Gallium nitride traveling wave structures

• US 7,936,210 B2
• Filed: 02/12/2007
• Issued: 05/03/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 02/12/2007
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Lockheed Martin Corporation (Martin Marietta Corporation), Qorvo US, Inc. (Qorvo, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Lockheed Martin Corporation (Martin Marietta Corporation)
• Inventors: Saunier, Paul, Tserng, Hua-Quen, Robinson, Kevin L.
• Primary Examiner(s): ZWEIZIG, JEFFERY SHAWN
• Application Number:
  US11/705,344
• Publication Number:
  US 20100277233A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,541 Days
• Field of Search: 327/564, 327/565, 327/566, 327/581
• US Class Current: 327/581
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 3/54 Amplifiers using transit-time effect in tubes or semiconductor devices parametric amplifiers H03F7/00; solid state travelling-wave devices H10N70/10
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 3/607 using FET's

Abstract

A traveling wave device employs an active Gallium Nitride FET. The Gallium Nitride FET has a plurality of gate feeding fingers connecting to an input gate transmission line. The FET has a drain electrode connected to an output drain transmission line with the source electrode connected to a point of reference potential. The input and output transmission lines are terminated with terminating impedances which are not matched to the gate and drain transmission lines. The use of Gallium Nitride enables the terminating impedance to be at much higher levels than in the prior art. The use of Gallium Nitride permits multiple devices to be employed, thus resulting in higher gain amplifiers with higher voltage operation and higher frequency operation. A cascode traveling wave amplifier employing GaN FETs is also described having high gain and bandwidth.

Claims

1. A traveling wave device comprising at least one active Gallium Nitride (GaN) FET device having a plurality of gate feeding fingers connecting a gate electrode to an input gate transmission line, and having a drain electrode connected to an output drain transmission line, with the source electrode connected to a point of reference potential

wherein said GaN FET is a dual gate FET, wherein a gate has a plurality of gate fingers, wherein gate fingers of said gate are conversed to a gate transmission line, and with said other gate adapted to be coupled to a source of potential for varying the gain of said FET according to the magnitude of said potential source.

2. The traveling wave device according to claim 1, wherein said at least one active GaN FET device is a High Electron Mobility Transistor (HEMT).

3. The traveling wave device according to claim 1, wherein said at least one active GaN FET is fabricated on a top surface of a silicon carbide (SiC) substrate.

4. The traveling wave device according to claim 1, wherein said input gate transmission line has a first termination impedance for providing reflection at a first frequency.

5. The traveling wave device according to claim 4, wherein said output drain transmission line has a second termination impedance for providing reflection at said first frequency.

6. The traveling wave device according to claim 1, wherein said drain and gate transmission lines are microstrip lines.

7. The traveling wave device according to claim 3, further including a ground plane formed on said bottom surface of said SiC substrate.

8. The traveling wave device according to claim 7, further including a via formed in said substrate to contact said source electrode of said FET to therefore connect said source electrode to reference potential.

9. The traveling wave device according to claim 1, wherein said GaN device is formed on a silicon substrate.

10. The traveling wave device according to claim 4, wherein said first frequency is greater than 50 GHz.

11. The traveling wave device according to claim 1, wherein said input gate transmission line is a tapered transmission line having a taper from a large valve at an input end to another valve at an output end.

12. The traveling wave device according to claim 1, wherein said output drain transmission line is a tapered transmission line having a taper from a large valve at an input end to a small valve at an output end.

13. The traveling wave device according to claim 1, wherein said drain electrode is conversed to said drain transmission line via a resistive impedance.

14. The traveling wave device according to claim 1, wherein said source electrode is connected to a point of reference potential via a resistive impedance.

15. The traveling wave device according to claim 1, wherein each gate electrode is coupled to said input gate transmission line via a frequency responsive circuit.

16. The traveling wave device according to claim 15, wherein said circuit is a capacitor in parallel with a resistor one terminal of said circuit connected to said gate electrode said other terminal connected to said gate transmission line.

17. A traveling wave device comprising at least one active Gallium Nitride (GaN) FET device having a plurality of gate feeding fingers connecting a gate electrode to an input gate transmission line, and having a drain electrode connected to an output drain transmission line, with the source electrode connected to a point of reference potential,

wherein said GaN FET is a epitaxial device fabricated on a diamond coated silicon carbide substrate.

18. A traveling wave device comprising a plurality of Gallium Nitride (GaN) amplifier circuits arranged in cascode from a first circuit to a last circuit, each circuit being a cascode amplifier having a first GaN FET in series with a second GaN FET with the source electrode of said first FET connected to a point of reference potential, a gate transmission line, having a semiconductor for corresponding tracks, with the gate of said first FET connected to an associated terminal of said gate transmission line, with the drain of said first FET connected to the source of said second FET,

a drain transmission line having input terminals for connection levels with the drain of said second FET connected to an associated input terminal of said drain transmission line with the gate electrode of said second FET directed to a point of reference potential through a frequency relative network operative to bypass all signal frequencies to said point of reference potential to cover said second FET to operate said common gate circuit with each circuit cascaded by the respective connection of said circuits to said gate and drain transmission lines.

19. The traveling wave device according to claim 18 wherein each FET is a GaN mHEMT.