Design of power MMICs and power combining techniques

The current trends in power transmitters for advanced military microwave systems are demanding increased integration, reliability, radiation hardness and lower cost when produced in large volume, whereas the microwave commercial market mandates low cost. The Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuit (MMIC) technology for power amplifiers promises to meet these requirements and provides microwave designers with a high volume manufacturing process. In this paper the design considerations for narrow band, broadband and multistage power MMICs are discussed. Examples of power MMICs developed using MSAG FET technology for narrow band and broadband applications are described. Power combining on the chip as well as using a hybrid MIC approach are discussed.