An X-band high-efficiency ion-implanted MMIC power amplifier
An X-band high-efficiency monolithic power amplifier has been designed. Across the 40% bandwidth from 8 GHz to 12 GHz, the amplifier produces 1.6 W to 2.1 W of output power at 33% to 40% power-added efficiency. For high-power operation, the amplifier can produce 2.4 W to 2.8 W of output power at 26% to 29% power-added efficiency across the 40% bandwidth from 8 GHz to 12 GHz. A balanced approach using Lange couplers results in excellent input and output return losses of better than 15 dB. The devices are fabricated using the Hughes baseline ion-implanted process for MMIC (monolithic microwave IC) power amplifiers. This planar ion-implanted 0.5- mu m MESFET technology is selected for this high-power and high-efficiency application. For this stepper technology, a total of 11 mask layers is used to complete the entire MMIC wafer process. The design, fabrication, and performance of the amplifier are presented.<<ETX>>