A Broadband E-band Driver Amplifier in 0.1 μm GaAs pHEMT Technology

Abstract

A broadband E-band driver amplifier fabricated in 0.1 μm GaAs pHEMT technology is proposed in this paper. The amplifier is composed of three common-source stages. To realize the wide bandwidth, high order matching networks are utilized, and the center frequency of each stage is separated. Measure-ments show a peak small-signal gain of 18.3 dB at 66 GHz with a relative 3-dB bandwidth of 42.5% (61–94 GHz). The saturated output power is greater than 15 dBm in the 3-dB bandwidth frequency range with a peak of 18.7 dBm at 75 GHz. The amplifier draws a 152 mA current with a supply voltage of 4 V and the size is 1.1x0.8 mm2 including pads. The results show that the pro-posed driver amplifier achieves competitive gain and remarkable bandwidth in E-band.