Quarter micron gate low noise GaAsFET's operable up to 30 GHz

Quarter micron gate low noise GaAs MESFET's have been developed by delineating gate electrodes with an electron beam lithography technique and by reducing parasitic source and gate resistances. At 18GHz, a noise figure of 1.9dB with an associated gain of 7dB and a maximum available gain of 11dB were obtained at drain currents of 10mA and 30mA, respectively. At 30GHz, a noise figure of 4dB with an associated gain of 5dB and a maximum available gain of 8dB were obtained. The measured noise figures are the best values reported so far, and this work has demonstrated the feasibility of utilizing GaAs MESFET's up to millimeter-wave regions.