W-band GaN MMIC PA with 257 mW output power at 86.5 GHz^*

A three-stage W-band GaN monolithic microwave integrated circuit power amplifier (MMIC PA) is reported. In order to manage coupling effects between all the parts of the W-band MMIC, all matching and bias networks have been first optimized using circuit simulating software and then systematically simulated on 3D full-wave electromagnetic simulator. The fabricated MMIC PA achieves a 257 mW output power at 86.5 GHz in continuous-wave mode, with an associated power added efficiency of 5.4% and an associated power gain of 6.1 dB. The power density is 459 mW/mm. Moreover, the MMIC PA offers over 100 mW in the 83–90 GHz bandwidth. Those performances were measured at drain bias of 12 V.