Critical design considerations for GaN-based microwave power varactors

Lü, Wei; Wang, Lingquan; Gu, Siyuan; Asbeck, P.M.; Yu, Paul K. L.

doi:10.1109/edssc.2012.6482881

Cited by 9 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…( ) and ( ) are formulated with power series, this time including , as in (10). The values of = 0 , 1 , 2 and = 0 , 1 , 2 in (10) are dependent on the circuit elements associated to ( ) and ( ) respectively, in Fig.…”

Section: ) Effect Of Parallel Parasicitc Capacitance On Linearitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In Fig. 6, the resulting equivalent nonlinear capacitance ( ) (orange rectangle) is expressed by the power series (11), with coefficients = 0 , 1 , 2 that are derived in appendix A, starting from the values of and in (10). ( )   …”

Section: ) Effect Of Parallel Parasicitc Capacitance On Linearitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The drawbacks with the topologies in [8,9] are the use of an increased number of components or chip area, and a lower Q factor for the same targeted capacitance value. The work in [10,11] also improves power capability by implementing the topology of Fig. 2a in a GaN technology with a focus on the Q factor.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Anti-Series Varactor Network With Improved Linearity Performances in the Presence of Inductive and Capacitive Parasitics

2021

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This paper proposes a varactor-based circuit technique intended for amplitude and phase control, with improved linearity in the presence of parasitic capacitances and parasitic inductances. The mechanism causing linearity degradation in an anti-series varactor network that includes significant parasitic elementsa key aspect that, to our knowledge, has never been reportedis first studied using an analytical approach based on multi-tone excitation. It is demonstrated that simply optimizing the ratio of diode sizes is insufficient to circumvent this linearity degradation. The underlying linearity degradation concept serves as the basis for the introduction of a modified anti-series controllable capacitance, followed by a design and practical implementation. Experimental validations with multi-tone and modulated signals demonstrate improved linearity performances with respect to the state-of-the-art when parasitic capacitances and inductances are significant. Moreover, it is shown that the complete varactor-based circuit topology proposed here, which uses the proposed modified anti-series controllable capacitance in conjunction with a secondharmonic trap filter, constitutes a very attractive alternative to the state-of-the-art anti-series/anti-parallel topology, since it reduces the required number of diodes by a factor of 2. Measurements on discretecomponent designs operating at 3.6GHz, hence with significant parasitic effects, demonstrate that the proposed circuit topology improves the 3 rd order intermodulation distortion levels by 10.6dB and 6.6dB at output powers of 10dBm and 18dBm respectively, in comparison with the state-of-the-art topology. Measurements with a 16QAM modulated signal also show 3.9dB improvement in ACPR at 18dBm. These performances constitute improved state-of-the-art results in anti-series hyper-abrupt varactor-based electronic control.

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Section: ) Effect Of Parallel Parasicitc Capacitance On Linearitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: ) Effect Of Parallel Parasicitc Capacitance On Linearitymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Anti-Series Varactor Network With Improved Linearity Performances in the Presence of Inductive and Capacitive Parasitics

2021

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“…In [22], a Q-factor of 35 at 1 GHz was achieved however this required n+ doping within the channel and also an n-layer below the metal contact. In [23] a device with a Q-Factor between 40 and 100 over the frequency range of 1 to 5 GHz was published. However, this device again required special processing steps such as n+ channel doping and n-layers beneath the contacts.…”

Section: Varactorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Active Inductor and Tunable Bandpass Filter in GaN

Herbert¹

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This thesis presents the design and implementation of an active inductor using gallium nitride technology. This design is largely motivated by the lack of high-quality varactors in GaN. Active inductors are therefore proposed as an alternative to varactors as an impedance tuning mechanism in GaN which will act as the building block for tunable circuits such as VCOs, filters, phase shifters etc. The fabrication of such tunable circuits in GaN will in turn allow for highly integrated complete RF systems on chip in GaN. Furthermore, the design and implementation of a tunable bandpass filter with amplitude and frequency control making use of the aforementioned active inductor are presented. The proposed active inductor and filter were fabricated in a 0.5 μm pHEMT GaN process. The active inductor's measured tuning range at 3.5GHz is 8 to 20nH with a quality factor greater than 200. The measured tuning range of the active filter is 500 MHz with an S21 of 3dB. The active inductor occupies an active area of 350um by 175um. Fixed passive inductors of similar inductance occupy areas of approximately 350um by 350um (200% increase compared to active inductor area), while exhibiting extremely poor quality factors of less than 5. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first active inductor and bandpass filter implemented in GaN.

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“…Two years later, on 2012, the same group researchers of[58] reports a new work[59] where the critical design considerations for achieving GaN-based high voltage, high Q factor and high linearity microwave varactors were summarized and were discussed. In addition, detailed performances for a real fabricated GaN-based anti-parallel varactor diode structure that simultaneously achieving high Q, highbreakdown voltage and high linearity were presented.…”

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confidence: 99%

Design of GaN-based Microwave Components and Application to Novel High Power Reconfigurable Antennas

Hamdoun¹

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This thesis demonstrates the feasibility of using gallium nitride (GaN) technology in reconfigurable RF systems. GaN-based varactor diodes and switch circuits are pursued as promising candidates for high-power/high-frequency applications. The first part is devoted to active GaN device development. Active components were realized using the Canadian National Research Council (NRC) GaN HEMTs process. Based on three process, such as, GaN150v0 (gate length of 0.15um), GaN500v1 and GaN500v2 (both with gate length of 0.5um), many varactor diodes with size different have been manufactured and characterized via DC and RF smallsignal and large-signal measurements. Then, the varactor diodes were modeled by This thesis research has been conducted as a collaboration between University of Rennes 1 through "l'Institut d'Electronique et de Télécommunications de Rennes (IETR)", and Carleton University through the "Department of Electronics (DOE)". This collaboration is created from the PhD cotutelle (joint) program offered by both institutions. DOE has the expertise in CAD for electronic circuit design, RF and microwave circuits, photonics and integrated circuit using semiconductor technologies including GaN technology. A group of researchers from Carleton University is deeply involved in developing of circuits based on GaN technology.

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Critical design considerations for GaN-based microwave power varactors

Cited by 9 publications

References 6 publications

Anti-Series Varactor Network With Improved Linearity Performances in the Presence of Inductive and Capacitive Parasitics

Anti-Series Varactor Network With Improved Linearity Performances in the Presence of Inductive and Capacitive Parasitics

An Active Inductor and Tunable Bandpass Filter in GaN

Design of GaN-based Microwave Components and Application to Novel High Power Reconfigurable Antennas

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