2 V-operated InGaP-AlGaAs-InGaAs enhancement-mode pseudomorphic HEMT

Abstract

A low-voltage single power supply enhancement-mode InGaP-AlGaAs-InGaAs pseudomorphic high-electron mobility transistor (PHEMT) is reported for the first time. The fabricated 0.5 x 160 mum(2) device shows low knee voltage of 0.3 V, drain-source current (I-DS) of 375 mA/mm and maximum transconductance of 550 mS/mm when drain-source voltage (V-DS) was 2.5 V. High-frequency performance was also achieved; the cut-off frequency(F-t) is 60 GHz and maximum oscillation frequency(F-max) is 128 GHz. The noise figure of the 160-mum gate width device at 17 GHz was measured to be 1.02 dB with 10.12 dB associated gain. The E-mode InGaP-AlGaAs-InGaAs PHEMT, exhibits a high output power density of 453 mW/mm with a high linear gain of 30.5 dB at 2.4 GHz. The E-mode PHEMT can also achieve a high maximum power added efficiency (PAE) of 70%, when tuned for maximum PAE.