F-band, High-Efficiency GaN Power Amplifier for the Scanning Microwave Limb Sounder and SOFIA

QuinStar Technology proposes to develop a 4-watt Solid-State Power Amplifier (SSPA) operating at F-band (106-114 GHz) with a power-added efficiency (PAE) of greater than 30%. This will be achieved by employing two major innovations. First, we are employing state-of-the-art wide bandgap GaN (Gallium Nitride) devices. High power density GaN devices have recently been demonstrated at millimeter-wave frequencies with power densities of 5 to 8 times higher than GaAs and drain efficiencies of 50%. Using these devices in a quasi-switching mode, we are proposing to develop a new high-efficiency MMIC operating at F-band with an output power of one watt and an efficiency of greater than 33%. Secondly, we are proposing to utilize a new low loss, H-tee combining approach to combine 4 of these high-efficiency chips to achieve 4 watts. The net result is a unique combination of high performance devices and innovative power combining. We anticipate that this work will result in an order of magnitude increase in the state-of-the-art of SSPA output power and efficiency at F-band. As a result, we believe this work could be very important for NASA's Astrophysics and Earth Science missions and for W-band radar and communications applications.

Future NASA Astrophysics and Earth Science missions require submillimeter-wave remote sensing instruments to monitor air quality, climate variability and change, ozone layer stability, weather, and the global hydrological cycle. A key enabler for this technology is the F-band (106-114 GHz) solid-state power amplifier (SSPA) described in this proposal. This amplifier is need for the LO multiplier chain of the Scanning Microwave Limb Sounder and for the SOFIA (Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy) airborne observatory. Currently available W/F-band SSPAs simply do not have enough power at this frequency, and further, their efficiency is poor. The efficiency SOA for amplifiers in the adjacent W-band is in the range of 10% and with practical packaged amplifiers including regulators, the efficiency is in the single digits. Our approach addresses this need by utilizing high-efficiency wide-bandgap (GaN) device technology and new high-efficiency power combining techniques to reach efficiency levels above 30%. Other NASA applications include planetary exploration missions which require W/F-band FMCW sensors to assist in planetary landings. Typical NASA applications require output power levels ranging from several watts to perhaps tens of watts at W/F-band frequencies.

Applications for this high-efficiency amplifier technology abound primarily at DoD but at slightly lower (W-band) frequencies. These include airborne applications such as helicopter landing and obstacle detection/avoidance radars, very high altitude long duration reconnaissance UAV applications, W-band missile seekers (AARGM) and DoD's V/W-band (Mobile Hotspots) communications. Space-based applications include broadband RF cross-links in satellite constellations, and W-band downlinks for Mobile Hotspots. Specific examples include the Joint Arial Layered Network (JALN), the ICD effort from STRATCOM and AISR. Further, this GaN MMIC technology can be readily applied to other military missions at adjacent frequencies such as E and V band. Further, by employing power combining techniques, this technology can be extended to applications requiring higher output power levels (tens of watts).

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