A trio of power amplifier chips from Hittite Microwave Corp. is designed for terrestrial and satellite-communications (satcom) systems at millimeter-wave frequencies from 27.5 to 46.5 GHz. The devices are based on GaAs pseudomorphic-high-electron-mobility-transistor (pHEMT) technology and offer different combinations of efficiency, power, and linearity. For example, model HMC1014 is a four-stage amplifier that provides 21-dB gain and +27.5-dBm output power at 1-dB compression from 33.5 to 46.5 GHz. It boasts 27% power-added efficiency (PAE) from a +6-VDC supply and achieves an output third-order-intercept point (OIP3) of as high as +35 dBm. This makes it a likely candidate for high-linearity communications applications in point-to-point and point-to-multipoint commercial and military radios. The other two amplifier chips are models HMC1024 and HMC1029, both four-stage GaAs pHEMT MMIC designs. The former provides 1-W (+30-dBm) output power at 1-dB compression from 27.5 to 33.5 GHz; the latter offers 2-W (+33-dBm) output power at 1-dB compression from 27 to 37 GHz. The HMC1024 features 24-dB gain, +40-dBm OIP3, +31.5-dBm saturated output power, and 29% PAE from a +6-VDC supply. The HMC1029 delivers 24-dB gain, +42-dBm OIP3 performance, +35-dBm saturated output power, and 25% PAE from a +6-VDC supply. All three of the amplifier die are internally matched to 50 Ω, eliminating the need for external matching components.
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