mmWave GaAs technology is optimised for power and noise performance
The latest mmWave GaAs technology, the PQG3-0C, is commercially available now from WIN Semiconductors. It combines individually optimised E-mode low noise and D-mode power pHEMTs to enable best-in-class power amplifier and low noise amplifier performance on the same chip.
The E-mode/D-mode pHEMTs have ƒt of 110GHz and 90GHz respectively, and both employ 0.15 micron T-shaped gates fabricated by deep ultraviolet stepper technology. Deep UV photolithography is a proven, high volume manufacturing technique for short gate length devices and eliminates the throughput constraints of traditional electron-beam patterning.
PQG3-0C offers two application-specific mmWave transistors with RF switches and ESD protection diodes and supports a wide range of front-end functions with increased on-chip functionality.
Both E-mode and D-mode transistors can be used for mmWave amplification and operate at 4V. The D-mode pHEMT targets power amplifiers and provides over 0.6W per mm with 11dB linear gain and close to 50 per cent power added efficiency when measured at 29GHz. The E-mode pHEMT operates best as a single supply low noise amplifier and delivers minimum noise figure below 0.7dB at 30GHz with 8dB associated gain, and third order output intercept (OIP3) of 26dBm.
The PQG3-0C platform is manufactured on 150mm GaAs substrates and provides two interconnect metal layers with low-k dielectric crossovers, PN-junction diodes for compact ESD protection circuits and RF switch transistors. Final chip thickness is 100 micron and has a backside ground plane with through-wafer-vias (TWV) as standard. The chip and can be configured as through-chip RF transitions to eliminate the adverse impact of bond wires at mmWave frequencies. PQG3-0C also supports flip-chip packaging and can be delivered with Cu-pillar bumps fabricated in the company’s internal bumping line.
WIN Semiconductors is at the 2023 International Microwave Symposium, booth # 235
WIN Semiconductors will be showcasing its compound semiconductor RF and mm-Wave solutions in booth #235 at the 2023 International Microwave Symposium (11 to 16 June) in the San Diego Convention Center, California, USA.
