MILLIMETER WAVE POWER AMPLIFICATION AND FREQUENCY MULTIPLICATION

ADVANCEMENTS IN SOLID-STATE DEVICE TECHNOLOGY MAKE POSSIBLE NEW SOLUTIONS FOR MM-WAVE POWER SOURCES. A VARIETY OF MODERN THREE-TERMINAL DEVICES INCLUDING PSEUDOMORPHIC HIGH ELECTRON MOBILITY TRANSISTORS (PHEMTS), GAAS FETS, AND HETEROJUNCTION BIPOLAR TRANSISTORS (HBTS) ARE EMERGING AS THE PREFERRED DEVICES TO MEET THE POWER GENERATION REQUIREMENTS IN MODERN MILITARY AND COUMIERCIAL MM-WAVE SYSTEMS. ADDITIONALLY, AN IMPORTANT TWO-TERMINAL DEVICE, THE EPITAXIALLY-STACKED VARACTOR (ISIS-DIODE) OFFERS SUBSTANTIAL POWER OUTPUT CAPABILITY AT THESE FREQUENCIES. BENEFITS ASSOCIATED WITH THE USE OF THESE DEVICES FOR MM-WAVE POWER GENERATION INCLUDE HIGHER EFFICIENCY, IMPROVED RELIABILITY, REDUCED SIZE AND LOWER COST WHEN COMPARED TO CURRENT IMPATT-DIODE-BASED SOLUTIONS. APPLICATION OF THIS NEXT GENERATION OF DEVICES TO TRANSMITTERS, PARTICULARLY AT Q-BAND (44 GHZ) FOR COMMUNICATIONS AND AT W-BAND (94 GHZ) FOR SMART MUNITIONS (RADAR), WILL POSITIVELY IMPACT PERFORMANCE IN TERMS OF RELIABILITY, MAINTAINABILITY, PRODUCIBILITY AND COST. WE PROPOSE TO IDENTIFY NEW BUILDING BLOCKS USING THESE DEVICES WHICH COULD DELIVER POWER LEVELS IN THE 1-3 WATT RANGE FOR THESE DEVICES WHICH COULD BE POWER-COMBINED FOR HIGHER OUTPUT LEVELS. USE OF THESE BASIC BUILDING BLOCKS COULD HAVE A SIGNIFICANT AND NEAR-TERM IMPACT ON THE DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF PORTABLE COMMUNICATION TERMINALS, 94 GHZ SEEKER DESIGNS AND OTHER IMPORTANT SYSTEMS.