E-Band Ultra-Low-Noise (4.5 dB) and High-Power (27 dBm) GaN T/R Front-End MMIC

A high-performance, GaN-based analog front-end monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) for E-band communication applications is presented in this paper. The MMIC design successfully incorporates a low-noise amplifier (LNA), a power amplifier (PA) and a single-pole double-throw (SPDT) T/R switch into a single integrated chip, fabricated in the Fraunhofer IAF GaN high-electron-mobility transistor (HEMT) technology. Across 75-86 GHz, the measurements in the receive path exhibit a record-low noise figure (NF) of 4.5 dB in average, while the transmit path provides an output power of >27 dBm with a power-added-efficiency (PAE) of 7-10% between 71-86 GHz. To the best of authors' knowledge, this is the first demonstration of a GaN front-end MMIC operating at E-band frequencies.