An Ultra-Low Power InAs/AlSb HEMT X-Band Low-Noise Amplifier and RF Switch

Several antimonide-based compound semiconductor (ABCS) microstrip MMICs, an X-Band low-noise amplifier and an rf switch, using 0.1-μm gate length Antimonide Based Compound Semiconductor (ABCS) metamorphic InAs/AlSb HEMTs, have been fabricated and characterized on a 50 μm GaAs substrate. The compact 0.7 mm two-stage X-band LNA demonstrated a 1.25 dB noise-figure at 10 GHz with an associated gain of 22.3 dB. The measured dc power dissipation of the ABCS LNA was an ultra-low 1.6mW per stage, or 3.2 mW total which is less than one-tenth the dc power dissipation of a typical equivalent InGaAs/AlGaAs/GaAs HEMT LNA. Operation with degraded gain and noise figure at 0.98 mW total dc power dissipation is also verified. The compact 0.9 mm singlepole double-throw X-band RF switch demonstrated a 0.99 dB on-state insertion loss and an off -state isolation of > 32 dB. These results demonstrate the outstanding potential of the ABCS HEMT technology for low-power X-band applications. Fig. 1. A photomicrograph of the two-stage ABCS HEMT MMIC X-band LNA. The compact die measures 1.4mm by 0.7 mm with a thickness of 50 μm.