Sub-1-dB Noise Figure Performance of High-Power Field-Plated GaN HEMTs

In this letter, we report the state-of-the-art micro wave noise performance of discrete 0.15-μm-gate-length field plated (FP) GaN HEMTs. The FP GaN HEMTs yielded a peak fτ/fmaxof 60 GHz/150 GHz at Vds = 10 V. An fmaxof 230 GHz was obtained at Vds = 20 V. At 2.5 V, the source-drain bias and dc power dissipation of 200 mW/mm, a minimum noise figure (NFmin) of 0.89 dB, and an associated gain (AG) of 11 dB were measured at 10 GHz. At 20 GHz the NFminand AG were 1.9 and 6.2 dB, respectively. The sub-1-dB microwave noise performance at 10 GHz is the best ever reported for FP high-power GaN HEMTs, which can be attributed to their lateral scaling and deep-submicrometer gate lengths.