High-Efficiency and High-Power Rectifiers Using Cost-Effective AlGaN/GaN Schottky Diode With Accurate Large-Signal Parameter Extraction

This letter describes efficient high-power rectifiers, using a cost-effective AlGaN/GaN Schottky barrier diode (SBD) with accurate extraction of large-signal parameters as the rectifying device. The thin-barrier (TB) recess-free GaN SBD exhibits a low turn-on voltage of 0.5 V, a low ON-resistance of
$6.2 \Omega $
, a low junction capacitance of 0.28 pF, and a high breakdown voltage of 66 V. A precise large-signal equivalent-circuit model is derived by elaborating the measured
$I$
–
$V$
,
$C$
–
$V$
data, and
$S$
-parameters under different dc bias conditions. For model verification, two separate rectifiers working at 5.8 and 10 GHz are fabricated. The measured results indicate that, with 31-dBm input power, the maximum efficiencies of the two rectifiers are 78.9% and 76.6% at 5.8 and 10 GHz, respectively. The maximum power handling capability of each single SBD reaches 36 dBm. Owing to the low-cost high-performance GaN SBD with an accurate model, the high-power rectifiers exhibit the merits of compact size and high efficiency, indicating great potential for large-scale microwave power transfer (MPT) applications, such as space solar power systems (SSPS).