High‐Power Microwave GaN/AlGaN HEMTs and MMICs on SiC and Silicon Substrates for Modern Radio Communication

In this paper the recent use AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) and integrated circuits on both semi‐insulating silicon carbide (SiC) and silicon substrates for radio communication in the microwave and mm‐wave frequency range is described. AlGaN/GaN monolithically microwave integrated circuits (MMICs) are extremely useful for point‐to‐point (P2P)‐links in the backbones of the 4th and upcoming 5th generation of mobile communication networks as power amplifiers, as they provide a great amount of linear power. At the same time GaN‐based power conversion electronics has driven the advancement of the growth of AlGaN/GaN heterostructures on conductive silicon (111) substrates. This again has indirectly led to advancements in the growth capabilities of AlGaN/GaN heterostructures on highly‐resistive (HR) silicon substrates. The paper gives examples of transistors and microstrip transmission‐line‐based MMICs realized in a direct comparison of GaN on s.i. SiC and GaN on HR‐silicon. Constraints and performances for highly‐efficient MMICs are discussed up to mm‐wave frequencies beyond 100 GHz. The recent use AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) and integrated circuits on both semi‐insulating silicon carbide (SiC) and silicon substrates for radio communication in the microwave and mm‐wave frequency range are described.