MMIC Power Amplifiers for mm-Wave Applications

By Michele Squartecchia 

The overall objective of this project is to develop an implementation of PA MMIC’s targeting emerging applications at E-band and higher mm-wave frequencies.

Suitable topologies for mm-wave power amplifiers will be investigated based on device models available at the project beginning. This will be based on an EM simulation using commercially available software tools (e.g. Agilent ADS and/or Ansys HFSS).

The aim is to implement a broadband E-band PA targeting high output power (>26 dBm. The first MMIC design iteration will be based on models available at the project start and later updated based on the predictive model provided by transistor designers.

A PA MMIC design will be implemented to demonstrate the potential of the optimized device technology for power applications at frequencies above 100 GHz. The target is a two- or three-stage design centered around 140 GHz with state-of-the-art performance in terms of gain (>10 dB) and output power (>17dBm).

The layout of these circuits will be submitted for prototype production at III-V Lab and the fabricated chips will be characterized through DC and AC measurements.

Optimization for mm-Wave Power Applications

By Virginio Midili 

With the advent of smartphones, tablets and connected cameras, mobile data traffic is growing at a very fast pace. As a consequence, the capacity of mobile backhaul network must be increased to face this data explosion. In that respect there is at present an increased interest in exploiting the millimeter-wave (mm-wave) frequency range (30-300 GHz) for wireless backhaul.

InP Double Heterojunction Bipolar Transistors (DHBT) emerged as a major solution for integrated power amplifiers operating at millimeter-wave frequencies. This project is dedicated to the optimization of existing technology by modeling and design of device vertical structure and geometry for higher frequency operation, large breakdown voltage, and thermal effects. Main activities include characterization of devices at high-frequency by S-parameters measurements and software simulations for thermal and electrical behavior.

The final result will be the development of electro-thermal large-signal models to aid the design of millimeter-wave power amplifier MMICs