Ku-Band Power Amplifier MMIC Chipset with On-Chip Active Gate Bias Circuit

We propose a Ku-band driver and high-power amplifier monolithic microwave integrated circuits (MMICs) employing a compensating gate bias circuit using a commercial 0.5 μm GaAs pHEMT technology. The integrated gate bias circuit provides compensation for the threshold voltage and temperature variations as well as independence of the supply voltage variations. A fabricated two-stage Ku-band driver amplifier MMIC exhibits a typical output power of 30.5 dBm and power-added efficiency (PAE) of 37% over a 13.5 GHz to 15.0 GHz frequency band, while a fabricated three-stage Ku-band high-power amplifier MMIC exhibits a maximum saturated output power of 39.25 dBm (8.4 W) and PAE of 22.7% at 14.5 GHz.