A monopole-probe-based quasi-optical amplifier array

A quasi-optical amplifier array designed for Ku-band operation is presented. Orthogonal monopole-probe antennas are used to couple the power into, and out from, an array of microstrip-based amplifiers. The array has a gain of 5.4 dB at 16.4 GHz using packaged high electron mobility transistors (HEMT's). This gain is 3.5 dB below the maximum stable gain for this device at this frequency.