13 October 2015

Wolfspeed launches 50V plastic-packaged GaN HEMTs for LTE & radar

Wolfspeed of Raleigh, NC, USA, a Cree Company that supplies gallium nitride on silicon carbide (GaN-on-SiC) high-electron-mobility transistors (HEMTs) and monolithic microwave integrated circuits (MMICs), has introduced two plastic-packaged 50V/60W GaN HEMT devices that provide power and bandwidth in a low-cost package platform. Supplied in miniature (4.5mm x 6.5mm) plastic surface-mount (SMT) packages, the new devices are suitable for LTE, small-cell base transceiver station (BTS), radar, public safety radio, and other communications applications.

The CGHV27060MP is a 50V/60W broadband GaN HEMT with circuits for both linear and pulsed applications and no internal input or output match, allowing it to support a wide range of frequencies spanning UHF through 2.7GHz. Tested at 2.5GHz, the new GaN HEMT is suited to LTE micro base-station amplifiers with 10–15W average power and high-efficiency topologies, such as Doherty or Class A, B and F amplifiers. Utilizing an S-band radar circuit, the 50V device provides 16.5dB gain, 70% drain efficiency and 80W output power at pulsed PSAT with a 100μs pulse width and 10% duty cycle. At 14W PAVE, the device delivers 18.5dB gain and 35% efficiency. This plastic-packaged transistor is also capable of 65W of continuous wave (CW) output power when used in high-efficiency amplifier designs.

Internally pre-matched on input and unmatched on output, the CGHV35060MP is a 50V/60W broadband GaN HEMT designed for operation at 2.7-3.5GHz. Tested at 3.3GHz, the device exhibits 14.5dB gain with 67% drain efficiency, and is optimized for S-band applications, including weather, air traffic control, marine, port surveillance, and search & rescue radar applications. 

Additionally, both of the new 50V GaN HEMTs are compatible with industry-standard digital pre-distortion (DPD) correction methods to increase amplifier efficiency, and their miniature 4.5mm x 6.5mm plastic overmold packaging makes them an economical solution for higher-volume applications, says Wolfspeed.

Fabricated on a SiC substrate with a 0.4μm process, Wolfspeed's GaN-on-SiC HEMTs exhibit what are claimed to be superior performance characteristics compared to silicon (Si) and gallium arsenide (GaAs), including higher breakdown voltage, saturated electron drift velocity, and thermal conductivity. The firm's GaN HEMTs also offer greater power density and wider bandwidths than Si, GaAs, and GaN-on-Si transistors, it adds.

The distributors Mouser and Digi-Key are currently taking orders, and products will be available to ship by December.

See related items:

Cree names Power and RF division Wolfspeed

Cree registers for IPO of Power and RF subsidiary

Tags: Cree

Visit: www.wolfspeed.com/RF