X-Band GaAs mmic high power amplifier for transmitter space module

In this letter, the design, realization, and test of an X-band GaAs microwave monolithic integrated circuit high power amplifier (HPA) are reported.The HPA is designed in a two stage configuration to fully match a 50 Omega input and output impedance. Experimental results show that the HPA reaches an output power higher than 38 dBm with a gain higher than 17 dB and a ripple lower than 0.5 dB from 9 to 10.2 GHz frequency range. The power added efficiency is around 40%. The good level of performance and the low sensitivity to the environment temperature make this amplifier an excellent candidate for X band applications in phased array active antennas. (c) 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 54:2633-2635, 2012; View this article online at wileyonlinelibrary.com. DOI 10.1002/mop.27109