Low Noise Amplifiers Including Group III Nitride Based High Electron Mobility Transistors

• US 20120194276A1
• Filed: 05/18/2011
• Published: 08/02/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 05/20/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: MACOM Technology Solutions Holdings, Inc.
• Original Assignee: CREE Incorporated (Wolfspeed, Inc.)
• Inventors: Fisher, Jeremy
• Granted Patent: US 8,829,999 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 330/296
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/0605 integrated circuits made of compound material, e.g. AIIIBV
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/085 including field-effect components only
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/2003 Nitride compounds
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/402 Field plates
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/404 Multiple field plate structures
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/42316 for field-effect transistors
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/7786 with direct single heterostructure, i.e. with wide bandgap layer formed on top of active layer, e.g. direct single heterostructure MIS-like HEMT
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 2200/108 A coil being added in the drain circuit of a FET amplifier stage, e.g. for noise reducing purposes
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 2200/318 A matching circuit being used as coupling element between two amplifying stages
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 2200/411 the output amplifying stage of an amplifier comprising two power stages
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 2200/492 A coil being added in the source circuit of a transistor amplifier stage as degenerating element
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 2200/54 Two or more capacitor coupled amplifier stages in cascade
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 3/195 in integrated circuits

Abstract

A low noise amplifier includes a first Group III-nitride based transistor and a second Group III-nitride based transistor coupled to the first Group III-nitride based transistor. The first Group III-nitride based transistor is configured to provide a first stage of amplification to an input signal, and the second Group III-nitride based transistor is configured to provide a second stage of amplification to the input signal.

Claims

1. A monolithic microwave integrated circuit low noise amplifier comprising:

a substrate;

an input port on the substrate for receiving an input signal to be amplified;

a first Group III-nitride based transistor on the substrate and coupled to the input port, wherein the first Group III-nitride based transistor is configured to provide a first stage of amplification to the input signal;

a second Group III-nitride based transistor on the substrate and coupled to the first Group III-nitride based transistor, wherein the second Group III-nitride based transistor is configured to provide a second stage of amplification to the input signal; and

an output port on the substrate and coupled to the second Group III-nitride based transistor.

2. The monolithic microwave integrated circuit low noise amplifier of claim 1, wherein the first and second Group III-nitride based transistors comprise Group III-nitride based high electron mobility transistors.

3. The monolithic microwave integrated circuit low noise amplifier of claim 1, wherein at least one of the first and second Group III-nitride based transistors comprises a field plate.

4. The monolithic microwave integrated circuit low noise amplifier of claim 3, wherein the field plate is conductively connected to a source terminal of the at least one transistor.

5. The monolithic microwave integrated circuit low noise amplifier of claim 3, wherein the field plate is conductively connected to a gate terminal of the at least one transistor.

6. The monolithic microwave integrated circuit low noise amplifier of claim 3, wherein the field plate comprises a first field plate, the at least one transistor further comprising a second field plate that is electrically isolated from the first field plate.

7. The monolithic microwave integrated circuit low noise amplifier of claim 6, wherein the second field plate is conductively connected to a source terminal of the at least one transistor.

8. The monolithic microwave integrated circuit low noise amplifier of claim 1, further comprising an input network coupled between the input port and the first Group III-nitride based transistor, an interstage network coupled between the first Group III-nitride based transistor and the second Group III-nitride based transistor, and an output network coupled between the second Group III-nitride based transistor and the output port.

9. The monolithic microwave integrated circuit low noise amplifier of claim 1, further comprising a first gate bias port coupled to a gate of the first Group III-nitride based transistor, a first drain bias port coupled to a drain of the first Group III-nitride based transistor, a second gate bias port coupled to a gate of the second Group III-nitride based transistor, and a second drain bias port coupled to a drain of the second Group III-nitride based transistor.

10. The monolithic microwave integrated circuit low noise amplifier of claim 1, wherein the first Group III-nitride transistor has a gate periphery less than about 1 mm, and the second Group III-nitride transistor has a gate periphery greater than about 1 mm.

11. The monolithic microwave integrated circuit low noise amplifier of claim 10, wherein the first Group III-nitride transistor has a gate periphery of about 0.72 mm, and the second Group III-nitride transistor has a gate periphery of about 1.2 mm.

12. A package comprising a monolithic microwave integrated circuit low noise amplifier as recited in claim 1, wherein the package has a footprint not greater than 0.5 inches square.

13. A monolithic microwave integrated circuit low noise amplifier that has a third order intercept greater than 25 dBm at a frequency that is in the range of 2.6 GHz to 3.95 GHz.

14. A monolithic microwave integrated circuit low noise amplifier that has a noise figure less than 3.0 dB at a frequency that is in the range of 2.6 GHz to 3.95 GHz.

15. A low noise amplifier comprising:

a first Group III-nitride based transistor configured to provide a first stage of amplification to an input signal; and

a second Group III-nitride based transistor coupled to the first Group III-nitride based transistor and configured to provide a second stage of amplification to the input signal.

16. The low noise amplifier of claim 15, wherein the first and second Group III-nitride based transistors comprise Group III-nitride based high electron mobility transistors.

17. The low noise amplifier of claim 15, wherein at least one of the first and second Group III-nitride based transistors comprises a field plate.

18. The low noise amplifier of claim 17, wherein the field plate comprises a first field plate, the at least one transistor further comprising a second field plate that is electrically isolated from the first field plate.