S-C band wideband GaN power amplifier MMIC for radar application

In this letter, a broadband power amplifier (PA) monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) based on the 0.25µm gallium nitride (GaN) high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) technology is presented for radar communication. The proposed PA is designed based on the optimal impedance area of the fundamental and second harmonic within the design frequency band acquired by multi-harmonic bilateral pull technique. It can be observed that good efficiency performance can still be expected when the second harmonic impedance includes the resistive-reactive with complex load impedances. As a verification, a wideband PA operating in the S-C band is implemented and measured. The results of measurement indicate that from 2-6GHz, a saturated output power of 46.2-47.1dBm, a power added efficiency (PAE) of 36.3%-47%, and a gain of 21.2-22.1dB can be achieved under a drain voltage of 28V.