GaAs Bi-FET RF front-end MMIC for WiMAX applications

A single-chip WiMAX RF front-end MMIC using GaAs Bi-FET process of WIN semiconductor corporation is presented. The MMIC integrates an HBT power amplifier, an E-mode pHEMT low-noise amplifier, and a D-mode pHEMT antenna switch. On-chip thermal and electrical isolation structures mitigate the interference problem from high-power devices. The MMIC delivers 24 dBm linear power of 64QAM 802.16e signal with 17% power-added efficiency at antenna switch output. The chip size is 1.85 mm × 1.1 mm.