Firm claims smallest GaN wireless power amplifier

Nitronex has developed a small broadband 5W power amplifier.

The gallium nitride (GaN) based RF power amplifier is in a 4mm x 4mm thermally-enhanced QFN package with RF input and output matched to 50 ohms. 

The NPA1003 MMIC will provide output power over 5W from 20 to 1500MHz and typical efficiency of over 50%.

According to Ray Crampton, v-p of engineering at Nitronex, the supplier’s proprietary GaN-on-Si process has a significant advantage over our competitors using SiC substrates.

“Our superior starting substrate quality and cost structure allow us to develop high performance, large area MMICs at competitive prices which gives us the freedom to solve customer problems in ways our competitors can not," said Crampton.

The process is based on a 28V, 0.5µm gate length GaN HEMT and features high voltage capacitors, air bridges, through-wafer vias, nichrome and epi resistors, and two levels of metal interconnect

A 3.5µm plated gold top metallization results in low loss inductors, and a high resistivity silicon substrate is used which supports low loss transmission lines to over 20 GHz.

According to Gary Blackington, v-p of sales and marketing at Nitronex: "We have already achieved several design-ins at top tier accounts."