Future of GaN RF Technology in Europe
In the last years GaN has remained a key technology in Europe in particular, but not only, for RF Applications. After an intensive period of research and development the scope has shifted towards industrialization and product development. This is especially true for the applications up to around 20GHz where systems are now being built using European GaN-based components. At the same time, an increasing part of the research activity has moved toward higher frequencies beyond 20GHz.
Comparison of the performances of an InAlN/GaN HEMT with a Mo/Au gate or a Ni/Pt/Au gate
Abstract In this paper GaN based HEMT structures characterized by a 6.3 nm InAlN barrier layer and a different gate contact (Mo/Au and Ni/Pt/Au) are described. The effects of a different gate contact structure on DC and pulsed main characteristics are discussed. Despite no meaningful variation is noticed during DC analysis, pulsed evaluation demonstrates that the use of a Mo/Au gate contact leads to an improvement of trapping characteristics. Reliability performances of the devices are finally investigated by means of a OFF state three terminals step stress, proving that the use of a Mo/Au stack does not affect significantly the device stability during the stress.
5W GaN MMIC for Millimeter-Wave Applications
Power amplifier MMICs were designed and fabricated using micro-strip topology on 3-mil thinned semi-insulating SiC substrates with through vias. A two-stage 50-ohm matched Ka-band MMIC with an output-stage composed of a 1.2-mm-wide device operated with Psat of 5 Watts at 26.5 GHz, corresponding to a power density of 3.1 W/mm, with an associated gain of 9dB and a PAE of 20%. The MMIC produced 13 plusmn1dB of linear gain from 25GHz to 30GHz with an associated P3dB of > 3 watts across the band. These results are the best combination of output power and power density reported from a Ka-band GaN MMIC to date