Design Solutions for 5G Power Amplifiers using 0.15μm and 0.25μm GaN HEMTs

This paper presents Power Amplifier solutions for 5G using GaN SiC HEMT technology. The difference in performance between 0.15 μm and 0.25 μm GaN HEMT devices is discussed. Measurements show 0.25 μm GaN HEMTs provide good performance for applications up to 18 GHz, including excellent performance in the Sub-6 GHz 5G bands. 0.15 μm GaN HEMTs currently offer good performance for applications to more than 32 GHz, including excellent performance in the 24-28 GHz 5G mm-wave band. Variations on the 0.15 μm process are also being developed to extend the operation frequency to cover the US 5G mm-wave band at 39 GHz and operation over 40 GHz to include Q band Satellite. This paper discusses performance of a discrete GaN power transistor (power bar) DC - 14GHz, with high power density and PAE in a single stage transistor that offers strong performance suitable for Sub-6 GHz 5G. It also discusses performance of a 2-stage 5W PA MMIC 24-28 GHz which is ideally suited for mm-wave 5G.