Design and performance of an octave band 11 watt power amplifier MMIC

The design and performance of a two-stage 3.0 to 6.0 GHz MMIC (monolithic microwave integrated circuit) power amplifier that has established a new standard for power output and bandwidth in MMIC form are reported. The amplifier produces 11 W+or-1 dB from 3.0 to 6.0 GHz, with maximum power outputs of 13.5 W and 10.5 W at S and C radar bands respectively, and a minimum power of 9 W. This benchmark eclipses the best power levels reported for both two-stage (8 W at S-band) and single-stage (10 W at C-band) narrowband MMIC power amplifiers with a continuous bandwidth coverage of 67%. The yield of this two-stage 40 mm gate periphery MMIC, based on 0.5 mu m gate length selective-implant MESFET technology, averaged 43%, with a 57% yield from the best wafer.<
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