A 52-to-86GHz V-/E-band GaN Distributed combined Power Amplifier with Output Power Beyond 1W and 34GHz Bandwidth

The challenges related to designing high-power and wide-bandwidth millimeter-wave power amplifiers (PAs) are addressed by proposing a compact, scalable, distributed combined PA (DCPA) that leverages the advantages of a low-loss distributed matching network and the wide bandwidth of the distributed combiner. As an illustration, a three-way DCPA incorporating high-performance power cells is demonstrated with an output power (POUT) of more than 30 dBm covering 52 to 86 GHz in the V-/E-band. The three-stage two-way PA power cell is designed using a low-loss distributed matching network. Three power cells are combined using a compact distributed power combiner to achieve high POUT. The power cell and the DCPA maintain an average POUT of 29.5 dBm and 33 dBm, respectively, across the 52 to 86 GHz range. To the authors’ knowledge, a PA showcasing a POUT beyond 1W and a 24.6% fractional bandwidth represents the highest reported performance in the V-/E-band.