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IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques
Volume 48 Number 12, December 2000

A 3-10-GHz GaN-Based Flip-Chip Integrated Broad-Band Power Amplifier

Page 2573.

Abstract:

In this paper, we report the latest progress of a GaN-based broad-band power amplifier using AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs),grown on sapphire substrates, as the active devices. The devices were flip-chip integrated onto the aluminum nitride circuit board for thermal management and electric connection. The circuit topology used novel LCR -matching networks in a four-way binary-Wilkinson combiner structure. Using devices with 0.7-µm gate length and 4-mm gate width, a small-signal gain of 7 dB was obtained with 3-10-GHz bandwidth. Output power of 8 W (continuous wave) at 9.5 GHz with about 20% power-added efficiency was achieved when biased at 24 V, which is the highest output power for a power amplifier using GaN-HEMTs-on-sapphire.

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