4-Watt Ka-band AlGaN/GaN power amplifier MMIC

A broadband Ka-band AlGaN/GaN on SiC HEMT power amplifier MAC was developed for millimeter-wave antenna applications. The output stage is composed of a 1.2-mm-wide device with 0.18 mu m gate length. The two-stage 50-ohm matched MMIC produces 13 +/- 1 dB of gain from 26 GHz to 36 GHz. At 35 GHz, the measured CW saturated output power was 4 W, indicating a power density of 3.3 W/mm. The power added efficiency was 23%. Across the band, the measured CW output power was > 2 W. While individual (or partially matched single stage) devices have been demonstrated with good output power, to the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of a 10GHz-bandwidth Ka-band GaN MMIC with high output power, gain, and return loss.