Full Band Millimeter-Wave Power-Combining Amplifier Using a Lossy Power-Combining Network

This paper presents a millimeter-wave broadband power-combining amplifier using a novel lossy waveguide-based power combiner. The lossy combiner has a performance of broadband low-loss combining symmetrically and has properties of good match and high isolation at and between ports, because lossy planar lines are embedded in the lossy combiner and even-mode excitations are weakened. The measured results show that the lossy combiners has a loss of about 0.14 dB and achieves reflection and isolation of about—15 dB in 26.5–40 GHz. And then, using the lossy combiner, a compact lossy waveguide-based four-way-combining network is fabricated. The lossy network has a measured loss of about 0.25 dB and achieves good improvements of match and isolation in the full Ka-band. The improvements can enhance stability of amplifying units when the lossy combining network used in multi-way power-combining amplifier. Using the lossy combining network, a solid-state power-combining amplifier is developed, and corresponding experimental results show that output power is more than 30 dBm and combining efficiency is more than 80 % in the full Ka-band.