Comparative noise investigation of high-performance GaAs and GaN millimeter-wave monolithic technologies

This paper provides an assessment between two MMIC foundry processes for millimetre-wave high-performance receiver applications, namely, OMMIC’s 70 nm GaAs and 60 nm GaN-on-Si processes. To do so, a characterization and modelling campaign was carried out on transistors provided by OMMIC for the two processes, whose commercial names are D007IH (70 nm GaAs) and D006GH (60 nm GaN). The resulting models were employed to design several test vehicle Low-Noise Amplifiers (LNA) operating above 30 GHz. The GaAs LNAs have been manufactured and characterized, while the GaN-on-Si LNAs are being manufactured. The initial outcome of the assessment is that GaAs is still ahead if Noise Figure is the crucial and mandatory requirement. GaN-on-Si, on the other hand, proves to be a viable solution if a – slightly – higher Noise Figure is acceptable. Moreover, the benefits of GaN-on-Si, with respect to GaAs, are higher robustness, output power, linearity, and higher integration capability with CMOS technologies.