White Paper: Gallium Nitride (GaN) Microwave Transistor Technology For Radar Applications

This paper reviews the relative merits of Si, GaAs, SiC, and GaN materials and describes how the attributes of each impact the operation of microwave transistors for the generation of high RF output power, on the order of hundreds to thousands of watts, as necessary for radar systems. It is shown that the superior physical attributes of GaN lead to microwave transistors that are extremely well suited for high power applications. The superior properties of GaN combined with modern high efficiency biasing techniques make GaN technology a prime candidate for use in transmitters for radar systems.