2 December 2011

Mitsubishi Electric develops 50W and 100W C-band GaN HEMTs for satellite earth stations

Tokyo-based Mitsubishi Electric Corp has developed two gallium nitride (GaN) high-electron-mobility transistor (HEMT) C-band (4–8GHz) amplifiers for satellite earth stations.

Featuring power outputs of what is claimed to be an industry-leading 100W and 50W respectively, and operating at a frequency of 5.8-6.7GHz, the MGFC50G5867 and MGFC47G5867 will ship on a sample basis from 10 January 2012. 

Picture: Mitsubishi Electric’s MGFC50G5867 (left) and MGFC47G5867 (right).

Mitsubishi Electric notes that, altough gallium arsenide (GaAs) amplifiers have commonly been employed in microwave power transmitters, in recent years GaN amplifiers have become increasingly popular due to their high breakdown voltage and power density, high saturated electron speed, and ability to contribute to power saving and the downsizing of power transmitter equipment. The firm first began sample shipments of high-output GaN HEMT amplifiers for C-band space application in March 2010.

Operating at a high drain-to-source voltage of 40V with quiescent drain currents (IDQ) of 1.15A and 0.58A respectively, output power at 3dB compression (P3dB) is typically 50dBm (100W) for the the MGFC50G5867 and 47dBm (50W) for the MGFC47G5867. Power-added efficiency (at P3dB, and 6.4GHz) is typically 43% and 45%, respectively. Linear power gain (at 6.4GHz) is typically 10dB. Also, the internally impedance-matched amplifiers have low distortion, with output power meeting 3rd-order inter-modulation (IM3) of -25dBc at 46dBm.

Tags: Mitsubishi Electric GaN HEMTs

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