SBIR-STTR Award

Utilizing Nitronex’s solid state GaN FETs and SAIC’s design expertise in PAs, a small, lightweight power amplifier can be achieved. Specifically, in this phase I effort, Nitronex will advance GaN technology and design high power (>250W) devices with very low thermal resistance in order to provide building blocks required for the PA. Nitronex will perform extensive thermal simulations and arrive at layouts achieving high power with a thermal resistance of <0.5°C/W. Nitronex will update the existing CFET device models to reflect the changes made to the device layout. Then, SAIC and Nitronex will jointly determine best practice to achieve matching elements needed to optimize device performance. SAIC will utilize the device model and explore PA architectures that can achieve the required performance. SAIC will design and simulate a basic unit of the PA and demonstrate ~250W CW power in the L-band through simulation and show how such units can then be combined to reach a total output power of 1000 W. Nitronex will fabricate the discrete device and measure actual thermal resistance improvement achieved along with RF CW output power achieved in the L-band. This activity will also help to validate thermal and RF models.

Keywords:
Gan, Solid-State Power Amplifiers, Broadband, High Power, Thermal Resistance, Gan-On-Si, L-Band

GaN HEMTs have the ability to delivery very high power levels when operated at at high voltages (48V). Therefore, they are ideally suited for high power amplifiers such as the E2C HPA used in the Advanced Hawkeye aircraft. The current version of the E2C HPA utilizes silicon technology. We propose to develop a reliable 300W GaN packaged device that can be used to develop a significantly lighter and smaller HPA. Specifically, we will be replacing 21 silicon devices with only 5 GaN devices, which is estimated to reduce weight by a factor of 2 with a new system design. Further, we will develop such a device on the reliable GaN FET on Si platform technology that is fully qualified for military and commercial applications. The MTTF of our GaN FET technology is >10 million hours at a Tj of 150 degress celsius.

Keywords:
Gan, Gan Hemt, Algan/Gan Hemt, E2c Hpa, Advanced Hawkeye, High Power, Broadband, Link-16