Ku- and K-band GaN High Power Amplifier MMICs

Val Kaper, Scott Harris, Keith Kessler

Raytheon, Andover MA 01810
vkaper@raytheon.com

Abstract: This paper describes development and characteri- 50 25

zation of three Ku- and K-band GaN High Power Amplifier 45 20

SS Gain, dB; SS Input Return Loss, dB

(HPA) MMICs. The circuits are implemented in Raytheon’s 40 15
production-released mm-wave GaN process; they demon-

Pout, dBm; PAE, %

35 10
strate state-of-art performance over a frequency range that
30 5
spans from 13 to 22 GHz. A low-end Ku-band HPA operates
25 0
from 13 to 14.5 GHz and delivers 48 Watts of output power
20 -5
with 43% PAE. A high-end Ku-band HPA operates from 15.5
to 18 GHz and delivers 25 Watts of output power with 45% 15 -10
PAE. A K-band HPA operates from 19.5 to 22 GHz and 10 Pout(@Pin=33dBm) -15
PAE(@Pin=33dBm)
delivers 18 Watts of output power with 29% PAE. 5 SS Gain(@Pin=0dBm) -20
SS InpRetLoss(@Pin=0dBm)
0 -25
Keywords: GaN; High Power Amplifier; MMIC; Ku-band; 12 12.5 13 13.5 14 14.5 15 15.5 16
K-band.
Frequency, GHz

Figure 1. Measured performance of the low-end Ku-band

Introduction
Owing to a unique combination of electronic (high electron
saturation velocity and mobility, and high breakdown field)
and thermal (high thermal conductivity of SiC substrate)
properties, GaN technology has long been recognized as an
ideal choice for implementation of micro- and mm-wave
HPAs [1]. Specifically for various Ku- and K-band commu-
nication and radar military applications, GaN HPAs offer
an opportunity to provide ≈5x increase in output power
available from a single MMIC with similar efficiency and
chip size in comparison to existing GaAs-based circuits.
In this paper, we present details of technology, circuit design
and characterization of three new Ku- and K-band GaN HPA
MMICs.
Technology
The three circuits discussed in this paper have been fabricated
using Raytheon’s production-released mm-wave AlGaN/GaN
HEMT on SiC process. This technology has found use in
numerous circuit applications spanning the frequency range
from C- to Q-bands. A typical transistor exhibits peak extrin-
sic transconductance of 410 mS/mm and the open-channel
current of 1.1 A/mm. A more detailed description of the
technology can be found in [2].
Low-end Ku-band HPA
A power amplifier with frequency range between 13 and 14.5
GHz has been designed, fabricated and characterized. The
circuit is a two-stage reactively-matched amplifier with an
on-chip bias network. A photograph of a fabricated low-end
Ku-band GaN HPA is shown as an inset in Figure 1.
GaN HPA as a function of frequency. Vdd =26 V, Pulse Width /
Duty Cycle =100 µs / 3%, Room Temperature. The inset is a
photograph of a fabricated low-end Ku-band GaN HPA. Chip
size is 4.2 mm x 3.2 mm.
The final transistor stage is sized to produce the required
amount of output power. The first transistor stage is sized
to provide sufficient signal drive to compress the final stage
while consuming the least amount of DC power. Output
matching network (a passive sub-circuit that translates 50
Ohm load impedance into a specific impedance at the final
stage FET’s output resulting in optimal combination of FET
power density and drain efficiency) makes use of a novel
topology described in [3]. An on-chip bias regulator circuit
uses a current mirror topology with saturated mesa resistor
current source [4], it sets the gate DC bias voltage for the
HPA in a way that the amplifiers’ performance is desensitized
from variations in temperature, external power supply and
manufacturing process.
The circuit performance is characterized in a standard fixture
where a die is attached to a thermal spreader with AuSn
solder, the spreader is placed on a Cu center-block which is
mounted to a cold plate. Small-signal gain, saturated output
power and associated power-added efficiency (PAE) as func-
tions of frequency, measured on a representative fixtured low-
end Ku-band GaN HPA under pulsed stimulus and nominal
DC bias are plotted in Figure 1. The amplifier demonstrates
18.7 dB of small-signal gain, 48 Watts of saturated out-
put power with associated PAE of 43% (all numbers are
frequency averages over the 13-14.5 GHz band). The peak

160
Distribution A: Approved for public release; distribution unlimited.
 50 60 30
Pout(@f=13GHz)
55

SS Gain, dB; SS Input Return Loss, dB

45 PAE(@f=13GHz)
Pout, dBm; PAE, %; Gain, dB
Gain(@f=13GHz)
Pout(@f=14GHz)
50 20
40
PAE(@f=14GHz) 45
Gain(@f=14GHz)

Pout, dBm; PAE, %

35 40 10
30 35 Pout(@Pin=23dBm)
PAE(@Pin=23dBm)
25 30 SS Gain(@Pin=10dBm)
0
25 SS InpRetLoss(@Pin=10dBm)
20
20 -10
15
15
10 10 -20
5 5
0 0 -30
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 15 15.5 16 16.5 17 17.5 18

Input Power, dBm Frequency, GHz

Figure 2. Measured performance parameters of the
low-end Ku-band GaN HPA as a function of input power.
Vdd =26 V, Pulse Width / Duty Cycle =100 µs / 3%, Room
Temperature.
Figure 3. Measured performance of the high-end Ku-band
GaN HPA as a function of frequency. Vdd =20 V, Pulse Width /
Duty Cycle =10 µs / 10%, Room Temperature. The inset is a
photograph of a fabricated high-end Ku-band GaN HPA. Chip
size is 4.8 mm x 2.9 mm.

Table 1. Drain supply voltage dependence of the low-end

Ku-band HPA frequency-averaged performance. Pulse Width
/ Duty Cycle =100 µs / 3%, Room Temperature.
Vdd , Small-signal Gain, Psat ,
V dB Watts
24 18.6 43.1
26 18.7 47.8
28 18.5 52.2
saturated output power and PAE in the band are 52.5 Watts
and 45.5% respectively.
The amplifiers’ single-tone measured transfer characteristics
at two frequency points within the band are graphed in Figure
2. At 13 GHz, the output power levels at 1 dB compression
and full saturation are 43.3 and 46.3 dBm respectively with
associated PAEs of 31% and 43%. At 14 GHz, the output
power levels at 1 dB compression and full saturation are 43.7
and 47.1 dBm respectively with associated PAEs of 30% and
43%.
Measured trends in the dependence of the HPA performance
on the DC drain supply voltage are tabulated in Table 1.
Operating the circuit at a lower voltage makes it possible to
reduce the prime (DC) power requirement at the expense of
output power. Conversely, the output power can be increased
by raising the drain supply voltage at the expense of higher
prime power.
High-end Ku-band HPA
The second circuit to be described in this paper is a high-
end Ku-band GaN HPA with an operating frequency range
between 15.5 and 18 GHz. The circuit is a three-stage
reactively-matched amplifier. A photograph of a fabricated
high-end Ku-band GaN HPA is shown as an inset in Figure 3.
This circuit shares many of its attributes with the low-end Ku-
band HPA presented above. A lower output power require-
PAE @Psat , Pdc @Psat , ment has led to reduction in the output stage FET size and
% Watts
42.4 96.9 nominal drain bias voltage. One more gain stage was added
43.2 106.0 to increase both small- and large-signal gains of the amplifier.
42.6 117.8
Small-signal gain, saturated output power and associated
PAE as functions of frequency, measured on a representative
fixtured high-end Ku-band GaN HPA under pulsed stimulus
and nominal DC bias are plotted in Figure 3. The amplifier
demonstrates 27 dB of small-signal gain, 25 Watts of satu-
rated output power with associated PAE of 45% (all numbers
are frequency averages over the 15.5-18 GHz band). The peak
saturated output power and PAE in the band are 26.9 Watts
and 49% respectively.
The amplifiers’ single-tone measured transfer characteristics
at two frequency points within the band are graphed in Figure
4. At 16 GHz, the output power levels at 1 dB compression
and full saturation are 40.4 and 43.8 dBm respectively with
associated PAEs of 31% and 49%. At 17 GHz, the output
power levels at 1 dB compression and full saturation are 39.9
and 44.2 dBm respectively with associated PAEs of 26% and
44%.
Measured trends in the dependence of the HPA performance
on the DC drain supply voltage are tabulated in Table 2.
Operating the circuit at a lower voltage makes it possible to
reduce the prime (DC) power requirement at the expense of
output power. Conversely, the output power can be increased
by raising the drain supply voltage at the expense of higher
prime power.
K-band HPA
The third circuit to be described in this paper is a K-band GaN
HPA with an operating frequency range between 19.5 and 22

161
 60 50 40
Pout(@f=16GHz)
PAE(@f=16GHz)

SS Gain, dB; SS Input Return Loss, dB

45 30
Pout, dBm; PAE, %; Gain, dB
Gain(@f=16GHz)
50 Pout(@f=17GHz)
PAE(@f=17GHz) 40 20
Gain(@f=17GHz)

Pout, dBm; PAE, %

40
35 10

30 30 0

25 -10
20
20 -20
Pout(@Pin=17dBm)
10 PAE(@Pin=17dBm)
15 -30
SS Gain(@Pin=0dBm)
SS InpRetLoss(@Pin=0dBm)
0 10 -40
0 5 10 15 20 25 19 19.5 20 20.5 21 21.5 22 22.5

Input Power, dBm Frequency, GHz

Figure 4. Measured performance parameters of the Figure 5. Measured performance of the K-band GaN HPA
high-end Ku-band GaN HPA as a function of input power. as a function of frequency. Vdd =20 V, Pulse Width / Duty
Vdd =20 V, Pulse Width / Duty Cycle =10 µs / 10%, Room Cycle =10 µs / 10%, Room Temperature. The inset is a
Temperature. photograph of a K-band GaN HPA. Chip size is 4.8 mm x 2.5
mm.

Table 2. Drain supply voltage dependence of the high-end

Ku-band HPA frequency-averaged performance. Pulse Width
50
/ Duty Cycle =10 µs / 10%, Room Temperature.
Pout, dBm; PAE, %; Gain, dB 45
Vdd , Small-signal Gain, Psat , PAE @Psat , Pdc @Psat ,
40
V dB Watts % Watts
16 24.9 17.3 43 39.8 35
20 27 25.1 45.2 55.1
30
24 28.4 31 43.3 71.1
25
20
GHz. The circuit is a four-stage reactively-matched amplifier. 15 Pout(@f=20GHz)
A photograph of a fabricated K-band GaN HPA is shown as 10
PAE(@f=20GHz)
Gain(@f=20GHz)
an inset in Figure 5. 5
Pout(@f=21GHz)
PAE(@f=21GHz)
Gain(@f=21GHz)
This circuit shares many of its attributes with the two Ku-band 0
-5 0 5 10 15 20
HPAs presented above. To achieve required performance at
higher frequencies, the unit gate width of the output FET Input Power, dBm
stage is scaled approximately inversely proportionally with
Figure 6. Measured performance parameters of the
frequency. K-band GaN HPA as a function of input power. Vdd =20 V,
Small-signal gain, saturated output power and associated PAE Pulse Width / Duty Cycle =10 µs / 10%, Room Temperature.
as functions of frequency, measured on a representative fix-
tured K-band GaN HPA under pulsed stimulus and nominal
DC bias are plotted in Figure 5. The amplifier demonstrates
35 dB of small-signal gain, 18 Watts of saturated output Measured trends in the dependence of the HPA performance
power with associated PAE of 29% (all numbers are fre- on the DC drain supply voltage are tabulated in Table 3.
quency averages over the 19.5-22 GHz band). The peak Operating the circuit at a lower voltage makes it possible
saturated output power and PAE in the band are 20.4 Watts to reduce the prime (DC) power requirement and enhance
and 33% respectively. efficiency at the expense of output power. Conversely, the
output power can be increased by raising the drain supply
The amplifier’s single-tone measured transfer characteristics voltage at the expense of higher prime power and lower
at two frequency points within the band are graphed in Figure efficiency.
6. At 20 GHz, the output power levels at 1 dB compression
and full saturation are 37.6 and 42.0 dBm respectively with Sensitivity of the K-band amplifier’s performance to the duty
associated PAEs of 15% and 27%. At 21 GHz, the output cycle of the DC / RF input stimuli is shown in Figure 7. At one
power levels at 1 dB compression and full saturation are 39.3 frequency in the band (20.7 GHz), as the duty cycle increases
and 43.1 dBm respectively with associated PAEs of 20% and from 10% to 100% (corresponding to the CW condition), the
33%. saturated output power and efficiency are reduced by 1.2 dB

162
 Table 3. Drain supply voltage dependence of the K-band Table 4. Comparison with published Ku- and K-band GaN
HPA frequency-averaged performance. Pulse Width / Duty HPAs.
Cycle =10 µs / 10%, Room Temperature.
Reference Frequency, Psat , PAE Linear Waveform
Vdd , Small-signal Gain, Psat , PAE @Psat , Pdc @Psat , GHz Watts @Psat ,% Gain, dB
V dB Watts % Watts Low-end 13-14.5 48 43 19 pulsed
16 33.3 14.3 33.3 42.8 Ku-band
20 35.3 17.8 29.3 60.6 HPA
24 35.7 19.5 24.3 80.0 [5] 13.4-15.5 50 33 31 CW
[6] 13.5-14.5 18 38 22 CW
[7] 13.75-14.5 40 26 26 pulsed
1 13.75-14.5 25 20 24 CW
delta(Pout) [8] 14.8-15.3 62 45 10 pulsed
[9] 13.4-16.5 25 30 35 CW
In reference to 10% Duty Cycle

delta(PAE)
Change in Output Power, dB

0 High-end 15.5-18 25 45 27 pulsed

and in PAE, %points

Ku-band
-1 HPA
[10] 18-19 10 30 20 CW
K-band 19.5-22 18 29 35 pulsed
-2 HPA 19.5-22 13 24 32 CW
[11] 21-24 5 47 14 CW
-3

-4 2. X.Zheng, J.C.Tremblay, S.Huettner, K.P.Ip, T.Papale,

K.L.Lange, “Ka-Band High Power GaN SPDT Switch
-5
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 MMIC,” 2013 IEEE Compound Semiconductors Inte-
grated Circuit Symposium, October 2013.
Duty Cycle, %
3. V.S.Kaper, “Output Matching Network Having Com-
Figure 7. Measured dependence of the K-band GaN HPA’s bined Single Series and Shunt Capacitor Component,” US
saturated output power and PAE on duty cycle. Vdd =20 V, Patent 9419580, August 2016.
Pulse Width =100 µs, frequency = 20.7 GHz, Room
Temperature. 4. J.P.Bettencourt, F.J.DeCaro, J.C.Tremblay, “Current Mir-
ror with Saturated Semiconductor Resistor,” US Patent
8854140 B2, October 2014.

and 4.2% points respectively. This degradation is largely due 5. TGA2239-CP: 13.4-15.5 GHz 50W
to an increase in the output stage FET channel temperature. GaN Power Amplifier, Qorvo Datasheet,
http://www.triquint.com/products/p/TGA2239-CP.
Conclusion 6. Y.S.Noh et al, “Ku-band GaN HPA MMIC with high-
In this paper, we presented information on the development power and high-PAE performances,” Electronics Letters,
and characterization of three new Ku- and K-band High Vol. 50, No. 19 , September 2014.
Power Amplifier (HPA) MMICs, implemented in Raytheon’s 7. CMPA1D1E025F: 25W, 13.75-14.5 GHz, 40V, Ku-band
production-released mm-wave GaN technology. The circuits GaN MMIC, Power Amplifier, Wolfspeed Datasheet,
demonstrate state-of-art performance over a frequency range http://www.wolfspeed.com/media/downloads/478/
that spans from 13 to 22 GHz. Comparison of the measured CMPA1D1E025F.pdf.
frequency-averaged data with relevant published results on
8. K.Yamauchi et al, “A 45% Power Added Efficiency, Ku-
Ku- and K-band GaN HPAs is tabulated in Table 4.
band 60W GaN Power Amplifier,” 2011 IEEE MTT-S
International Microwave Symposium, 2011.
Acknowledgment
The Ku-band HPAs have been developed under Raytheon 9. TGA2219: 13.4-16.5 GHz 25W GaN
IRAD funding. The K-band HPA has been developed under a Power Amplifier, Qorvo Datasheet,
sub-contract from Nuvotronics,Inc (PI: Steve Huettner) on an http://www.triquint.com/products/p/TGA2219.
Air Force Phase 2 SBIR topic AF103-073. The authors would 10. C.Friesicke et al, “A 40 dBm AlGaN/GaN HEMT Power
like to acknowledge Tom Charbonneau for layout support; Amplifier MMIC for SatCom Applications at K-Band,”
Erin Bernay, Tony Puliafico, Brian Morrison and Phil Phalon 2016 IEEE MTT-S International Microwave Symposium,
for circuit characterization. 2016.
11. C.F.Campbell et al, “A K-Band 5W Doherty Amplifier
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163