Monolithic GaAs PHEMT MMICs integrated with RF MEMS switches

Low-loss RF MEMS switches have been integrated with HEMT MMIC circuits on GaAs substrates to allow the fabrication of a new class of high-performance microwave and millimeter-wave circuits. The integration process allows the co-integration of MEMS microrelays and GaAs PHEMT devices with no sacrifice in performance or yield to either device. Examples of circuits fabricated include multi-band low-noise amplifiers, transmit and receive (T/R) circuits, and a switched dual-width power amplifier at X-band. The power amplifier uses two MEMS switches at the input to guide the RF signal between two paths. Each path provides single-stage amplification using different size HEMT devices to optimize efficiency over a wide range of output power levels.