TriQuint Solves Entire Non-Uniform Distributed Power Amplifier Structure Using AXIEM

TriQuint Semiconductor, leader in high-performance RF components for wireless communication, designs wideband power amplifier monolithic microwave integrated circuits (MMICs) suitable for electronic warfare (EW) systems. These systems require amplifiers with high power, wide bandwidth and high efficiency to which TriQuint researchers have developed power amplifier MMICs utilizing the non-uniform distributed power amplifier (NDPA) approach. Showcasing impressive results, these NDPA MMICs are designed for saturated operation. This requires accurate electromagnetic data up to the 5th-7th harmonic frequency which results in a very large mesh/matrix. Consequently solving the entire structure has never been practical and ergo not attempted, but upon hearing about AXIEM's nearly linear scaling, TriQuint fellow Chuck Campbell elected to take the AXIEM challenge.