K-Band Power Enbedded Transmission Line (ETL) MMIC Amplifiers for Satellite Communication Applications
The design, fabrication, and performance of K-band high-efficiency, linear power pHEMT amplifiers implemented in Embedded Transmission Line (ETL) MMIC configuration with unthinned GaAs substrate and topside grounding are reported. A three-stage amplifier achieved a power-added efficiency of 40.5% with 264 mW output at 20.2 GHz. The linear gain is 28.5 dB with 1-dB gain compression output power of 200 mW and 31% power-added efficiency. The carrier-to-third-order intermodulation ratio is approx. 20 dBc at the 1-dB compression point. A RF functional yield of more than 90% has been achieved.
Tserng, Hua-Quen↗