GaN Pallet Amp Drives 350 W At S-Band

June 14, 2012

M/A-COM Technology Solutions is coming north to Montreal to unveil several new products at the 2012 IMS, including solutions for wireless backhaul, cable-television (CATV), optical communications, and aerospace/defense applications. Visitors to booth No. 815 can examine a compact "smart" pallet amplifier with control and monitoring functions for enhanced reliability. The gallium nitride (GaN) amplifier is capable of delivering 350 W output power at S-band frequencies (typically 2 to 4 GHz) with over 60% drain efficiency for air-traffic-control radar applications. Additional products on display at IMS include a "SmartSet" chipset for 42-GHz point-to-point wireless backhaul communications links, with a 1-W transmit power amplifier with 22-dB gain and +38-dBm output third-order-intercept point. Also of note is an S-band switch limiter capable of handling 125 W power with low insertion loss for radar receiver protection.

About the Author

Jack Browne | Technical Contributor

Jack Browne, Technical Contributor, has worked in technical publishing for over 30 years. He managed the content and production of three technical journals while at the American Institute of Physics, including Medical Physics and the Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology. He has been a Publisher and Editor for Penton Media, started the firm’s Wireless Symposium & Exhibition trade show in 1993, and currently serves as Technical Contributor for that company's Microwaves & RF magazine. Browne, who holds a BS in Mathematics from City College of New York and BA degrees in English and Philosophy from Fordham University, is a member of the IEEE.