W-band GaN MMIC PA with 257 mW output power at 86.5 GHz

A three-stage W-band GaN monolithic microwave integrated circuit power amplifier(MMIC PA) is reported.In order to manage coupling effects between all the parts of the W-band MMIC,all matching and bias networks have been first optimized using circuit simulating software and then systematically simulated on 3D full-wave electromagnetic simulator.The fabricated MMIC PA achieves a 257 mW output power at 86.5 GHz in continuous-wave mode,with an associated power added efficiency of 5.4%and an associated power gain of 6.1 dB.The power density is 459 mW/mm.Moreover,the MMIC PA offers over 100 mW in the 83-90 GHz bandwidth.Those performances were measured at drain bias of 12 V.