Collaborative Research: High-frequency, High-power Amplifier Based on Distributed Coupling of GaN HEMTs Through a SiC Substrate-integrated Waveguide

摘要非技术性的高频、高功率源是开发电磁频谱的关键。该项目可以使下一代毫米波电子器件具有前所未有的带宽和功率，同时最大限度地减少其尺寸，重量，功耗，成本和故障率。为设计、集成和制造110 GHz以上的高功率源而开发的方法，以及在电磁耦合、毫米波性能和热计量方面表征这些器件的方法，未来可用于进一步提高单片集成功率放大器的带宽和功率，使其不仅覆盖整个毫米波频率范围，还包括未被广泛利用的太赫兹频率。衬底集成波导（SIW）平台可以使得诸如高质量滤波器和天线的其他电子部件能够单片集成在单个芯片上，这对于常规集成电路是困难的。该项目通过促进无处不在的无线通信，智能人机界面和物联网（IoT）直接影响未来的工作。据估计，无线通信目前覆盖了大约60%的地球表面，使互联网接入到只有大约一半的世界人口。6 G无线通信采用体积小、重量轻、功率大、成本低、可靠性高的毫米波源，可实现100%的地球表面覆盖，让人人都能接入互联网。技术特点基于超低损耗SiC基片集成波导，一种新颖的行波放大器（TWA）用于联合收割机组合高电子迁移率晶体管（HEMT），用于克服传统单片毫米波集成电路的功率组合和阻抗匹配挑战。接地共面波导上的准横向电磁波和基片集成波导上的横向电波之间的分布式同步耦合是新的，基片集成波导与晶体管的单片集成也是新的。这种方法利用在SiC上外延生长的高质量GaN，通过单片集成实现高频、高功率性能。这种单片集成在分布式几何结构中实现了前所未有的精度和场强，这是传统的分裂块机加工部件或印刷电路板上的混合集成所不可能实现的。这为高频电路提供了一条途径，其功率和效率性能是其他方式无法达到的。作为一个概念验证的测试车辆，能够在D波段（110-170 GHz）的1-W输出功率的TWAs的设计，制造和表征。如果成功的话，类似的方法可以用于在更高的频率下产生更高的功率，或者在其他半导体技术中实现。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

AbstractNontechnicalHigh-frequency, high-power sources are critical to exploiting the electromagnetic spectrum. The project may enable the next generation of millimeter-wave electronics with unprecedented bandwidth and power, while minimizing their size, weight, power consumption, cost, and failure rate. The methodologies developed to design, integrate, and fabricate high-power sources above 110 GHz, and to characterize these devices in terms of electromagnetic coupling, millimeter-wave performance, and thermal metrology can be used in the future to further improve the bandwidth and power of monolithically integrated power amplifiers to cover not only the entire millimeter-wave frequency range, but also terahertz frequencies that are not widely exploited. The substrate-integrated waveguide (SIW) platform may enable other electronic components such as high-quality filters and antennas to be monolithically integrated on a single chip, which has been difficult with conventional integrated circuits. The project directly impacts Future of Work by facilitating ubiquitous wireless communications, smart man-machine interfaces, and Internet of Things (IoT). It is estimated that wireless communications currently cover approximately 60% of the Earth surface, making Internet accessible to only about half of the world's population. 6G wireless communications enabled by millimeter-wave sources that are small, light, powerful, low cost, and reliable can extend the coverage to 100% of the Earth surface, making Internet accessible to everyone.TechnicalBased on an ultra-low-loss SiC SIW, a novel traveling-wave amplifier (TWA) is used to combine high-electron-mobility transistors (HEMTs) in a distributed manner for overcoming the power combining and impedance matching challenges of conventional monolithic millimeter-wave integrated circuits. Distributed and synchronous coupling between a quasi-transverse-electromagnetic wave on a grounded coplanar waveguide and a transverse-electric wave on an SIW is new, as is monolithic integration of SIW with transistors. This approach takes advantage of high-quality GaN grown epitaxially on SiC to achieve high-frequency, high-power performance through monolithic integration. This monolithic integration allows unprecedented precision and field strength in a distributed geometry, which is impossible to realize with conventional split-block machined parts or hybrid integration on a printed circuit board. This provides a path to high-frequency circuits with power and efficiency performance that is not otherwise attainable. As a proof-of-concept test vehicle, TWAs capable of 1-W output power at the D band (110-170 GHz) are designed, fabricated, and characterized. If successful, similar approaches can be used to generate higher powers at higher frequencies, or be implemented in other semiconductor technologies.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.