologies is provided, including Si, GaAs, GaN and other III-V materials, and both field-effect and bipolar transistors. The most popular broadband design techniques are introduced, before critically comparing through the most relevant design examples found in the scientific literature. Given the wide breadth of applications that are foreseen to exploit the millimeter-wave (mm-wave) spectrum, this contribution will represent a valuable guide for designers who need a single reference before adventuring in the challenging task of mm-wave power amplifier design. Index Terms-Broadband, millimeter wave, power amplifiers. I. INTRODUCTION T HE millimeter-wave (mm-wave) spectrum is attracting a great interest for applications such as 5G and future satellite communications that go well beyond the traditional niche of military and scientific use in terms of investments and potential revenues. The most attractive feature of mm-waves compared to the RF and microwave band is the huge spectrum availability that gives a great advantage in terms of capacity for telecommunication systems. Other advantages of mm-wave systems are the compact size of circuits, especially antennas, and the intrinsic easiness of frequency reuse thanks to the high free-space attenuations. There are also some advantages that are band-specific; for example, the very high attenuation in the 60 GHz band due to oxygen absorption that enables intrinsically secure communications. On the other hand, the very high frequency of operation poses significant challenges to system and circuit design. Similarly to what happens at lower frequency, one of the most critical circuit components is the power amplifier (PA). Its

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Section: W-band (75-110 Ghz)mentioning

confidence: 99%

A Review of Technologies and Design Techniques of Millimeter-Wave Power Amplifiers

Camarchia

Quaglia

Piacibello

et al. 2020

IEEE Trans. Microwave Theory Techn.

126

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Measurements showed no false target appearance due to low TX-RX-isolation, indicating proper channel separation. The 94-GHz LO-signal is frequency-divided by four (2) and then mixed upside down by a down-conversion mixer (5) with the signal of a 27-GHz auxiliary-VCO (3). The mixer feeds its output signal to the PLL that stabilizes the 94-GHz VCO by producing a regulated tuning voltage V tune94 (compare Fig.…”

Section: Transceiver Mmic a Architecturementioning

confidence: 99%

“…A CHIEVING sufficient output power of the transmitted electromagnetic wave in radar systems is, besides other key characteristics such as high transmitter-receiver (TX-RX)isolation, high receiver sensitivity, or low total receiver noise factor, one of the essential attributes to reach high system dynamic range and thus high detection range. In particular, in SiGe bipolar technologies producing high output power is more challenging than in modern III-V technologies due to its lower transistor breakdown voltages [1], [2]. However, SiGe technologies offer a higher level of integration, lower cost, very little performance variation between chip samples, and in this case, also CMOS integration [3].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Versatile Dual-Receiver 94-GHz FMCW Radar System With High Output Power and 26-GHz Tuning Range for High Distance Applications

Welp

Hansen

Briese

et al. 2020

IEEE Trans. Microwave Theory Techn.

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Airborne applications demand exceptional overall radar system performance and eminently high output power for high range target detection. The frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW) radar system presented in this article is capable of achieving this task due to its high output power at 94-GHz center frequency with over 26-GHz tuning range. Nevertheless, the radar still provides a small form factor and low power consumption of 4.25 W at 5 V single Universal Serial Bus (USB) supply. The key system component is a Silicon Germanium (SiGe) bipolar complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (BiCMOS) monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) that contains a 94-GHz voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO), and a 27-GHz VCO for dual-loop phase-locked loop (PLL) stabilization, a power amplifier (PA), and two receive mixers. It generates frequency ramps between 83-and 109-GHz with a maximum output power of 19.7 dBm at its output after the bond wires on the printed circuit board (PCB) and 14.8-dBm output power at the radar's transmit (TX)-waveguide WR-10-flange. The sensor was also tested in a temperature range from −40 • C to +70 • C with menial deviation. Thus, the system offers high system dynamic range and far distance target detection range. Following a detailed system description, we finally present the FMCW range and Doppler measurements performed with the presented radar sensor as well as the application on unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for flight altitude control and as airborne collision avoidance system (ACAS).

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“…The W-band GaN power amplifiers can accomplish high PAE as well; for example, the PAE of 21% with output power of 1.66 W at 93 GHz from 100-nm GaN HEMTs [5]. It was also found that a wideband GaN power amplifier IC covering a full W-band was presented using broadband radial stubs, providing output power of 27 dBm and PAE of 6.1% [6].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It is worthwhile to emphasize that the W-band power amplifier ICs mentioned above are based on GaN on silicon carbide (SiC) HEMT technologies [1][2][3][4][5][6][7], where a GaN channel is grown on the SiC substrate with a buffer layer in between [4]. They present the superior performance to GaN-on-Si HEMTs, which are grown on the Si substrate, in terms of output power, power density, and PAE at all frequency ranges [8].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Design of W-Band GaN-on-Silicon Power Amplifier Using Low Impedance Lines

et al. 2021

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In this paper, a high-power amplifier integrated circuit (IC) in gallium-nitride (GaN) on silicon (Si) technology is presented at a W-band (75–110 GHz). In order to mitigate the losses caused by relatively high loss tangent of Si substrate compared to silicon carbide (SiC), low-impedance microstrip lines (20–30 Ω) are adopted in the impedance matching networks. They allow for the impedance transformation between 50 Ω and very low impedances of the wide-gate transistors used for high power generation. Each stage is matched to produce enough power to drive the next stage. A Lange coupler is employed to combine two three-stage common source amplifiers, providing high output power and good input/output return loss. The designed power amplifier IC was fabricated in the commercially available 60 nm GaN-on-Si high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) foundry. From on-wafer probe measurements, it exhibits the output power higher than 26.5 dBm and power added efficiency (PAE) higher than 8.5% from 88 to 93 GHz with a large-signal gain > 10.5 dB. Peak output power is measured to be 28.9 dBm with a PAE of 13.3% and a gain of 9.9 dB at 90 GHz, which corresponds to the power density of 1.94 W/mm. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this result belongs to the highest output power and power density among the reported power amplifier ICs in GaN-on-Si HEMT technologies operating at the W-band.

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Full W-Band GaN Power Amplifier MMICs Using a Novel Type of Broadband Radial Stub

Cited by 19 publications

References 15 publications

A Review of Technologies and Design Techniques of Millimeter-Wave Power Amplifiers

A Review of Technologies and Design Techniques of Millimeter-Wave Power Amplifiers

Versatile Dual-Receiver 94-GHz FMCW Radar System With High Output Power and 26-GHz Tuning Range for High Distance Applications

Design of W-Band GaN-on-Silicon Power Amplifier Using Low Impedance Lines

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