AlInN/Gan Evaluation for low Noise - hiGH power, and Integrated circuitS in and above KA baNd – GENGHIS KhAN

The GENGHIS KhAN project proposes to develop new AlInN/GaN WGB technology for millimeter wave applications dedicated to satellite communications.

In the RF business, GaN HEMT is now ready to challenge Si LDMOS and GaAs pHEMT in the telecommunication base stations market (3G, 4G, WiMAX...). With devices reaching 150W @ 6GHz under 48V bias, the GaN technology could be implemented within the 2 millions deployed mobile phone base stations and emerging WiMAX infrastructures. Nevertheless, developments are still on going to widen the market of WBG technologies toward high frequency. Researches and developments are ongoing from X-band (8 GHz) up to E band (90 GHz) in Europe (UMS, SELEX SI), Japan (FUJISTU, NEC, Matsushita Electric Industrial) and in the United States (TRIQUINT, RFMD, CREE, RAYTHEON, HRL, NORTHROP GRUMMAN…).

This proposal is focused on the evaluation and development of a new generation of wide band gap (WBG) GaN technology for high frequency operation. This project will take advantage of the new lattice-matched AlInN/GaN heterostructure, which shows evidences of better frequency performances than other components. The main technologies, which can be used today for solid-state microwave power generation, are based on silicon (Si), gallium arsenide (GaAs), and AlGaN/GaN. Considering 10W output power target, the operation frequency cut-offs of those different technologies are roughly 4GHz, 10GHz and 18GHz respectively.

The new AlInN/GaN heterostructure was pioneered by Europe through the EU programs “ULTRAGAN” (Future Emerging Technology STREP - FP6, c.f. www.ultragan.eu ) and “MORGAN” (NMP - IP - FP7, c.f. www.morganproject.eu ) , both projects being lead by Alcatel Thales III-V Lab. Those projects improved drastically the reputation of the European research in GaN for microelectronics, thanks to disruptive results, with the demonstrations of 10W/mm at 10GHz with power added efficiency (PAE) of 56%, 13W/mm at 3.5GHz with PAE up to 70%, and 4.3W/mm with 43% PAE at 18GHz. These PAE are impressive; they were not expected few years ago for nitrides. Moreover it was also demonstrated an incredible thermal stability never observed previously for any other transistor type with electrical operation at temperatures of 800°C for hundreds of hours.