A Comparison of AlGaN/GaN HFETs on Si Substrates in Ceramic Air Cavity and Plastic Overmold Packages

AlGaN/GaN HFETs on Si substrates have been assembled in ceramic air cavity and plastic overmold packages. Thermal, DC, small and large signal RF and reliability characterization have been performed on both types of devices. Thermal characterization shows that the thermal resistance of the plastic overmolded parts is higher resulting in higher operating temperatures. The higher operating temperature causes parameters such as the peak CW power to be lower than that seen in the ceramic air cavity package. The advantage of the plastic packaging resides in its >10x lower package assembly cost.