A single bias 20W S-band HPA for radar applications

The development of a single bias S-band MMIC HPA designed for radar T/R module applications is reported. The chip was fabricated with a low-cost 0.5μm GaAs PHEMT process and is composed of two stages, with a final stage of 29 mm gate-width periphery. The MMIC power amplifier is designed by using a zero gate bias configuration and therefore is attractive due to the size and cost reduction. In the frequency bandwidth 2.4-3.6GHz, the HPA biased at Vd=10V delivers an output power of 20W @ 4dB of gain compression, with an associated PAE of circa 28%.