An improved EEHEMT model for kink effect on AlGaN/GaN HEMT

In this paper, a new current expression based on both the direct currect （DC） characteristics of the A1GaN/GaN high election mobility transistor （HEMT） and the hyperbolic tangent function tanh is proposed, by which we can describe the kink effect of the A1GaN/GaN HEMT well. Then, an improved EEHEMT model including the proposed current expression is presented. The simulated and measured results of Ⅰ-Ⅴ, S-parameter, and radio frequency （RF） large-signal characteristics are compared for a self-developed on-wafer A1GaN/GaN HEMT with ten gate fingers each being 0.4-μm long and 125-p-m wide （Such an A1GaN/GaN HEMT is denoted as A1GaN/GaN HEMT （10 × 125 μm））. The improved large signal model simulates the Ⅰ-Ⅴ characteristic much more accurately than the original one, and its transconductance and RF characteristics are also in excellent agreement with the measured data.

High-efficiency S-band harmonic tuning GaN amplifier

In this paper, we present a high-efficiency S-band gallium nitride （GaN） power amplifier （PA）. This amplifier is fabri- cated based on a self-developed GaN high-electron-mobility transistor （HEMT） with 10 mm gate width on SiC substrate. Harmonic manipulation circuits are presented in the amplifier. The matching networks consist of microstrip lines and discrete components. Open-circuited stub lines in both input and output are used to tune the 2rid harmonic wave and match the GaN HEMT to the highest efficiency condition. The developed amplifier delivers an output power of 48.5 dBm （70 W） with a power-added efficiency （PAE） of 72.2% at 2 GHz in pulse condition. When operating at 1.8-2.2 GHz （20% relative bandwidth）, the amplifier provides an output power higher than 48 dBm （,-~ 65 W）, with a PAE over 70% and a power gain above 15 dB. When operating in continuous-wave （CW） operating conditions, the amplifier gives an output power over 46 dBm （40 W） with PAE beyond 60% over the whole operation frequency range.

A C-band 55% PAE high gain two-stage power amplifier based on AlGaN/GaN HEMT

A C-band high efficiency and high gain two-stage power amplifier based on A1GaN/GaN high electron mobility transistor （HEMT） is designed and measured in this paper. The input and output impedances for the optimum power-added efficiency （PAE） are determined at the fundamental and 2nd harmonic frequency （f0 and 2f0）. The harmonic manipulation networks are designed both in the driver stage and the power stage which manipulate the second harmonic to a very low level within the operating frequency band. Then the inter-stage matching network and the output power combining network are calculated to achieve a low insertion loss. So the PAE and the power gain is greatly improved. In an operation frequency range of 5,4 GHz-5.8 GHz in CW mode, the amplifier delivers a maximum output power of 18.62 W, with a PAE of 55.15 % and an associated power gain of 28.7 dB, which is an outstanding performance.

Field plate structural optimization for enhancing the power gain of GaN-based HEMTs

A novel source-connected field plate structure, featuring the same photolithography mask as the gate electrode, is proposed as an improvement over the conventional field plate （FP） techniques to enhance the frequency performance in GaN-based HEMTs. The influences of the field plate on frequency and breakdown performance are investigated simul- taneously by using a two-dimensional physics-based simulation. Compared with the conventional T-gate structures with a field plate length of 1.2 gm, this field plate structure can induce the small signal power gain at 10 GHz to increase by 5-9.5 dB, which depends on the distance between source FP and dramatically shortened gate FE This technique minimizes the parasitic capacitances, especially the gate-to-drain capacitance, showing a substantial potential for millimeter-wave, high power applications.

Analysis of the third harmonic for class-F power amplifiers with an Ⅰ–Ⅴ knee effect

The appearance of third-generation semiconductors represented by gallium nitride （GaN） material greatly improves the output power of a power amplifier （PA）, but the efficiency of the PA needs to be further improved. The Class-F PA reduces the overlap of drain voltage and current by tuning harmonic impedance so that high efficiency is achieved. This paper begins with the principle of class-F PA, regards the third harmonic voltage as an independent variable, analyzes the influence of the third harmonic on fundamental, and points out how drain efficiency and output power vary with the third harmonic voltage with an I-V knee effect. Finally, the best third harmonic impedance is found mathematically. We compare our results with the Loadpull technique in advanced design system environment and conclude that an optimized third harmonic impedance is open in an ideal case, while it is not at an open point with the I-V knee effect, and the drain efficiency with optimized third harmonic impedance is 4% higher than that with the third harmonic open.

Fabrication and characterization of V-gate AlGaN/GaN high-electron-mobility transistors

V-gate GaN high-electron-mobility transistors （HEMTs） are fabricated and investigated systematically. A V-shaped recess geometry is obtained using an improved Si3N4 recess etching technology. Compared with standard HEMTs, the fabricated V-gate HEMTs exhibit a 17% higher peak extrinsic transconductance due to a narrowed gate foot. Moreover, both the gate leakage and current dispersion are dramatically suppressed simultaneously, although a slight degradation of frequency response is observed. Based on a two-dimensional electric field simulation using Silvaco ＂ATLAS＂ for both standard HEMTs and V-gate HEMTs, the relaxation in peak electric field at the gate edge is identified as the predominant factor leading to the superior performance of V-gate HEMTs.

A C-Band Internally-Matched High Efficiency GaN Power Amplifier

We present a design and realization of a high efficiency C-Band （5.2 GHz-5.8 GHz） internally-matched gallium nitride （GaN） power amplifier （PA）. To reduce power dissipation and to achieve high efficiency, both input and output matching networks, along with 2nd-harmonic modulation circuits, are designed accurately according to the source and load optimum impedances extracted by source-pull and load-pull measurements. The PA realizes an excellent rf performance under a pulsed condition, demonstrating a maximum output power of 52.2dBm （164 W） with at least 13.5dB gain in the frequency range from 5.2GHz to 5.8GHz （10% relative bandwidth）. At the same time, a power-added efficiency （PAE） of 69.4% is observed at 5.6GHz and over 65.0% throughout the whole bandwidth. The PAE is the state-of-art performance for C-band GaN high-electron-mobility transistor PA with such high output power, to the best of our knowledge.

AlGaN/GaN高电子迁移率晶体管中kink效应的半经验模型

初步分析了AlGaN/GaN器件上的kink效应.在直流模型的基础上,建立了AlGaN/GaN高电子迁移率晶体管中kink效应的半经验模型,并加入了kink效应发生的漏源偏压与栅源偏压的关系.该模型得出较为准确的模拟结果,可用来判断kink效应的发生和电流的变化量.最后,我们采用模型仿真结合实验分析的方法,对kink效应进行了一定的物理研究,结果表明碰撞电离对kink效应的发生有一定的促进作用.

Ka-band full-360° analog phase shifter with low insertion loss

A new reflection-type wideband 360° monolithic-microwave integrated-circuit （MMIC） analog phase shifter at the Ka-band is proposed. The phase shifter is designed based on the principle of vector synthesis. Three Lange couplers are employed in the phase shifter, which is fabricated by the standard 0.25μzm GaAs process. We use four 4 × 40μm GaAs HEMTs as the reflection loads. A microstrip line in parallel with the device is used as an inductance to counteract the parasitic capacitance of the device so that the reflection load performs like a pure resistance and the insertion loss can be decreased. In this phase shifter, a folded Lange coupler is utilized to reduce the size of the chip. The size of the proposed MMIC phase shifter is only 2.0 × 1.2 mm2. The measurement results show that the insertion loss is 5.0 4- 0.8 dB and a 360°continuously tunable range across 27-32 GHz is obtained with miniscule DC power consumption.

A self-heating study on multi-finger AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors

Self-heating in multi-finger AlGaN/GaN high-electron-mobility transistors（HEMTs） is investigated by measurements and modeling of device junction temperature under steady-state operation.Measurements are carried out using micro-Raman scattering to obtain the detailed and accurate temperature distribution of the device.The device peak temperature corresponds to the high field region at the drain side of gate edge.The channel temperature of the device is modeled using a combined electro-thermal model considering 2DEG transport characteristics and the Joule heating power distribution.The results reveal excellent correlation to the micro-Raman measurements, validating our model for the design of better cooled structures.Furthermore,the influence of layout design on the channel temperature of multi-finger AlGaN/GaN HEMTs is studied using the proposed electro-thermal model, allowing for device optimization.