GaN HEMT transistor modeling and application to highly efficient and linear amplifier designs

无论是在地面无线应用、卫星通信和广播还是雷达应用中，功率放大器在所有这些系统中都扮演着重要的角色。它们通常占基础设施成本的很大一部分，并且主要负责其功耗。因此，降低它们的功耗并提高它们的性能不仅在经济上是重要的，而且考虑到世界范围内大量的无线终端，它也迅速成为环境上必要的。功率放大器性能的一个关键是它所基于的晶体管技术。近年来，一种新兴的半导体技术氮化镓（GaN）在帮助功率放大器实现更好的性能和更环保方面表现出了良好的前景。随着其制造变得越来越可靠，其成本不断下降，该技术现在有望成为未来几年无线/卫星功率放大器市场的主导技术。为了释放这一潜力，功率放大器设计人员必须为其CAD工具提供准确而强大的器件模型，并且必须考虑新颖的设计方法，以利用GaN技术提供的独特功能。该项目旨在开发此类模型和设计方法，使加拿大公司能够率先使用和部署GaN技术，并带来所有经济和社会/环境效益。

Whether in terrestrial wireless applications, satellite communication and broadcasting or radar applications, power amplifiers play an important role in all of these systems. They often account for a large portion of the infrastructure cost and are largely responsible for their power consumption. Consequently, reducing their power consumption and improving their performance is not only economically important but it is also fast becoming environmentally necessary given the vast number of wireless terminals worldwide. One key to power amplifier performance is the transistor technology on which it is built. In recent years, an emerging semi-conductor technology, Gallium Nitride or GaN, has shown excellent promise in helping make power amplifiers better performing and "greener" for the environment. As its fabrication has become more and more reliable and its cost has continued to come down, this technology is now poised to be the dominant technology in the wireless/satellite power amplifier market in the coming years. To unlock this potential, power amplifier designers must have access to accurate and robust device models for their CAD tools and must consider novel design approaches to take advantage of the unique features offered by GaN technology. This project aims to develop such models and design approaches to enable Canadian companies to take a lead in using and deploying GaN technology, with all the economic and social/environmental benefits this brings.