InGaP/GaAs HBT RF power amplifier with compact ESD protection circuit

A 5.4-6.0 GHz InGaP/GaAs HBT power amplifier with a compact 2000 Vesd on-chip electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection circuit that has low loading capacitance of less than 0.1 pF and does not degrade RF and output power performance is presented for wireless LAN application. In contrast to the traditional diode string, a diode triggered Darlington pair is implemented as the ESD protection circuit. This summary discusses the operation principle, ESD protection performance and RF loading of the ESD protection circuit, and the power amplifier performance with this ESD protection circuit.