High Power and High Efficiency Ka Band Power Amplifier

Ka band is used in many applications, such as point-to-point communications, Satellite uplink terminals, and Electronic Warfare, where the most demanding requirements in terms of performance and cost are imposed on the transmitter MMICs. These MMICs’ must have good power added efficiency (PAE), output power (Pout), die size (power density), and reliability for the best results in these requirements.

The Northrop Grumman Corporation has announced the highest power output for a single Ka-Band MMIC power amplifier ever produced to date. A led by Salah Din recorded a peak power of 40 Watts at 27 GHz for the 27-30 GHz amplifier, with an average output power of 36 watts and a Power Added Efficiency (PAE) of greater than 30 percent across the band. The demonstration found a significant improvement in performance over current Ka-band MMIC amplifiers. Download the full article for the complete design and measured results of a 2-stage Power Amplifier using the Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems (NGAS) 0.2 um GaN HEMT technology.