High Power-Added Efficiency Measured At 1.3 And 20 Ghz Using a GaAs Permeable Base Transistor*

Abstract

Excellent power-added efficiencies of 66%, 41%, and 45% have been obtained from GaAs permeable base transistors (PBTs) operating at 1.3, 20, and 22 GHz, respectively. A gain of over 13 dB was measured at 1.3 GHz when the transistor was operating at its peak power-added eff iciency of 66%, which is roughly 5% better than that for the power transistors commonly used at these frequencies. Power measurements at 20 GHz have shown a power-added efficiency of 41 % with an associated gain of 7.3 dB and at 22 GHz a power-added efficiency of 45% with an associated gain of 6.2 dB. These power-added efficiencies, which have been obtained for PBTs not optimized for power, match the best results near 20 GHz for any device.