Compact W-Band PA MMICs in Commercially Available 0.1-µm GaAs PHEMT Process

The technology, design aspects and performance of a family of three compact W-band power amplifier MMICs are presented. The circuits are fabricated in a commercially available 0.1-μm GaAs PHEMT technology. Thanks to efficient design approaches, the 3.5-mm
²
power amplifier demonstrates a measured linear gain of more than 12 dB, and a saturated output power Psat of +24.5 dBm (280 mW) across the 80-100 GHz band. The driver and medium power amplifiers deliver at 92-96 GHz more than +20.5 dBm (>100 mW) and +23 dBm (200 mW), in chip sizes of less than 0.97 mm
²
(0.25 mm
²
for the core amplifier) and 1.95 mm
²
respectively. These power densities and measured performance at W-band compare favorably to other GaAs MMICs, and more advanced solutions using InP HBTs or GaN HEMTs reported in the literature. Furthermore, the presented design considerations can be applied to reduce manufacturing cost in other circuits and technologies.