15-W GaN HEMT Targets WiMAX

Nov. 16, 2006

THE WIMAX STANDARD was spawned to enable high-data-rate wireless communications over long distances. WiMAX applications must therefore work under high-power conditions while satisfying tough efficiency and linearity requirements. To meet these needs, a high-electron mobility transistor (HEMT) places its roots in gallium nitride (GaN). The 15-W transistor, dubbed the CGH27015, features 14.5 dB of small-signal gain and 2-percent error vector magnitude (EVM) under orthogonal-frequency-division-multiplexing (OFDM) modulation when operated at 28 V. Over the frequency range of 2.3 to 2.9 GHz, this transistor typically produces 2.5 W of average output power and 24-percent drain efficiency. When compared with traditional technologies like silicon LDMOS or GaAs under WiMAX signals and requirements (802.16-2004), such performance supposedly translates into a 30-percent improvement in device efficiency.

Cree, Inc., 4600 Silicon Dr., Durham, NC 27703; (919) 313-5300, FAX: (919) 313-5451, Internet: www.cree.com.

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About the Author

Nancy Friedrich

RF Product Marketing Manager for Aerospace Defense, Keysight Technologies

Nancy Friedrich is RF Product Marketing Manager for Aerospace Defense at Keysight Technologies. Nancy Friedrich started a career in engineering media about two decades ago with a stint editing copy and writing news for Electronic Design. A few years later, she began writing full time as technology editor at Wireless Systems Design. In 2005, Nancy was named editor-in-chief of Microwaves & RF, a position she held (along with other positions as group content head) until 2018. Nancy then moved to a position at UBM, where she was editor-in-chief of Design News and content director for tradeshows including DesignCon, ESC, and the Smart Manufacturing shows.