6 June 2011

Cree GaN HEMT and MMIC delivers PAE of 60% for S-band radar

At this week’s 2011 IEEE International Microwave Symposium (IMS) in Baltimore (7–9 June), Cree Inc of Durham, NC, USA is showcasing its latest packaged GaN HEMT power transistors and high-power amplifier (HPA) MMIC in the 2.7–3.5GHz range (S-band), offering what is claimed to be the industry’s best combination of power and efficiency. Typical power-added efficiencies (PAEs) of 60% result in a reduction in power consumption of up to 20% over existing solutions, it is reckoned. Civilian and military applications include air-traffic control, weather radar, and homeland defense.

“Thermal management is a key consideration for radar systems, and Cree GaN HEMT products are enabling ultra-high-efficiency solutions, which result in lower dissipated power, simplified power distribution, smaller device footprints and lighter-weight systems,” says Jim Milligan, Cree’s director of RF.

The CGH31240F and CGH35240F S-band transistors are fully internally matched to 50Ω and provide saturated RF output power of 240W over 2.7–3.1GHz and 3.1–3.5GHz, respectively, with power gains of more than 11dB in small package footprints (0.9” x 0.68”) with typical power-added efficiencies of 60%. The devices also demonstrate pulse droop of less than 0.2dB at specified operating conditions, due to the combination of high efficiency and the superior thermal properties of GaN-on-SiC compared with other technologies such as gallium arsenide (GaAs) and silicon.

The CMPA2735075F is a two-stage GaN HEMT high-power MMIC amplifier providing a saturated RF output power of 75W over 2.7–3.5GHz with a power gain of 20dB in a small package footprint (0.5” x 0.5”). This is claimed to be the first S-band GaN HEMT MMIC HPA on the market that offers 60% PAE (typical) with RF pulse widths of 300 microseconds and a 20% duty cycle.

See related items:

Military and commercial aviation spending boosts markets for pulsed RF power semiconductors

Military spending and GaN adoption driving RF power semiconductor markets

Tags: Cree GaN HEMT HPA MMIC S-band radar

Visit: www.cree.com/rf