Performance of sulphur-ion-implanted GaAs f.e.t.s

GaAs f.e.t.s have been produced by sulphur-ion implantation that give optimum noise figures as low as 4.6 dB at 10 GHz and maximum available gains of greater than 10 dB at 10 GHz. A considerable degree of uniformity among the devices is observed.     

Performance of self-oscillating GaAs m.e.s.f.e.t. mixers at X-band

A new mode of m.e.s.f.e.t. operation, the self-oscillating mixer is reported. Conversion gains of up to 2 dB at 10 GHz and noise figures as good as 15 dB have been demonstrated by using a simple circuit.     

Dual-gate m.e.s.f.e.t. self-oscillating X-band mixers

GaAs dual-gate m.e.s.f.e.t.s have been successfully used as self-oscillating down-convertors in X-band. A single device replaces the preamplifier, mixer and local oscillator. The best conversion gain achieved by mixing from 10 GHz down to 1 GHz was 12 dB. The input (gate 1) to output (drain) port isolation amounted to 16 dB. Slug-tuner and `disc?-resonator circuits were tested and showed comparable gain and noise performance. Best d.s.b. noise figures of 5.5 dB could be realised at an i.f. of 1 GHz with an associated conversion gain of 4 dB.     

X and Ku band GaAs m.e.s.f.e.t.

A GaAs Schottky-barrier f.e.t. (m.e.s.f.e.t.) with a 1 ?m gate has been built, which is suitable for X band and Ku band applications. The unilateral power gain over the X band is above 9 dB and the noise figure is only 5 dB at 10 GHz.     

Low-noise microwave f.e.t.s fabricated by molecular-beam epitaxy

The growth of m.b.e. GaAs suitable for f.e.t. fabrication is reported. The m.b.e. structure consists of an n+ = 2.5×1018 cm?3 contact layer on top of an n+ = 3.5×1017 cm?3 active layer. Using this material, f.e.t.s. have been fabricated that have a minimum noise figure of 1.5 dB with an associated gain of 15 dB at 8 GHz. These are the best results yet reported for low-noise m.b.e. GaAs f.e.t.s.     

GaAs f.e.t. mixer operation with high intermediate frequencies

GaAs f.e.t. mixer operation is investigated at 6 GHz when the intermediate frequency is around 1 GHz. A 3 dB improvement in noise figure is measured, compared with 30 MHz i.f. operation. Other characteristics, such as conversion gain and dynamic range, are similar. Broadband operation is also investigated. With 0.5 ?m gate device, on s.s.b. noise figure of 5.6 dB is achieved with a conversion gain of 10 dB.     

Ku- and K-band internally matched high-power GaAs f.e.t. amplifiers

Internal-matching techniques, using lumped-element capacitors fabricated on high dielectric ceramics, have been developed for high power GaAs f.e.t.s in Ku- and K-bands. The developed internally matched high-power f.e.t. amplifier modules have exhibited 1.9 W power output with 4 dB associated gain at 14 GHz and 1.25 W power output with 3 dB associated gain at 18 GHz.     

GaAs power f.e.t.s with semi-insulated gates

GaAs semi-insulated-gate f.e.t.s (s.i.g.f.e.t.s) have been fabricated by Ar+ bombardment in the gate region. The d c. characteristics and microwave performance are compared with those of conventional power m.e.s.f.e.t.s fabricated from the same slice. Up to 2.9W output power with 4dB gain has been obtained from s.i.g.f.e.t. devices at 8 GHz.     

New estimate of the minimum noise figure of a m.e.s.f.e.t.

New estimates of the drain and gate noise multiplication parameters, the correlation coefficient and the minimum noise figure for a m.e.s.f.e.t. are advanced. For an uncooled GaAs m.e.s.f.e.t. having a 1 ?m gate length, a minimum possible noise figure of 1 dB at 10 GHz is predicted. InP is only marginally better.     

Microwave capability of 1.5 ?m-gate GaAs m.o.s.f.e.t.

1.5 ?m-gate GaAs m.o.s.f.e.t.s have been fabricated by anodic oxidation, and the microwave capability has been examined. The maximum oscillation frequency fmax is 22 GHz and the noise figure is 6.1 dB at 8 GHz. The results are comparable to those of GaAs m.e.s.f.e.t.s.     

Medium-power GaAs field-effect transistors

Results on medium-power GaAs m.e.s.f.e.t.s. are described. Output powers as high as 300 mW at 9 GHz at 1 dB gain compression with a linear gain of 5.2 dB and drain efficiency of 30% have been obtained with single-cell m.e.s.f.e.t.s. At 4 GHz, a power output of 665 mW at 1 dB gain compression, a linear gain of 8 dB and a drain efficiency of 44.5% were realised with a 3-cell m.e.s.f.e.t. Two-tone intermodulation characteristics at 4 GHz are also described. A major innovation has been the use of a high-resistivity chromium-doped epitaxial GaAs buffer layer to isolate the device active region from the bulk-grown substrate.     

Enhancement-mode ion-implanted InP f.e.t.s

Planar enhancement-mode InP f.e.t.s have been fabricated through the use of ion implantation and subsequent electron-beam lithography. Noise figures of 3.2 and 2.6 dB were achieved at 8 GHz with associated gains of 6.4 and 4.7 dB, respectively.     

Low-noise GaAs m.e.s.f.e.t.s

GaAs m.e.s.f.e.t.s with optimum noise figures of 1.6 dB at 6 GHz have been fabricated by projection photolithography. An equation has been developed for the calculation of optimum noise figure which gives good agreement between calculated and measured values.     

High-efficiency GaAs m.e.s.f.e.t. amplifiers

High-efficiency c.w. amplification with GaAs m.e.s.f.e.t.s under class-B conditions has been demonstrated. Power added efficiencies as high as 68% at 4 GHz and 41% at 8 GHz have been achieved. Two-tone tests were carried out at 4 GHz. The power added efficiencies at the 3rd-order intermodulation levels of ?20, ?25 and ?30 dB were 49, 40 and 35% respectively.     

Integrated GaAs f.e.t. mixer performance at X band

Experiments were performed at X band with GaAs f.e.t.s used as mixer elements. These studies show that an f.e.t. mixer may exhibit a conversion gain approaching that of the corresponding amplifier. Conversion gains as high as 6 dB were measured. Low noise and high signal-handling capabilities were also demonstrated.     

K-band f.e.t. amplifiers

Single-stage f.e.t. amplifiers operating in K-band have been constructed using the Varian VSX 9305 0.5 ?m-gate GaAs f.e.t. An amplifier gain of 9±1 dB was obtained over the frequency band 18.5?20.5 GHz and gain of 8±1 dB was observed from 23.0 to 26.0 GHz. An amplifier noise figure of 5.6 dB was measured at 24 GHz.     

A 4?8 GHz dual gate m.e.s.f.e.t. amplifier

A two-stage dual-gate f.e.t. amplifier with small signal gain of 20 ± 0.75 dB, covering an octave bandwidth (4?8 GHz) and having a dynamic gain control range in excess of 60 dB is reported. The gain frequency response, input and output v.s.w.r. are described as a function of second-gate voltage. The performance of the dual-gate f.e.t. amplifier as a fast r.f. switch is also presented.     

GaAs power m.e.s.f.e.t.s. with a graded recess structure

A new recess structure device was developed to improve the field distrubution and therfore the performance of GaAs power m.e.s.f.e.t.s. The linear gain and the output power were improved by 1?2 dB for this structure. The highest output powers obtained are 15 W with 4 dB associated gain at 6 GHz, and 4.3 W with 3 dB associated gain at 11 GHz.     

GaAs m.e.s.f.e.t. prepared by organometallic chemical vapour deposition

GaAs m.e.s.f.e.t.s with gate dimensions of 1.5 ?m × 300 ?m were fabricated in the epitaxial layers grown by organometallic chemical vapour deposition (o.m.c.v.d.) technique. The average saturation velocity in the channel was deduced to be 1.3 × 107 cm/s and is equal to that of epitaxial layers grown by AsCl3 chemical vapour deposition (c.v.d.). The velocity degraded region was confined to within about 350 ? of the interface. A gain of 10 dB and a noise figure of 3 dB with an associated gain of 5.5 dB at 8 GHz were measured.     

10 GHz/10 W internally matched flip-chip GaAs power f.e.t.s

A flip-chip GaAs power f.e.t. delivering 10 W power output with 3 dB gain has been realised at 10 GHz by using a newly developed internal matching technique, in which the f.e.t. chips are directly connected to the lumped capacitors in the matching networks.