GaN Hybrid IC Drives 9 GHz

Aug. 29, 2012

Gallium-nitride (GaN) transistor technology is showing great promise in high-power microwave amplifiers for commercial and military uses. Two new offerings from Toshiba America Electronic Components (TAEC) are particularly notable.

Jack Browne

Gallium-nitride (GaN) transistor technology is showing great promise in high-power microwave amplifiers for commercial and military uses. Toshiba America Electronic Components (TAEC), long an innovator in semiconductor devices, recently announced a hybrid integrated circuit (HIC) based on GaN for X-band applications and a GaN monolithic-microwave-integrated-circuit (MMIC) amplifier for Ku-band satellite communications (satcom) applications. The HIC, model GM9398-25, delivers 25 W output power at 1-dB compression from 9.3 to 9.8 GHz with typical linear gain of 25 dB and power-added efficiency (PAE) of 35%. The MMIC, model TGII1314-25L, provides 25 W output power from 13.75 to 14.50 GHz with linear gain of 8 dB. It is a high-electron-mobility-transistor amplifier based on GaN that draws 2.5 A at +24 VDC and achieves 29% PAE. For more on these and other TAEC devices, click here.

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.