A W-band InAs/AlSb low-noise/low-power amplifier

The first W-band antimonide based compound semiconductor low-noise amplifier has been demonstrated. The compact 1.4-mm/sup 2/ three-stage co-planar waveguide amplifier with 0.1-/spl mu/m InAs/AlSb high electron mobility transistor devices is fabricated on a 100-/spl mu/m GaAs substrate. Minimum noise-figure of 5.4dB with an associated gain of 11.1 dB is demonstrated at a total chip dissipation of 1.8 mW at 94 GHz. Biased for higher gain, 16/spl plusmn/1 dB is measured over a 77-103 GHz frequency band.     

An ultra-low power InAs/AlSb HEMT Ka-band low-noise amplifier

The first antimonide-based compound semiconductor (ABCS) MMIC, a Ka-Band low-noise amplifier using 0.25-/spl mu/m gate length InAs/AlSb metamorphic HEMTs, has been fabricated and characterized on a 75 /spl mu/m GaAs substrate. The compact 1.1 mm/sup 2/ three-stage Ka-band LNA demonstrated an average of 2.1 dB noise-figure between 34-36 GHz with an associated gain of 22 dB. The measured dc power dissipation of the ABCS LNA was an ultra-low 1.5 mW per stage, or 4.5 mW total. This is less than one-tenth the dc power dissipation of a typical equivalent InGaAs/AlGaAs/GaAs HEMT LNA. Operation with degraded gain and noise figure at 1.1 mW total dc power dissipation is also verified. These results demonstrate the outstanding potential of ABCS HEMT technology for mobile and space-based millimeter-wave applications.     

W-band waveguide-packaged InP HEMT reflection grid amplifier

This letter presents a 79-GHz broadband reflection-type grid amplifier using spatial power combining to combine the power of 64 unit cells. Each unit cell uses a two-stage cascade configuration with InP HEMTs arranged as a differential pair. A broadband orthogonal mode transducer (OMT) separates two orthogonally polarized input and output signals over a 75 to 85GHz range. In conjunction with the OMT, a mode converter with quadruple-ridged apertures was designed to enhance the field uniformity over the active grid. Measurements show 5-dB small signal gain at 79GHz and an 800-MHz 3-dB bandwidth. The amplifier generates an output power of 264mW with little evidence of saturation.     

Wideband HEMT MMIC low-noise amplifier with temperaturecompensation

A wideband low-noise pseudomorphic HEMT MMIC variable-gain amplifier has been designed and fabricated. The amplifier has a nominal gain of 13 dB across the band 2-20 GHz, with gain flatness better than ±0.4 dB. The noise figure is less than 3 dB across the band 6-16 GHz. An on-chip temperature-sensing diode is used to provide a linear temperature correction which has been used to reduce the gain variation of the amplifier by a factor of 2 across the temperature range -50°C to +95°C     

A C-band high-dynamic range GaN HEMT low-noise amplifier

A C-band low-noise amplifier (LNA) is designed and fabricated using GAN HEMT power devices. The one-stage amplifier has a measured noise figure of 1.6 dB at 6 GHz, with an associated gain of 10.9 dB and IIP3 of 13 dBm. it also exhibits broadband operation from 4-8 GHz with noise figure less than 1.9 dB. The circuit can endure up to 31 dBm power from the input port. Compared to circuits based on other material and technology, the circuit shows comparable noise figure with improved dynamic range and survivability.     

基于InP基HEMTs的W波段高增益低噪声放大MMIC

本文基于自主研发的InP基高电子迁移率晶体管工艺设计并制作了一款W波段单级低噪声放大单片毫米波集成电路。共源共栅拓扑结构和共面波导工艺保证了该低噪声放大器紧凑的面积和高的增益,其芯片面积为900 μm×975 μm,84 GHz-100 GHz频率范围内增益大于10 dB,95 GHz处小信号增益达到最大值为15.2 dB。根据调查对比,该单级放大电路芯片具有最高的单级增益和相对高的增益面积比。另外,该放大电路芯片在87.5 GHz处噪声系数为4.3 dB,88.8 GHz处饱和输出功率为8.03 dBm。该低噪声放大器芯片的成功研制对于构建一个W波段信号接收前端具有重要的借鉴意义。     

InAs HEMT narrowband amplifier with ultra-low power dissipation

The design, fabrication and performance of a prototype narrowband amplifier using InAs-channel HEMTs are reported. The amplifier, which is realised on an RT/Duroid circuit board with a combination of transmission lines and lumped components, is intended for a long-life battery-powered application. The two-stage amplifier has 20 dB of gain with a bandwidth of 4% in S-band and dissipates a total power of only 365 /spl mu/W.     

InAs/AlSb dual-gate HFETs

We report the first implementation of InAs/AlSb dual-gate (DG) HFETs. The devices were fabricated by conventional optical lithography and consist of two electrically distinct 1-μm gates, with a 1-μm intergate separation. The DG-HFETs feature well-behaved, kink-free drain characteristics, and exhibit both high transconductance and low output conductance. We find that DG operation significantly reduces the short-channel effects that have so far plagued InAs/AlSb devices, and increases the maximum allowable drain bias. We estimate that cutoff frequencies as high as 30 GHz-μm may be possible for such devices based on simple equivalent circuit models and previously published experimental data on single-gate InAs/AlSb HFETs     

Investigation of negative differential resistance phenomena inGaSb/AlSb/InAs/GaSb/AlSb/InAs structures

The negative differential resistance (NDR) phenomena were observed in GaSb/AlSb/InAs/-GaSb/AlSb/InAs resonant interband tunnel structures. Electrons have resonantly achieved interband tunneling through the InAs/GaSb broken-gap quantum well. The InAs well width causes significant variations of the peak current density and NDR behaviors. The peak current density varies exponentially with the AlSb barrier thickness. The multiple NDR behavior was observed with appropriate InAs well and AlSb barrier thicknesses, e.g., 30 Å thick AlSb barrier and 240 Å wide InAs well. Only single negative resistance has, otherwise, been seen. The three-band model was used to interpret the effect of the InAs well and AlSb barrier on the current-voltage characteristics of GaSb/AlSb/InAs/GaSb/AlSb/InAs structures     

Low-power, high-gain, and high-linearity SiGe BiCMOS wide-band low-noise amplifier

We present the design of two wide-band, low-power and low-noise amplifiers (LNAs) using SiGe BiCMOS technology. The distributed LNA demonstrated 0.1-23-GHz bandwidth and 14.5-dB gain with less than /spl plusmn/1-dB gain flatness. It exhibited 5-dB noise figure and 14.8-dBm output IP3, and dissipated 54-mW dc power. Comparable circuit performance was also obtained in the lumped LNA while utilizing only one-fifth the chip area of the distributed LNA.     

Two-stage broadband high-gain W-band amplifier using 0.1-/spl mu/m metamorphic HEMT technology

We report broadband high-gain W-band monolithic microwave integrated circuit amplifiers based on 0.1-/spl mu/m InGaAs-InAlAs-GaAs metamorphic high electron mobility transistor (MHEMT) technology. The amplifiers show excellent S/sub 21/ gains greater than 10 dB in a very broad W-band frequency range of 75-100 GHz, thereby exhibiting a S/sub 21/ gain of 10.1 dB, a S/sub 11/ of -5.1 dB and a S/sub 22/ of -5.2 dB at 100 GHz, respectively. The high gain of the amplifier is mainly attributed to the performance of the MHEMTs exhibiting a maximum transconductance of 691 mS/mm, a current gain cutoff frequency of 189 GHz, and a maximum oscillation frequency of 334 GHz.     

Gate-Recess Technology for InAs/AlSb HEMTs

The gate-recess technology for Si $delta$-doped InAs/AlSb high-electron-mobility transistors (HEMTs) has been investigated by combining atomic force microscopy (AFM) inspection of the gate-recess versus time with electrical device characterization. Deposition of the gate metal on the $hbox{In}_{0.5}hbox{Al}_{0.5}hbox{As}$ protection layer or on the underlying AlSb Schottky layer resulted in devices suffering from high gate-leakage current. Superior dc and high frequency device performance were obtained for HEMTs with an insulating layer between the gate and the Schottky layer resulting in a reduction of the gate leakage current $I_{G}$ by more than two orders of magnitude at a drain-to-source voltage $V_{DS}$ of 0.1 V. The existence of this intermediate insulating layer was evident from the electrical measurements. AFM measurements suggested that the insulating layer was due to a native oxidation of the AlSb Schottky layer. The insulated-gate HEMT with a gate length of 225 nm exhibited a maximum drain current $I_{D}$ higher than 500 mA/mm with good pinchoff characteristics, a dc transconductance $g_{m}$ of 1300 mS/mm, and extrinsic values for cutoff frequency $f_{T}$ and maximum frequency of oscillation $f_{max}$ of 160 and 120 GHz, respectively.      

94 GHz low-noise HEMT

A high-performance 0.1 mu m gate-length, AlGaAs/GaInAs/GaAs pseudomorphic high electron mobility transistor has been successfully developed. The device exhibits a minimum noise figure as low as 3.0 dB with an associated gain of 5.1 dB at 94 GHz. This is the first low-noise operation of transistors at 94 GHz.<>     

W-band monolithic oscillator using InAlAs/InGaAs HEMT

A W-band monolithic integrated oscillator circuit was designed and fabricated using submicron HEMT technology. The oscillation frequency was around 81 GHz and the power was -7 dBm at the chip level. This is the first report of an InAlAs/InGaAs monolithic oscillator operating at the W-band.<>     

High-transconductance InAs/AlSb heterojunction field-effecttransistors with δ-doped AlSb upper barriers

The authors report the fabrication and temperature-dependent characterization of InAs/AlSb quantum-well heterojunction field-effect transistors (HFETs). Devices with electron sheet concentrations of 3.8×10¹² cm^-2 and low-field electron mobilities of 21000 cm²/V-s have been realized through the use of Te δ-doping sheets in the upper AlSb barrier. One device with a 2.0-μm gate length showed a peak extrinsic transconductance of 473 mS/mm at room temperature. Gate leakage current, operating current density, and extrinsic transconductance were found to decrease with decreasing temperature     

Optical properties of heterostructures with deep AlSb/InAs0.84Sb0.16/AlSb quantum wells

Using the Kane model, the energy of the dimensional quantization levels, absorption coefficient, and radiative-recombination rate are calculated for interband optical transitions between different dimensional quantization subbands in a heterostructure with a deep AlSb/InAs_0.86Sb_0.14/AlSb quantum well with regard to and without regard for the spin-orbit interaction. It is shown that the corrections introduced by the spin-orbit interaction in calculating these quantities are no larger than a few tens of percent even at spin-orbit interaction constants exceeding the band gap and account for the nonparabolicity in the calculation of the energy of dimensional quantization levels and absorption coefficient is much more important than account for the spin-orbit interaction. In calculation of the radiative-recombination rate, both these effects should be taken into account.     

Effect of lattice-mismatched growth on InAs/AlSb resonant-tunnelingdiodes

Nominally identical InAs/AlSb resonant-tunneling diodes are fabricated on InAs and GaAs substrates to ascertain the effect of dislocations on the resonant-tunneling process. Although the diode on the GaAs substrate had a much higher dislocation density, as evidenced by X-ray diffraction measurements, it displayed only a small decrease in peak-to-valley current ratio     

Population inversion in two-dimensional InAs/GaSb/AlSb systems

We analyse the potentiality of InAs/GaSb/AlSb tunnel structures for creation of the population inversion and stimulated radiation both in the presence and in the absence of magnetic field.     

AlSb/InAs HEMT's for low-voltage, high-speed applications

The design, fabrication, and characterization of 0.1 μm AlSb/InAs HEMT's are reported. These devices have an In_0.4Al _0.6As/AlSb composite barrier above the InAs channel and a p ⁺ GaSb layer within the AlSb buffer layer. The HEMT's exhibit a transconductance of 600 mS/mm and an f_T of 120 GHz at V_Ds=0.6 V. An intrinsic f_T of 160 GHz is obtained after the gate bonding pad capacitance is removed from an equivalent circuit. The present HEMT's have a noise figure of 1 dB with 14 dB associated gain at 4 GHz and V_Ds=0.4 V. Noise equivalent circuit simulation indicates that this noise figure is primarily limited by gate leakage current and that a noise figure of 0.3 dB at 4 GHz is achievable with expected technological improvements. HEMT's with a 0.5 μm gate length on the same wafer exhibit a transconductance of 1 S/mm and an intrinsic f_TL_g, product of 50 GHz-μm     

Intersubband Raman scattering in InAs/AlSb quantum wells

Raman spectroscopy has been used to study intersubband transitions in InAs/AlSb single quantum wells grown by molecular-beam epitaxy on (100) GaAs substrates using strain-relaxed AlSb or GaSb buffer layers. From the measured energies of the coupled longitudinal optical phonon-intersubband plasmon modes the single particle transition energies between the first and second confined electron subbands were deduced as a function of the width of the pseudomorphically strained InAs well. Subband spacings calculated including the effects of strain and nonparabolicity were found to be in agreement with the experimental transition energies. For a given well width, the two-dimensional electron concentration deduced from the Raman measurements was found to be lower than the concentration measured in the dark by Hall effect, but showed a significant increase with increasing optical excitation intensity.