GaN semiconductor technology offers high power and efficiency at RF and microwave frequencies, but RF Micro Devices has been one of the few device suppliers to apply the technology to a large commercial/consumer market in cable-television (CATV) amplification. The firm, well known for its half-micron GaN foundry services, introduced a series of GaN push-pull power amplifiers for CATV applications late last year, including models RFPP2870 and RFCM3080.
Both amplifiers feature 28-dB gain at 1003 MHz with 20-dB input and output return loss and low distortion levels. Model RFPP2870 is supplied in an SOT-115 package while model RFCM3080 is housed in a miniature 11 × 8.5 mm multi-chip-module (MCM) surface-mount package.