Evaluation of a stacked‐FET cell for high‐frequency applications (invited paper). (23rd March 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Piacibello, Anna; Costanzo, Ferdinando; Giofré, Rocco; Quaglia, Roberto; Colantonio, Paolo; Pirola, Marco; Camarchia, Vittorio
• Other Names: Vadalà Valeria guestEditor.; Crupi Giovanni guestEditor.
• Is Part Of: International journal of numerical modelling. Volume 34:Number 5(2021)
• Page Start: n/a
• Page End: n/a
• Publication Date: 2021-03-23
• Subjects: electromagnetic simulations -- gallium nitride -- power amplifier -- stacked; Electric networks -- Mathematical models -- Periodicals; Electronics -- Mathematical models -- Periodicals; 621.3011
• DOI: 10.1002/jnm.2881
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0894-3370

Abstract

Abstract: This paper presents the design, electromagnetic simulation strategies and experimental characterisation of a two‐stage stacked‐FET cell in a 100 nm GaN on Si technology around 18.8 GHz, suited for Ka band satellite downlink applications. A good agreement is found between the electromagnetic simulations and the measured performance on the manufactured prototype, thus demonstrating that a successful voltage combining architecture can be obtained in the frequency range of interest with the selected topology, based on a symmetric fork‐like connection between the transistors. This proves the effectiveness of an appropriate electromagnetic simulation set‐up in correctly predicting the crosstalk, which typically affects this structure, leading to a correct stacking operation.