Watt-level Ka- and Q-band MMIC power amplifiers operating at low voltages

Ka- and Q-band watt-level monolithic power amplifiers (PAs) operating at a low drain bias of 3.6 V are presented in this paper. Design considerations for low-voltage operation have been carefully studied, with an emphasis on the effect of device models. The deficiency of conventional table-based mod...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:IEEE transactions on microwave theory and techniques 2000-06, Vol.48 (6), p.891-897
Main Authors: Youngwoo Kwon, Kyungjin Kim, Sovero, E.A., Deakin, D.S.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Amplifiers
Analytical models
Bias
Circuit design
Circuit synthesis
Devices
Drains
Gain
High power amplifiers
Impedance
Integrated circuit measurements
Mathematical models
MMICs
Noise levels
Power amplifiers
Power gain
Power generation
Predictive models
Studies
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Summary:Ka- and Q-band watt-level monolithic power amplifiers (PAs) operating at a low drain bias of 3.6 V are presented in this paper. Design considerations for low-voltage operation have been carefully studied, with an emphasis on the effect of device models. The deficiency of conventional table-based models for low-voltage operation is identified. A new nonlinear device model, which combines the advantages of conventional analytical models and table-based models, has been developed to circumvent the numerical problems and, thus, to predict optimum load impedance accurately. The model was verified with load-pull measurements at 39 GHz. To implement a low-voltage 1-W monolithic-microwave integrated-circuit amplifier, careful circuit design has been performed using this model. A Q-band two-stage amplifier showed 1-W output power with a high power gain of 15 dB at 3.6-V drain bias. The peak power-added efficiency (PAE) was 28.5% and 1-dB compression power (P/sub 1 dB/) was 29.7 dBm. A Ka-band two-stage amplifier showed a P/sub 1 dB/ of 30 dBm with 24.5-dB associated gain and 32.5% PAE. Under very low dc power conditions (P/sub dc/
ISSN:0018-9480
1557-9670
DOI:10.1109/22.846714