11 dB 0-50 GHz coplanar distributed amplifier IC based on 0.25 /spl mu/m non-recessed self-aligned gate GaAs P-HEMTs

摘要

A cascode distributed amplifier IC has been designed and fabricated using a 0.25 /spl mu/m non-recessed self-aligned gate (SAG) GaAs P-HEMT and coplanar IC technology. Through the SAG process and an optimised epitaxial layer structure, excellent device performance has been obtained without gate recessing, and the device yield and uniformity were high enough for IC applications. The fabricated seven-stage cascode distributed amplifier IC has an 11 dB gain and a 3 dB bandwidth of 50 GHz with excellent uniformity in the IC characteristics. The gain-bandwidth product obtained (180 GHz) is comparable or even superior to that of the previous distributed amplifiers based on a shorter-length, recessed gate GaAs P-HEMT.