A 50% efficiency 8 W C-band PHEMT power MMIC amplifier

Abstract

A fully monolithic PHEMT power amplifier is presented which provides 8 W at 50% power added efficiency and 24 dB associated gain over a 4.3 to 5.1 GHz bandwidth in a 25 ohm system. Half-size chips deliver 4 W into 50 ohms at similar gain and efficiency. The approach to achieving high efficiency in this first-pass design, by providing proper harmonic terminations for near class-F operation, is described.