Microwave AlGaN/GaN HFETs

This article presents the operating physics, performance potential, and status of device development of microwave AlGaN/GaN heterostructure field-effect transistors. AlGaN/GaN HFETs show potential for use in improved RF performance microwave amplifier applications. Development progress has been rapid, and prototype devices have demonstrated RF output power density as high as 30 W/mm. Microwave amplifier output power is rapidly approaching 100 W for single-chip operation, and these devices may soon find application for cellular base station transmitter applications. Devices are being developed for use in X-band radars, and RF performance is rapidly improving. The HFET devices experience several physical effects that can limit performance. These effects consist of nonlinearities introduced during the high-current and high-voltage portions of the RF cycle. High-current phenomena involve the operation of the conducting channel above the critical current density for initiation of space-charge effects. The source resistance is modulated in magnitude by the channel current, and high source resistance results. High voltage effects include reverse leakage of the gate electrode and subsequent charge trapping effects on the semiconductor surface, and RF breakdown in the conducting channel. These effects can produce premature saturation effects. Also, under certain conditions, high voltage operation of the device can initiate an IMPATT mode of operation. When this occurs, the channel current increases and RF gain is increased. This phenomenon enhances the RF output power of the device. The physical limiting effects can be controlled with proper design, and the outlook for use of these devices in practical applications is excellent.     

Low‐power,low‐area preamplifier for ultra high‐speed multi‐channel optical communication system

A novel circuit technique was applied to the design of a preamplifier for ultra high‐speed short‐distance parallel optical communication system in standard 180‐nm CMOS technology. This circuit is featured by low power, low area as well as high gain bandwidth product, and suited for applications in low‐cost process. The restraint on voltage headroom as bottleneck in traditionally adopted regulated cascode configuration has been fundamentally analyzed and lifted by feed‐forward common gate stage to achieve high gain bandwidth product under limited f_T and strict power restriction. Complex poles were carefully assigned to further attain bandwidth extension without sacrifice on power, noise, and chip area. No additional peaking techniques and subsequent gain‐boosting stages are adopted, which makes the design simple and favorable in low‐cost high‐density multi‐channel optical communication system. The preamplifier provides a trans‐impedance gain of up to 52 dBΩ and a 3‐dB bandwidth of 8.4 GHz. Operating under a 1.8‐V supply, the power dissipation is 8 mW, and the chip area is only 0.075×0.08 mm. The measured average input‐referred noise–current spectral density is . Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Wide bandgap semiconductor transistors for microwave poweramplifiers

Explores the RF power performance of microwave amplifiers fabricated from wide bandgap semiconductor transistors and demonstrates that microwave power amplifiers fabricated from 4H-SiC and AlGaN/GaN transistors offer superior RF power performance, particularly at elevated temperatures. Theoretical models predict room temperature RF output power on the order of 4-6 W/mm and 10-12 W/mm, with power-added efficiency (PAE) approaching the ideal values for class A and B operation, available from 4H-SiC MESFETs and AlGaN/GaN HFETs, respectively. All calculations were thoroughly calibrated against dc and RF experimental data. The simulations indicate operation at elevated temperature at least up to 5000°C is possible. The RF output power capability of these devices compares very favorably with the 1 W/mm available from GaAs MESFETs. The wide bandgap semiconductor devices will find application in power amplifiers for base station transmitters for wireless telephone systems, HDTV transmitters, power modules for phased-array radars, and other applications. The devices are particularly attractive for applications that require operation at elevated temperature     

Recent advances in the design of matrix amplifiers

Contents Recent developmental trends in the field of wideband matrix amplifiers are discussed using a 6 GHz–18 GHz monolithic module as a representative example. Employing only four MESFET functions, the unit achieves a gain ofG=16.5 dB±0.35 dB at a maximum return loss ofRL=–10 dB across the 6 GHz–18 GHz frequency band. Even at gain compression levels of 10 dB, the worst harmonic output power does not exceedP(3f ₀)=–13.2 dBc. The monolithic chip's dimensions are 1.8×2.75×0.115 mm.

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Jüngste Fortschritte beim Entwurf von Matrixverstärkern

Übersicht Es werden jüngste Entwurfstrends im Bereich der Breitband-Matrixverstärker diskutiert, wobei ein monolithisches Modul für 6 GHz–18 GHz als repräsentatives Beispiel vorgestellt wird. Mit nur vier MESFET-Funktionen erreicht die Einheit einen GewinnG von 16,5 dB±0,35 dB bei einer maximalen ReflexionsdämpfungRL von –10 dB über einem Frequenzband von 6 GHz–18 GHz. Sogar bei Pegeln, die den Gewinn um 10 dB erniedrigen, überschreitet die maximale Harmonischen-AusgangsleistungP (3f ₀) nicht –13,2dBc. Die Abmessungen des monolithischen Chips betragen 1,8×2,75×0,115 mm.

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Dedicated to Prof. Dr.-Ing. H. Döring on the occasion of his 80th birthday     

基于GaN器件的固态射频电源应用研究

随着电力电子技术的发展,射频电源由电子管电源发展成现在的晶体管射频电源。氮化镓GaN(gallium nitride)作为第三代宽禁带半导体材料的典型代表,具有宽禁带、高临界击穿场强、高电子饱和漂移速度以及高导通的AlGaN/GaN异质结二维电子气2DEG(two-dimensional electrons gas)等优点。GaN功率器件与硅(Si)功率器件相比,具有导通阻抗低,输入、输出电容小等特性,这些特性使得GaN功率器件高开关速度、低损耗。在E类功率射频电源的基础上,采用GaN功率器件设计制作了一款开关频率为4 MHz、功率可调的全固态射频电源实验样机。通过电路的设计和优化,样机的输出功率为21.4 W时,效率达到了96.7%;同时,采用专为射频电源生产的Si功率器件替换掉样机上的GaN器件,实验数据验证了GaN器件开关速度快、损耗低,可大幅度提高射频电源的效率。     

High‐efficiency CMOS push‐pull power amplifier with multilayer center‐tapped transformer

This paper describes the design of a push‐pull power amplifier (PA) with a center‐tapped transformer for transmitter applications on the 5.2‐GHz band using 0.18μm CMOS technology. The type of the proposed PA is based on a double‐ended push–pull (DEPP) configuration. DEPP has a simple construction with only transistors and transformers. The PA has reverse‐phased cascode‐connected transistors. The proposed transformer has a multilayer structure and was designed using electromagnetic field simulation. To achieve high power added efficiency (PAE), we assumed the optimized output impedance technique with a tunable impedance antenna. The PA has 13.2 dB linearity gain, 14.9 dBm 1‐dB compression point (P1dB), and 27.4% maximum PAE. © 2016 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

A 1.9‐GHz silicon‐on‐insulator CMOS stacked‐FET power amplifier with uniformly distributed voltage stresses

A 1.9‐GHz single‐stage differential stacked‐FET power amplifier with uniformly distributed voltage stresses was implemented using 0.32‐μm 2.8‐V thick‐oxide MOSFETs in a 0.18‐μm silicon‐on‐insulator CMOS process. The input cross‐coupled stacked‐FET topology was proposed to evenly distribute the voltage stresses among the stacked transistors, alleviating the breakdown and reliability issues of the stacked‐FET power amplifier in sub‐micrometer CMOS technology. With a 4‐V supply voltage, the proposed power amplifier with an integrated output coupled‐resonator balun showed a small‐signal gain of 17 dB, a saturated output power of 26.1 dBm, and a maximum power‐added efficiency of 41.5% at the operating frequency. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A novel low‐power receiver topology for RF and microwave applications

A novel low‐power receiver topology for radio‐frequency and microwave applications is presented. The proposed solution exploits a simple connection between the low‐noise amplifier and the subsequent mixer, which is realized by means of a high‐value resistor and a current mirror, achieving low noise and high linearity performance with an extremely low power consumption. The criteria for its optimal design are derived in order to accomplish the main trade‐offs among noise figure (NF), linearity, and current consumption performance. As a case of study, the new topology has been designed in the case of I/Q direct conversion receiver for IEEE 802.15.4 standard (ZigBee) applications at 2.45 GHz. The receiver exhibits a NF of 8.7 dB, 50Ω input impedance, a voltage gain of 26 dB, an input‐referred third‐order intercept point of ?13 dBm, and a power consumption of 8.6 mW, which represent one of the best performance trade‐offs obtained in the literature. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

67‐90 GHz broadband power detector with 3 GHz output bandwidth for on‐chip test of millimeter‐wave circuits

This paper presents the design of a compact and wide bandwidth millimeter‐wave power detector, integrated at the output of an E‐band power amplifier and implemented in a 55‐nm SiGe BiCMOS process. It is based on a nonlinear PMOS detector core, and its measured output voltage tracks the output power of the PA from 67 to 90 GHz. It provides an insertion loss lower than 0.2 dB, and its responsivity can be tuned between 8 and 17 V/W. The output bandwidth is bigger than 3 GHz, which allows built‐in self‐test when transmitting multigigabit millimeter‐wave signals.     

A front‐end receiver with a dual cross‐coupling technique for MICS applications

This paper presents a front‐end receiver with a dual cross‐couple technique for Medical Implant Communication Services M applications, using a standard complementary metal‐oxide semiconductor process. A lower‐power design is achieved using a resistive feedback, g_m‐boosting technique along with a current reuse topology in the receiver's transconductance stage. In addition, a dual cross‐coupling configuration applied at the input stage increases overall gain performance and reduces power consumption. The measured power dissipation of the low‐noise amplifier is only 0.51 mW. The conversion gain of the receiver is 19.74 dB, while the radio frequency and local oscillator frequencies are respectively 403.5 and 393.5 MHz, and the LO power is 0 dBm. The chip exhibits excellent isolation below −70 dB from LO to intermediate frequency and LO to radio frequency. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A novel efficiency‐enhancement topology: GaN high‐electron mobility transistors with waveform‐modulation structure composed of Schottky diodes

To improve the power‐added efficiency (PAE) of the gallium nitride (GaN) high‐electron mobility transistor (HEMT) in radio frequency applications, this paper studies the relationship between the nonlinearity of the gate capacitance and the PAE of the GaN HEMTs. The theoretical analysis and simulation results demonstrate that the nonlinearity of the gate capacitance modulates the signal phase at the GaN HEMT input and increases the average drain current, leading to increased power consumption and reduced PAE. Then, an efficiency‐enhancement topology for GaN HEMTs that employs the waveform‐modulation effect of Schottky diodes to reduce power consumption and improve efficiency is presented. The efficiency‐enhancement topology for a 4 × 100‐μm GaN HEMT with waveform‐modulation diodes is then fabricated. Results of load‐pull test demonstrate that the novel topology can increase the PAE of the 4 × 100‐μm GaN HEMT by more than 5% at 8 GHz. The novel efficiency‐enhancement topology for GaN HEMTs proposed in this paper will be suitable for applications that demand high‐efficiency GaN HEMTs or circuits.     

InGaN multiquantum-well-structure laser diodes with GaN-AlGaNmodulation-doped strained-layer superlattices

InGaN multiquantum-well-structure (MQW) laser diodes with Al_0.14Ga_0.86N-GaN modulation doped strained-layer superlattice (MD-SLS) cladding layers grown on an epitaxially laterally overgrown GaN substrate was demonstrated to have a lifetime of more than 2300 h under the condition of room-temperature continuous-wave operation. The self-pulsation was observed with a frequency of 3.5 GHz. The relative intensity noise less than -145 dB/Hz was obtained even at the 6% optical feedback using the high-frequency modulation of 600 MHz. The threshold carrier density of the InGaN MQW-structure laser diodes was estimated to be 3×10¹⁹/cm³ using a carrier lifetime of 1.8 ns     

A 1–6 GHz analog radio frequency power driver in 90 nm complementary metal‐oxide semiconductor technology for wireless applications

One of the most challenging subsystems for integrated radio frequency (RF) complementary metal‐oxide semiconductor (CMOS) solutions is the power amplifier. A 1–6 GHz RF power driver (RFPD) in 90 nm CMOS technology is presented, which receives signals from on‐chip RF signal chain components at ?12 dBm power levels and produces a 0 dBm signal to on‐chip or off‐chip 50 Ω loads. A unique unit cell design is developed for the RFPD to offset issues associated with very wide multi‐fingered transistors. The RF driver was fabricated as a stand‐alone sub‐circuit on a 90 nm CMOS die with other sub‐circuits. Experimental tests confirmed that the on‐chip RFPD operates up to 6 GHz and is able to drive 50 Ω loads to the desired 0 dBm power level. Spur free dynamic range exceeded 70 dB. The measured power gain was 11.6 dB at 3 GHz. The measured 1 dB compression point and input third‐order intercept point (IIP3) were ?4.7 dBm and ?0.5 dBm, respectively. Also, included are modeling, simulation, and measured results addressing issues associated with interfacing the die to a package with pinouts and the package to a printed circuit test fixture. The simulations were made through direct current (DC), alternating current (AC), and transient analysis with Cadence Analog Design Environment. The stability was also verified on the basis of phase margin simulations from extracted circuit net‐lists. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

New Estimation Method of Millimeter‐Wave Power by Dealing Optical Power

This report is regarding to a new measurement of a millimeter‐wave using optical power. A calorie meter conventionally has been used to measure the millimeter‐wave power above 100 GHz, which has high temperature dependence, and therefore finds the difficulty of small power measurement. To overcome this difficulty, we propose the new method to estimate millimeter‐wave power by measuring optical power of optical 2‐tone signals. This proposed method has low temperature dependence due to optical power, and therefore makes the small power of the above millimeter‐wave enable. The principle and the estimation methods of this new method, and its experimental methods and results are explained. Noble results show that the difference between estimated and experiment value is maximally 0.99 dB at 110 GHz, the measurement possibility of frequency extending more than 170 GHz is referred to.     

Low-Frequency Noise-Based Degradation Prediction of$hboxAl_xhboxGa_1 - xhboxN/GaN$MODFETs

Degradation prediction of AlGaN/GaN MODFET is explored based on characterization of gate and drain low- frequency noise. Heterostructures grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) and metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) are used for this purpose. Devices from the former category were unpassivated while those of the latter were passivated. Despite the highly variable gate noise current characteristics among unpassivated MBE devices and between MBE and MOCVD-based devices, it is demonstrated that the drain noise current characteristics of the two groups of devices have considerable resemblance. Moreover, it is shown that the drain noise current level can be used as a means for gate degradation prediction     

Design and analysis of differential ring voltage controlled oscillator for wide tuning range and low power applications

Voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) is the most basic component required for all wireless and communication systems. In this article, a four-stage differential ring VCO with two control voltages for wide tuning range is proposed. This VCO uses the dual-delay loop technique for high operation frequency. Also, a low-V_T NMOS transistor is used in series with pull down network of the proposed VCO delay cell to achieve low frequencies. Prelayout simulation of the proposed VCO is performed in 65-nm TSMC CMOS technology in Cadence software under 1.2-V supply voltage. The tuning range of the proposed VCO varies from 1 MHz to 13.8 GHz and has been improved by 19.77% compared to other works. The power consumption of this low power VCO is between 29.3 μW to 1.715 mW. The phase noise of the proposed circuit is −82.3 dBc/Hz at 1 MHz offset frequency and −106.9 dBc/Hz at 10 MHz offset frequency from 5.161 GHz center frequency, while its area is 102.457 μm² . This design demonstrates other benefits in low power consumption and area compared with other ring oscillators.     

Design of an automatic gain control loop for high speed communication

This paper presents the design of an automatic gain control (AGC) loop for high-speed communication systems, which can be used in wired, wireless, or optical receiver. The design is performed in 130 nm SiGe BiCMOS technology. A Gilbert cell-based variable gain amplifier is designed, which shows approximately linear gain control with respect to the gain control voltage. The variable gain amplifier is followed by two fixed gain cascode amplifiers. Then, a full wave rectifier-based peak detector is designed and analyzed. To reduce the peak detector error, a compensation technique is applied. Finally, an operational amplifier is designed, which is used as voltage adder and comparator. The designed AGC loop is simulated with sinusoidal and pseudorandom binary sequence (prbs) input signal with high frequency signal of 1 to 30 GHz. The simulation results of the AGC loop show that a gain tuning range of 47 dB (−7 to 40 dB) is obtained in this design. It is also seen that the reference signal can be varied from 50 to 200 mV. This AGC works in the input voltage signal range between 3 mV peak and 230 mV peak, and the power dissipation of is 79 mW.     

An ultra low-voltage, low-power baseband-processor for UHF RFID tag

A novel ultra low-voltage, low-power baseband-processor for UHF radio frequency identification (RFID) tag is presented here. The baseband-processor is compatible with the EPC™ class-1 generation-2 (C1G2) UHF RFID protocol, and fits the requirements of ultra low-power of passive tags. Based on the analysis of the special power consumption of the tag, a new architecture is proposed. A novel scheme for generating pseudo-random numbers as well as a new method of partial-decoding is developed. Besides, other low-power techniques are also adopted for the special baseband-processor which implements complex functions, such as encoding/coding, anti-collision and authorization scheme, and reading/writing operation to EEPROM. The chip was fabricated in 0.35 μm 1P3M standard CMOS process. Experimental results show that it achieves low power operation of 3.15 μW @ 1.5 V with the core area of 1.1 mm × 0.8 mm. __________ Translated from Chinese Journal of Semiconductors, 2006, 27(10): 1866–1871 [译自: 半导体学报]     

磁织构化处理对NiZn铁氧体基复合电波吸收材料吸波特性的影响

以NiZn铁氧体为主吸收剂,添加其他介质制成复合电波吸收材料,经垂直和平行磁场磁织构化处理后,在7.5~12GHz波段测试其吸波性能,发现样品的最大反射衰减量由原来的30.5dB分别增高到36.0dB和31.7dB,匹配厚度略增,面密度略降,吸收峰移向低频,10dB带宽略增.垂直和平行磁场织构化的双层结构,其吸波性能与单层相比有所改变.     

六英寸Si基GaN功率电子材料及器件的制备与研究

氮化镓(GaN)作为第三代半导体材料的代表,具有优异的材料物理特性,更加适合于下一代电力电子系统对功率开关器件更大功率、更高频率、更小体积和更恶劣工作温度的要求。为了兼容Si基CMOS工艺流程,以及考虑到大尺寸、低成本等优势,在Si衬底上进行GaN材料的异质外延及器件制备已经成为业界主要技术路线。详细介绍了在6英寸Si衬底上外延生长的AlGaN/GaN HEMT结构功率电子材料,以及基于6英寸CMOS产线制造Si基GaN功率MIS-HEMT和常关型Cascode GaN器件的相关成果。