High Power SiGe X-Band (8～10GHz) Heterojunction Bipolar Transistors and Amplifiers

Limited by increased parasitics and thermal effects as device size increases, current commercial SiGe power HBTs are difficult to operate at X-band (8～ 12GHz) frequencies with adequate power added efficiencies at high power levels. We find that, by changing the heterostructure and doping profile of SiGe HBTs, their power gain can be significantly improved without resorting to substantial lateral scaling. Furthermore, employing a common-base configuration with a proper doping profile instead of a common-emitter configuration improves the power gain characteristics of SiGe HBTs, thus permitting these devices to be efficiently operated at X-band frequencies. In this paper,we report the results of SiGe power HBTs and MMIC power amplifiers operating at 8～10GHz. At 10GHz,a 22.5dBm (178mW) RF output power with a concurrent gain of 7.32dB is measured at the peak power-added efficiency of 20.0%, and a maximum RF output power of 24.0dBm (250mW) is achieved from a 20 emitter finger SiGe power HBT. The demonstration of a single-stage X-band medium-power linear MMIC power amplifier is also realized at 8GHz. Employing a 10-emitter finger SiGe HBT and on-chip input and output matching passive components, a linear gain of 9.7dB,a maximum output power of 23.4dBm,and peak power added efficiency of 16% are achieved from the power amplifier. The MMIC exhibits very low distortion with 3rd order intermodulation (IM) suppression C/I of -13dBc at an output power of 21.2dBm and over 20dBm 3rd order output intercept point (OIP3).     

High Power SiGe X-Band (8～10GHz) Heterojunction Bipolar Transistors and Amplifiers

Limited by increased parasitics and thermal effects as device size increases,current commercial SiGe power HBTs are difficult to operate at X-band (8～12GHz) frequencies with adequate power added efficiencies at high power levels.We find that,by changing the heterostructure and doping profile of SiGe HBTs,their power gain can be significantly improved without resorting to substantial lateral scaling.Furthermore,employing a common-base configuration with a proper doping profile instead of a common-emitter configuration improves the power gain characteristics of SiGe HBTs,thus permitting these devices to be efficiently operated at X-band frequencies.In this paper,we report the results of SiGe power HBTs and MMIC power amplifiers operating at 8～10GHz.At 10GHz,a 22.5dBm (178mW) RF output power with a concurrent gain of 7.32dB is measured at the peak power-added efficiency of 20.0%,and a maximum RF output power of 24.0dBm (250mW) is achieved from a 20 emitter finger SiGe power HBT.The demonstration of a single-stage X-band medium-power linear MMIC power amplifier is also realized at 8GHz.Employing a 10-emitter finger SiGe HBT and on-chip input and output matching passive components,a linear gain of 9.7dB,a maximum output power of 23.4dBm,and peak power added efficiency of 16% are achieved from the power amplifier.The MMIC exhibits very low distortion with 3rd order intermodulation (IM) suppression C/I of -13dBc at an output power of 21.2dBm and over 20dBm 3rd order output intercept point (OIP3).     

High Power SiGe X-Band (8～10GHz) Heterojunction Bipolar Transistors and Amplifiers

Limited by increased parasitics and thermal effects as device size increases, current commercial SiGe power HBTs are difficult to operate at X-band (8～ 12GHz) frequencies with adequate power added efficiencies at high power levels. We find that, by changing the heterostructure and doping profile of SiGe HBTs, their power gain can be significantly improved without resorting to substantial lateral scaling. Furthermore, employing a common-base configuration with a proper doping profile instead of a common-emitter configuration improves the power gain characteristics of SiGe HBTs, thus permitting these devices to be efficiently operated at X-band frequencies. In this paper,we report the results of SiGe power HBTs and MMIC power amplifiers operating at 8～10GHz. At 10GHz,a 22.5dBm (178mW) RF output power with a concurrent gain of 7.32dB is measured at the peak power-added efficiency of 20.0%, and a maximum RF output power of 24.0dBm (250mW) is achieved from a 20 emitter finger SiGe power HBT. The demonstration of a single-stage X-band medium-power linear MMIC power amplifier is also realized at 8GHz. Employing a 10-emitter finger SiGe HBT and on-chip input and output matching passive components, a linear gain of 9.7dB,a maximum output power of 23.4dBm,and peak power added efficiency of 16% are achieved from the power amplifier. The MMIC exhibits very low distortion with 3rd order intermodulation (IM) suppression C/I of -13dBc at an output power of 21.2dBm and over 20dBm 3rd order output intercept point (OIP3).     

A 21-26-GHz SiGe bipolar power amplifier MMIC

A three-stage 21-26-GHz medium-power amplifier fabricated in f/sub T/=120 GHz 0.2 /spl mu/m SiGe HBT technology has 19 dB small-signal gain and 15 dB gain at maximum output power. It delivers 23 dBm, 19.75% PAE at 22 GHz, and 21 dBm, 13% PAE at 24 GHz. The differential common-base topology extends the supply to BV/sub CEO/ of the transistors (1.8 V). New on-chip components, such as onchip interconnects with floating differential shields, and self-shielding four-way power combining/dividing baluns provide inter-stage coupling and single-ended I/O interfaces at the input and output. The 2.45/spl times/2.45 mm/sup 2/ MMIC was mounted as a flipchip and tested without a heatsink.     

A 77-100 GHz power amplifier using 0.1-μm GaAs PHEMT technology

A wideband MMIC power amplifier at W-band is reported in this letter. The four-stage MMIC, developed using 0.1 μm GaAs pseudomorphic HEMT (PHEMT) technology, demonstrated a flat small signal gain of 12.4±2 dB with a minimum saturated output power (Psat) of 14.2 dBm from 77 to 100 GHz. The typical Psat is better by 16.3 dBm with a flatness of 0.4 dB and the maximum power added efficiency is 6% between 77 and 92 GHz. This result shows that the amplifier delivers output power density of about 470 mW/mm with a total gate output periphery of 100 μm. As far as we know, it is nearly the best power density performance ever published from a single ended GaAs-based PHEMT MMIC at this frequency band.     

PCS/W-CDMA dual-band MMIC power amplifier with a newly proposed linearizing bias circuit

A personal communications service/wide-band code division multiple access (PCS/W-CDMA) dual-band monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) power amplifier with a single-chip MMIC and a single-path output matching network is demonstrated by adopting a newly proposed on-chip linearizer. The linearizer is composed of the base-emitter diode of an active bias transistor and a capacitor to provide an RF short at the base node of the active bias transistor. The linearizer enhances the linearity of the power amplifier effectively for both PCS and W-CDMA bands with no additional DC power consumption, and has negligible insertion power loss with almost no increase in die area. It improves the input 1-dB gain compression point by 18.5 (20) dB and phase distortion by 6.1/spl deg/ (12.42/spl deg/) at an output power of 28 (28) dBm for the PCS (W-CDMA) band while keeping the base bias voltage of the power amplifier as designed. A PCS and W-CDMA dual-band InGaP heterojunction bipolar transistor MMIC power amplifier with single input and output and no switch for band selection is embodied by implementing the linearizer and by designing the amplifier to have broad-band characteristics. The dual-band power amplifier exhibits an output power of 30 (28.5) dBm, power-added efficiency of 39.5 % (36 %), and adjacent channel power ratio of -46 (-50) dBc at the output power of 28 (28) dBm under 3.4-V operation voltage for PCS (W-CDMA) applications.     

应用于C-X-Ku波段的宽带功率放大器

采用0.25μm AlGaAs/InGaAs/GaAs PHEMT工艺技术,研制出了6～18GHz三级MMIC全匹配宽带功率放大器单片.在6～18GHz的工作频率下,放大器的平均功率增益为19dB,输出功率大于33.3dBm,在10GHz处有最大输出功率34.7dBm,输入回波损耗S11低于-10dB,输出回波损耗S22低于-6dB.与报道的C-X-Ku频段宽带功率放大器相比,有较好的功率平坦度.     

A 77 GHz mHEMT MMIC Chip Set for Automotive Radar Systems

A monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) chip set consisting of a power amplifier, a driver amplifier, and a frequency doubler has been developed for automotive radar systems at 77 GHz. The chip set was fabricated using a 0.15 µm gate‐length InGaAs/InAlAs/GaAs metamorphic high electron mobility transistor (mHEMT) process based on a 4‐inch substrate. The power amplifier demonstrated a measured small signal gain of over 20 dB from 76 to 77 GHz with 15.5 dBm output power. The chip size is 2 mm × 2 mm. The driver amplifier exhibited a gain of 23 dB over a 76 to 77 GHz band with an output power of 13 dBm. The chip size is 2.1 mm × 2 mm. The frequency doubler achieved an output power of –6 dBm at 76.5 GHz with a conversion gain of ?16 dB for an input power of 10 dBm and a 38.25 GHz input frequency. The chip size is 1.2 mm × 1.2 mm. This MMIC chip set is suitable for the 77 GHz automotive radar systems and related applications in a W‐band.     

基于GaAs PHEMT工艺的60~90GHz功率放大器MMIC

研制了一款60~90 GHz功率放大器单片微波集成电路(MMIC),该MMIC采用平衡式放大结构,在较宽的频带内获得了平坦的增益、较高的输出功率及良好的输入输出驻波比(VSWR)。采用GaAs赝配高电子迁移率晶体管(PHEMT)标准工艺进行了流片,在片测试结果表明,在栅极电压为-0.3 V、漏极电压为+3 V、频率为60~90 GHz时,功率放大器MMIC的小信号增益大于13 dB,在71~76 GHz和81~86 GHz典型应用频段,功率放大器的小信号增益均大于15 dB。载体测试结果表明,栅极电压为-0.3 V、漏极电压为+3 V、频率为60~90 GHz时,该功率放大器MMIC饱和输出功率大于17.5 dBm,在71~76 GHz和81~86 GHz典型应用频段,其饱和输出功率可达到20 dBm。该功率放大器MMIC尺寸为5.25 mm×2.10 mm。     

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.     

75 GHz 13.92 dBm InP DHBT 共射共基功率放大器

报道了基于InP基双屏质结双板晶体管(DHBT)工艺的四指共射共基75 GHz微波单片集成(MMIC)功率放大器,器件的最高振荡频率fmax为150 GHz.放大器的输出极发射极面积为15μm×4μm.功率放大器在75 GHz时功率增益为12.3 dB,饱和输出功率为13.92 dBm.放大器在72.5 GHz处输入为2 dBm时达到最大输出功率14.53 dBm.整个芯片传输连接采用共面波导结构,芯片面积为1.06 mm×0.75 mm.     

An InGaP-GaAs HBT MMIC smart power amplifier for W-CDMA mobile handsets

We demonstrate a new linearized monolithic microwave integrated circuit smart power amplifier of extraordinary high power-added efficiency (PAE), especially at the most probable transmission power of wide-band code-division multiple-access handsets. A PAE of 21% at 16 dBm of output power, which is the maximum bound of the most probable transmission power in IS-95 systems, was obtained, as well as 40% at 28 dBm, the required maximum output power, with a single-chip MMIC power amplifier. The power amplifier has been devised with two InGaP-GaAs heterojunction bipolar transistor amplifying chains parallel connected, each chain being optimized for a different P/sub 1dB/ (1-dB compression point) value: one for 16 dBm for the low-power mode, targeting the most probable transmission power, and the other for 28 dBm for the high-power mode. The high-power mode operation shows 40% of PAE and -30 dBc of adjacent channel leakage power ratio (ACLR) at the maximum output power of 28 dBm. The low-power mode operation exhibits -34 dBc of ACLR at 16 dBm with 14 mA of a quiescent current. This amplifier improves power usage efficiency and, consequently, the battery lifetime of the handset by a factor of three.     

A 3-V monolithic SiGe HBT power amplifier for dual-mode (CDMA/AMPS)cellular handset applications

A dual-mode (CDMA/AMPS) power amplifier has been successfully implemented by using a monolithic SiGe/Si heterojunction bipolar transistor (HBT) foundry process for cellular handset (824-849 MHz) applications. The designed two-stage power amplifier satisfies both CDMA and AMPS requirements in output power, linearity, and efficiency. At V _cc=3 V,the power amplifier shows an excellent linearity (first ACPR<-44.1 dBc and second ACPR<-57.1 dBc) up to 28 dBm of output power for CDMA applications. Under the same bias condition, the power amplifier also meets AMPS handset requirements in output power (up to 31 dBm) and linearity (with second and third harmonic to fundamental ratios lower than -37 dBc and -55 dBc, respectively). At the maximum output power level, the worst power-added efficiencies (PAEs) are measured to be 36% for CDMA and 49% for AMPS operations. The power amplifier also tolerates severe output mismatch (VSWR>12:1) up to V _cc=4 V, with spurs measured to be <-22 dBc in CDMA outputs at two specific tuning angles, but with no spur in AMPS outputs at any tuning angle     

Fully-integrated GaAs HBT power amplifier MMIC with high linear output power for 3 GHz-band broadband wireless applications

A high linear output power two-stage GaAs heterojunction bipolar transistor (HBT) power amplifier MMIC is reported. The input, interstage and output matching circuits are designed for wideband and low-voltage operations, and are fully integrated into an MMIC chip. The power amplifier measured with 54 Mbits 64-QAM OFDM signals at a collector supply voltage of 3.3 V showed linear output power of higher than 23.2 dBm at an error vector magnitude of 3.0% in a frequency range 3.3-3.6 GHz     

Linearised InGaP/GaAs HBT MMIC power amplifier with active biascircuit for W-CDMA application

A high linearity InGaP/GaAs heterojunction bipolar transistor (HBT) monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) power amplifier is demonstrated using a new structure for a bias circuit for wideband-code division multiple access (W-CDMA) application. A one shunt capacitor is added to a novel active bias circuit and acts as a lineariser improving input P_{1 dB} of 16 dB and phase distortion of 5.1° for the hybrid phase shift keying (HPSK) modulated signal at the 28 dBm output power; the lineariser showing no significant increase of signal loss and chip area. The two-stage HBT MMIC amplifier exhibits a power-added efficiency (PAE) of 37%, a linear power gain of 24.5 dB, and an output power of 28 dBm with an adjacent channel power ratio (ACPR) of -45 dBc, under a 3 V operation voltage     

A fully integrated 5.3-GHz 2.4-V 0.3-W SiGe bipolar power amplifier with 50-/spl Omega/ output

A radio frequency power amplifier for 4.8-5.7 GHz has been realized in a 0.35-/spl mu/m SiGe bipolar technology. The balanced two-stage push-pull power amplifier uses two on-chip transformers as input-balun and for interstage matching. Further, it uses three coils for the integrated LC-output balun and the RF choke. Thus, the power amplifier does not require any external components. At 1.0-V, 1.5-V, and 2.4-V supply voltages, output powers of 17.7 dBm, 21.6 dBm, and 25 dBm are achieved at 5.3 GHz. The respective power-added efficiencies (PAE) are 15%, 22%, and 24%. The small-signal gain is 26 dB. The output 1-dB compression point at 2.4 V is 22 dBm with a PAE of 14%.     

19WC-波段MMIC多芯片合成功率放大器

报告了一个两级 C-波段功率单片电路的设计、制作和性能 ,该单片电路包括完全的输入端和级间匹配 ,输出端的匹配在芯片外实现 ,该放大器在 5.2～ 5.8GHz带内连续波工作 ,输出功率大于 36.6d Bm,功率增益大于 18.6d B,功率附加效率 34 % ,4芯片合成的功率放大器在 4 .7～ 5.3GHz带内 ,输出功率大于 4 2 .8d Bm( 19.0 W) ,功率增益大于 18.8d B,典型的功率附加效率为 34 %。     

9.5-14.5 GHz GaAs HBT 1W MMIC with 55% peak power added efficiency

A fully matched, broadband, high efficiency MMIC power amplifier using AlGaAs/GaAs HBTs has been designed and tested. At 7 V collector bias, this HBT amplifier produced 31 dBm CW peak output power with 9 dB gain and 55% peak power-added efficiency in the 9.5-14.5 GHz band. To the authors' knowledge, this is the highest efficiency ever achieved from a broadband MMIC power amplifier     

用于W-LAN的5.8GHz InGaP/GaAs HBT MMIC线性功率放大器

介绍了一种应用于W-LAN系统的5.8 GHz InGaP/GaAs HBT MMIC功率放大器。该功率放大器采用了自适应线性化偏置电路来改善线性度和效率,同时偏置电路中的温度补偿电路可以抑制直流工作点随温度的变化,采用RC稳定网络使放大器在较宽频带内具有绝对稳定性。在单独供电3.6 V电压情况下,功率放大器的增益为26 dB,1 dB压缩点处输出功率为26.4 dBm,功率附加效率(PAE)为25%。三阶交调系数(IMD3)在输出功率为26.4 dBm时为-19 dBc,输出功率为20 dBm时低于-38 dBc,在1 dB压缩点处偏移频率为20 MHz时邻道功率比(ACPR)值为-31 dBc。     

A Cool, Sub-0.2 dB Noise Figure GaN HEMT Power Amplifier With 2-Watt Output Power

This paper reports on a S-, C-band low-noise power amplifier (LNPA) which achieves a sub-0.2 dB noise figure (NF) over a multi-octave band and a saturated output power (Psat) of 2 W at a cool temperature of -30degC . The GaN MMIC is based on a 0.2 mum AlGaN/GaN-SiC HEMT technology with an f_T ~ 75 GHz. At a cool temperature of -30degC and a power bias of 15 V-400 mA, the MMIC achieves 0.25-0.45 dB average NF over a 2-8 GHz band and a linear P_1dB of 32.8 dBm ( ~ 2 W) with 25% power-added efficiency (PAE). At a medium bias of 12 V-200 mA, the amplifier achieves 0.1-0.2 dB average NF across the same band and a P_1dB of 32.2 dBm (1.66 W) with 35% PAE. The corresponding saturated output power is greater than 2 W. At a low noise bias of 5 V-200 mA, a remarkable 0.05-0.15 dB average NF is achieved with a P_1dB > 24 dBm and PAE ~ 33%. These results are believed to be the lowest NF ever reported for a multi-octave fully matched MMIC amplifier capable of > 2 W of output power.