A high-power Q-band PHEMT for communication terminal applications

A high-power 0.15 /spl mu/m gate-length pseudomorphic HEMT (PHEMT), developed specifically for high reliability millimeter-wave satellite communication applications, is reported. The device has demonstrated state-of-the-art performance at 44.5 GHz, generating nearly 800 mW output power with 5.8 dB power gain and 25% power-added efficiency, and is designed for operation at low channel temperatures for excellent long-term reliability. The 1800 /spl mu/m gate-width PHEMTs described herein have been produced on 3-inch wafers with high yield and exceptional consistency of high frequency characteristics-for example, five devices sampled from one wafer exhibited output power of 28.94/spl plusmn/0.07 dBm. In addition, data is presented for a 2-stage hybrid amplifier based on the newly developed PHEMTs that is ideally suited to integration into multi-watt Q-band transmitters.<>