Integra's RF Burn-In Analysis Of 100V Bias GaN Radar Transistors

Solid state amplifiers have the benefit of potentially higher efficiency, smaller size, and lower weight, which translates to lower costs in launching spacecrafts into orbit. Another advantage of solid-state power amplifiers is the much lower than kilo-volt range of operating voltages, which simplifies the design of the power supply subsystem. There are also significant advantages in using GaN HEMT technology for achieving higher frequency bandwidth, high voltage operation, and radiation hardness for high reliability space applications. The high efficiency of a radar front-end power amplifier becomes a key element of a spacecraft mission design with a limited prime power budget. As a result, amplifiers and transistors for spaceborne applications are adopting GaN technology to achieve higher efficiency in yielding GaN radar transistors. This Integra Technologies' white paper presents and discusses the RF burn-in analysis of 100V P-band aerospace GaN radar transistors, with complete results, and junction temperature modeling.