W-Band Power Amplifier Based on Wide Bandgap Technology

QuinStar proposes to develop a 5-watt power amplifier operating at W-band frequencies (94 GHz) by 1) developing a new high power GaN MMIC and 2) developing a new high-efficiency broadband power combiner. For GaN device technology, we are teaming with HRL Laboratories, the leader in GaN technology at millimeter-wave frequencies. Using this combination during Phase I, we have shown both experimentally and with simulations that we can meet the power and efficiency goals of this program. As part of our Phase I effort, we have demonstrated the validity of our approach by assembling and testing a 4-way amplifier/combiner with an output power of >1 watt with a combining efficiency of 95%. Our large-signal simulations of the GaN MMIC indicate an output power of greater than 1.4 watts over the 88 to 100 GHz frequency band. We anticipate that this work will result in more than an order of magnitude increase in the state-of-the-art of SSPA output power at W-band.