GaN Transistors Boost WiMAX Power Amplification Efficiency

(Product News, 11 Apr 2007)

Optimized for high efficiency, high gain and wide bandwidth, three new gallium nitride (GaN) high electron mobility transistors (HEMT) provide exceptional linear power and efficiency for WiMAX and broadband wireless access applications operating between 2.3GHz and 3.9GHz.

The CGH27015S, contained in a small 3mm x 3mm plastic over-mold QFN package, typically produces 2.5Q of average output power and 28-percent drain efficiency over the frequency range of 2.3GHz to 2.9GHz. This represents up to a 40-percent improvement in device efficiency when compared with traditional technologies such as silicon LDMOS or GaAs under WiMAX signals and requirements (802.16-2004). It also features 15dB of small-signal gain and 2.0-percent error vector magnitude (EVM) under orthogonal frequency- division multiplexing (OFDM) modulation when operated at 28V.

The CGH35015S, also provided in an over-mold QFN package, typically produces more than 2.5W of average power and 28 percent drain efficiency with typical small-signal gain of 13dB over the frequency range of 3.3 to 3.9GHz. This represents up to a 50-percent improvement in device efficiency when compared with silicon LDMOS or GaAs under WiMAX signals. In addition, the CGH35030F transistor provides 4W of average power with 23-percent efficiency over the 3.3 to 3.9GHz frequency range. This component features more than 11dB gain and two-percent error vector magnitude (EVM) under OFDM modulation. When employed in an efficiency-enhancement circuit, a pair of these transistors produced more than 10W of average power with over 42 percent efficiency in the 3.5GHz WiMAX band.

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