An Over 20-W/mm S-Band InAlGaN/GaN HEMT With SiC/Diamond-Bonded Heat Spreader

This letter reports on an InAlGaN/GaN high-electron-mobility transistor (HEMT) employing a SiC/diamond-bonded heat spreader with a record high output power density of 22.3 W/mm. A quaternary In-added InAlGaN barrier enabled both the large current of over 1 A/mm and the high breakdown voltage of 257 V. The drain bias was increased as high as 100 V for the S-band load-pull measurement, leading to high power operation. Furthermore, the thermal resistance was reduced by 60%, from 18.8 to 7.2°C/W, by employing the SiC/diamond heat spreader. This large heat dissipation effect was clearly observed in the output power density for the load-pull measurement. Our results demonstrate that the GaN HEMT with an In-added barrier layer is promising not only for millimeter-wave applications but also for high output power microwave amplifiers.