• Journal of IKEEE
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.722-727
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• 2022

In this paper, we present the design and characterization of a power amplifier (PA) monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) in the X-band. The device is designed using a 0.25 ㎛ gate length AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) on SiC process. The developed X-band AlGaN/GaN power amplifier MMIC achieves small signal gain of over 21.6 dB and output power more than 46.11 dBm (40.83 W) in the entire band of 9 GHz to 10 GHz. Its power added efficiency (PAE) is 43.09% ~ 44.47% and the chip dimensions are 3.6 mm × 4.3 mm. The generated output power density is 2.69 W/mm². It seems that the developed AlGaN/GaN power amplifier MMIC could be applicable to various X-band radar systems operating X-band.

• Journal of IKEEE
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.33-37
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• 2024

In this paper, we report the design and the measurement of a X-band low noise amplifier (LNA) monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) using a 0.25 ㎛ gate length microstrip GaN-on-SiC high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) technology. The developed X-band GaN-based LNA MMIC achieves small signal gain of 22.75 dB ~ 25.14 dB and noise figure of 1.84 dB ~ 1.94 dB in the desired band of 9 GHz to 10 GHz. Input and output return loss values are -11.36 dB ~ -24.49 dB and -11.11 dB ~ -17.68 dB, respectively. The LNA MMIC can withstand 40 dBm (10 W) input power without performance degradation. The chip dimensions are 3.67 mm × 1.15 mm. The developed GaN-based LNA MMIC is applicable to various X-band applications.

• The Journal of Korean Institute of Electromagnetic Engineering and Science
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.76-79
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• 2016

This paper describes the successful development and the performance of X-band 50 W pulsed power amplifier using a 50 W GaN-on-SiC high electron mobility transistor. The GaN HEMT with a gate length of $0.25{\mu}m$ and a total gate width of 12 mm were fabricated. The X-band pulsed power amplifier exhibited an output power of 50 W with a power gain of 6 dB in a frequency range of 9.2~9.5 GHz. It also shows a maximum output power density of 4.16 W/mm. This 50 W GaN HEMT and X-band 50 W pulsed power amplifier are suitable for the radar systems and related applications in X-band.

• The Journal of the Korea institute of electronic communication sciences
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 2012

In this paper, An X-band solid state power amplifier(SSPA) for pulse compressed microwave signal with 60Watt power and power added efficiency(PAE) above 30% is described. Designed 60Watt high power amplifier(HPA) was implemented by cascade coupled amplifiers, and it is consisted on three stage drive amplifiers with internally matched GaAs FET and one stage main power amplifier with an internally matched GaN HEMT. The designed SSPA has performance with more than total power gain 37dB and output power 48dBm(60-W) in condition of frequency range $9.41{\pm}0.03GHz$, pulse period width under 1ms and duty cycle under 10%. The implemented SSPA can apply to high quality digital marine radar applications with pulse compression technique.

• Journal of IKEEE
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.537-544
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• 2022

This paper analyzes the occurrence and cause of bond wires fusing used in the manufacture of pulsed high power amplifiers. Recently GaN HEMT has been spotlight in the fields of electronic warfare, radar, base station and satellite communication. In order to produce the maximum output power, which is the main performance of the high-power amplifier, optimal impedance matching is required. And the material, diameter and number of bond wires must be determined in consideration of not only the rated current but also the heat generated by the transient current. In particular, it was confirmed that compound semiconductor with a wide energy band gap such as GaN trigger fusing of the bond wire due to an increase in thermal resistance when the design efficiency is low or the heat dissipation is insufficient. This data has been simulated for exothermic conditions, and it is expected to be used as a reference for applications using GaN devices as verified through IR microscope.

• ETRI Journal
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.485-491
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• 2012

In this paper, the implementations of a $0.1{\mu}m$ gallium arsenide (GaAs) pseudomorphic high electron mobility transistor process for a low noise amplifier (LNA), a subharmonically pumped (SHP) mixer, and a single-chip receiver for 70/80 GHz point-to-point communications are presented. To obtain high-gain performance and good flatness for a 15 GHz (71 GHz to 86 GHz) wideband LNA, a five-stage input/output port transmission line matching method is used. To decrease the package loss and cost, 2nd and 4th SHP mixers were designed. From the measured results, the five-stage LNA shows a gain of 23 dB and a noise figure of 4.5 dB. The 2nd and 4th SHP mixers show conversion losses of 12 dB and 17 dB and input P1dB of -1.5 dBm to 1.5 dBm. Finally, a single-chip receiver based on the 4th SHP mixer shows a gain of 6 dB, a noise figure of 6 dB, and an input P1dB of -21 dBm.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Telematics and Electronics A
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• v.33A no.6
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• pp.99-107
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• 1996

When GPS (global positioning system) is used as synchronous signal in CDMA digital cellular base station system and high speed digital synchronous communication network, antenna cable length is increased, comparing with other GPS application such as positioning or car navigation. In this paper, it is proposed that a type of new GPS antenna system including RF stage for reduction of cable loss in case of long cable.The antenna system with TMPA(truncated-corners microstrip patch antenna) is designed and fabricated because GPS signal has RHCP (right-hand circular polarization), consequently antenna size can be made small size. LNA (low noise amplifier) is designed by using HEMT(high electron mobility transistor)which has lower noise figurae and better AGC characteristics at low voltage than GaAs FET, and we equiped mixer, in GPS antenna unit, which converts from 1575.42MHz to 75.42MHz. As result of comparing between typical system and proposed system when cable length is 60m, 63dB, 55dB and 25dB gain are obtained for RG-316/U, RG-58C/U and RG-213/U, and better characteristics are achieved than typical system as far as cable length is longer.

• ETRI Journal
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.549-561
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• 2020

We developed a 0.1-㎛ metamorphic high electron mobility transistor and fabricated a W-band monolithic microwave integrated circuit chipset with our in-house technology to verify the performance and usability of the developed technology. The DC characteristics were a drain current density of 747 mA/mm and a maximum transconductance of 1.354 S/mm; the RF characteristics were a cutoff frequency of 210 GHz and a maximum oscillation frequency of 252 GHz. A frequency multiplier was developed to increase the frequency of the input signal. The fabricated multiplier showed high output values (more than 0 dBm) in the 94 GHz-108 GHz band and achieved excellent spurious suppression. A low-noise amplifier (LNA) with a four-stage single-ended architecture using a common-source stage was also developed. This LNA achieved a gain of 20 dB in a band between 83 GHz and 110 GHz and a noise figure lower than 3.8 dB with a frequency of 94 GHz. A W-band image-rejection mixer (IRM) with an external off-chip coupler was also designed. The IRM provided a conversion gain of 13 dB-17 dB for RF frequencies of 80 GHz-110 GHz and image-rejection ratios of 17 dB-19 dB for RF frequencies of 93 GHz-100 GHz.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Military Science and Technology
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.812-819
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• 2012

Interference and jamming are becoming increasing concern to a radar system nowdays. AESA(Active Electronically Steered Array) antennas and adaptive beamforming(ABF), in which antenna beam patterns can be modified to reject the interference, offer a potential solution to overcome the problems encountered. In this paper, we've developed a planar active phased array radar system, in which ABF, target detection and tracking algorithm operate in real-time. For the high output power and the low noise figure of the antenna, we've designed the S-band TRMs based on GaN HEMT. For real-time processing, we've used wavelenth division multiplexing technique on fiber optic communication which enables rapid data communication between the antenna and the signal processor. Also, we've implemented the HW and SW architecture of Real-time Signal Processor(RSP) for adaptive beamforming that uses SMI(Sample Matrix Inversion) technique based on MVDR(Minimum Variance Distortionless Response). The performance of this radar system has been verified by near-field and far-field tests.

• Journal of Communications and Networks
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.559-568
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• 2013

We report on the first error-free terahertz (THz) wireless communication at 0.310 THz for data rates up to 8.2 Gbps using a 18-GHz-bandwidth GaAs/AlGaAs field-effect transistor as a detector. This result demonstrates that low-cost commercially-available plasma-wave transistors whose cut-off frequency is far below THz frequencies can be employed in THz communication. Wireless communication over 50 cm is presented at 1.4 Gbps using a uni-travelling-carrier photodiode as a source. Transistor integration is detailed, as it is essential to avoid any deleterious signals that would prevent successful communication. We observed an improvement of the bit error rate with increasing input THz power, followed by a degradation at high input power. Such a degradation appears at lower powers if the photodiode bias is smaller. Higher-data-rate communication is demonstrated using a frequency-multiplied source thanks to higher output power. Bit-error-rate measurements at data rates up to 10 Gbps are performed for different input THz powers. As expected, bit error rates degrade as data rate increases. However, degraded communication is observed at some specific data rates. This effect is probably due to deleterious cavity effects and/or impedance mismatches. Using such a system, realtime uncompressed high-definition video signal is successfully and robustly transmitted.