Linearity characteristics of microwave-power GaN HEMTs

The RF linearity of a 9-mm 10-W GaN high electron-mobility transistor (HEMT) grown on a 100-mm silicon substrate is presented. The quantitative results display promising device linearity as measured by intermodulation distortion and adjacent channel power ratio at 2.0 GHz for various power backoff levels and different quiescent points. These initial results demonstrate that larger periphery GaN HEMTs grown on silicon provide device linearity commensurate with current semiconductor device technology used for power-amplifier applications.