Modification of CPW Pad Design for High fmax InGaAs/InAlAs Metamorphic High Electron Mobility Transistors

높은 $f_{max}$ 를 갖는 InGaAs/InAlAs MHEMT 의 Pad 설계

In this paper, we have performed a study that modifies the CPW Pad configurations to improve an $f_{max}$ characteristic of metamorphic HEMT. To analyze the CPW Pad structures of MHEMT, we use the ADS momentum simulator developed by $Agilent^{TM}$. Comparing the employed structure (G/W = 40/100 m), the optimized structure (G/W = 20/25 m) of CPW MHEMT shows the increased $S_{21}$ by 2.5 dB, which is one of the dominant parameters influencing the $f_{max}$ of MHEMT. To compare the performances of optimized MHEMT with the employed MHEMT, DC and RF characteristics of the fabricated MHEMT were measured. In the case of optimized CPW MHEMT, the measured saturated drain current density and transconductance $(g_m)$ were 693 mA/mm and 647 mS/mm, respectively. RF measurements were performed in a frequency range of $0.1{\sim}110$ GHz. A high $S_{21}$ gain of 5.5 dB is shown at a millimeter-wave frequency of 110 GHz. Two kinds of RF gains, $h_{21}$ and maximum available gain (MAG), versus the frequency, and a cut-off frequency ($f_t$) of ${\sim}154$ GHz and a maximum frequency of oscillation ($f_{max}$) of ${\sim}358$ GHz are obtained, respectively, from the extrapolation of the RF gains for a device biased at a peak transconductance. An optimized CPW MHEMT structure is one of the first reports among fabricated 0.1 m gate length MHEMTs.