A High Efficiency and High Linearity 20 GHz InP HBT Monolithic Power Amplifier for Phased Array Applications

A high efficiency and high linearity monolithic power amplifier suitable for 20 GHz phased array applications is presented in this paper. The amplifier demonstrates a 17 (IB linear gain, a maximum CW power of 29.4 dBm (870 mW), and a 37.8% power-added-efficiency. Output power of 23.8 dBm with 15% efficiency is measured at 25 dB noise power ratio (NPR) value. For the power amplifier design, we have utilized a novel sinusoid-to-noise transform technique which uses CW simulations to predict NPR. Good agreement is observed between the simulated NPR values and measured data. The power amplifier has been able to achieve high power and efficiency with high linearity, demonstrating the suitability of the InGaAs/InAlAs/InP HBT production process for phased array applications.