Extremely low-noise 0.15 m gate-length V- and W-band InGaAs / InAlAs / InP lattice-matched and pseudomorphic HEMTs have been successfully fabricated. A maximum extrinsic transconductance of 1,500 mS/mm and a gate breakdown voltage of more than 10V have been obtained for the devices. Minimum noise figures of 0.3,0.9 and and 1.4dB have been measured for the devices at 18,60 and 94GHz, respectively. We have also measured a maximum available gain of 13.6dB at 95GHz, corresponding to a maximum frequency of oscillation, fmax, of 455GHz (-6dB/octave extrapolation) with the device. Based on these high performance 0.15?m devices, a 3-stage hybrid amplifier with a minimum noise figure of 3.3dB and gain of 17.3±0.5dB from 88 to 96GHz has been built. We have also successfully demonstrated for the first time a two-stage InP-based HEMT monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) with 3.0dB noise figure and 21.0dB gain at 58GHz. These are the best device and amplifier results ever reported. The results are far superior to those obtained from the GaAs-based MESFET and HEMT technology, and clearly demonstrate the potential of the InP-based HEMT technology for very low-noise applications well into the millimeter-wave regime.

Date Published: 1 August 1990
PDF: 7 pages
Proc. SPIE 1288, High-Speed Electronics and Device Scaling, (1 August 1990); doi: 10.1117/12.20902

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 1288:
High-Speed Electronics and Device Scaling
Lester Fuess Eastman, Editor(s)