A 4-W Ka-Band High-Efficiency 0.15 μm GaAs Stacked Power Amplifier Design

Mehmet Batuhan Dinç; Mustafa Berke Yelten

doi:10.1109/NorCAS66540.2025.11231313

A 4-W Ka-Band High-Efficiency 0.15 μm GaAs Stacked Power Amplifier Design

Mehmet Batuhan Dinç
, Mustafa Berke Yelten

Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering

Istanbul Technical University

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution › peer-review

Abstract

This paper introduces a two-stage 4 W Ka-band power amplifier (PA) operating between 23 and 28 GHz. Designed using commercially available 0.15 μ m GaAs pHEMT technology, the PA features a stacked FET topology to increase output power without expanding the chip area. This paper presents the first demonstration of a high-power GaAs power amplifier with a saturated output power of 4 W in the Ka band, utilizing a stacked-FET architecture and parallel combining. With an 8 V power supply, the simulated PA achieves a saturated output power of 4 W by combining eight stacked-FET cells. The PA has a large-signal gain of 22 dB and power-added efficiency (PAE) of 33 % at 25 GHz, while its chip area is 9.86 mm². To the best of the authors' knowledge, the simulated PA has the highest PAE among the simulated GaAs PAs reported in the Ka band and achieves a saturated output power greater than 2 W.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	2025 IEEE Nordic Circuits and Systems Conference, NORCAS 2025 - Proceedings
Editors	Jari Nurmi, Dmitrijs Pikulins, Peeter Ellervee, John Liobe
Publisher	Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.
ISBN (Electronic)	9798331515010
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1109/NorCAS66540.2025.11231313
Publication status	Published - 2025
Event	2025 IEEE Nordic Circuits and Systems Conference, NORCAS 2025 - Riga, Latvia Duration: 28 Oct 2025 → 29 Oct 2025

Publication series

Name	2025 IEEE Nordic Circuits and Systems Conference, NORCAS 2025 - Proceedings

Conference

Conference	2025 IEEE Nordic Circuits and Systems Conference, NORCAS 2025
Country/Territory	Latvia
City	Riga
Period	28/10/25 → 29/10/25

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2025 IEEE.

Keywords

0.15 μ m GaAs pHEMT
Broadband Amplifiers
Ka-Band
MMIC
PA
Power Amplifier
Stacked-FET

Access to Document

10.1109/NorCAS66540.2025.11231313

Cite this

Dinç, M. B., & Yelten, M. B. (2025). A 4-W Ka-Band High-Efficiency 0.15 μm GaAs Stacked Power Amplifier Design. In J. Nurmi, D. Pikulins, P. Ellervee, & J. Liobe (Eds.), 2025 IEEE Nordic Circuits and Systems Conference, NORCAS 2025 - Proceedings (2025 IEEE Nordic Circuits and Systems Conference, NORCAS 2025 - Proceedings). Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.. https://doi.org/10.1109/NorCAS66540.2025.11231313

Dinç, Mehmet Batuhan ; Yelten, Mustafa Berke. / A 4-W Ka-Band High-Efficiency 0.15 μm GaAs Stacked Power Amplifier Design. 2025 IEEE Nordic Circuits and Systems Conference, NORCAS 2025 - Proceedings. editor / Jari Nurmi ; Dmitrijs Pikulins ; Peeter Ellervee ; John Liobe. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc., 2025. (2025 IEEE Nordic Circuits and Systems Conference, NORCAS 2025 - Proceedings).

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title = "A 4-W Ka-Band High-Efficiency 0.15 μm GaAs Stacked Power Amplifier Design",

abstract = "This paper introduces a two-stage 4 W Ka-band power amplifier (PA) operating between 23 and 28 GHz. Designed using commercially available 0.15 μ m GaAs pHEMT technology, the PA features a stacked FET topology to increase output power without expanding the chip area. This paper presents the first demonstration of a high-power GaAs power amplifier with a saturated output power of 4 W in the Ka band, utilizing a stacked-FET architecture and parallel combining. With an 8 V power supply, the simulated PA achieves a saturated output power of 4 W by combining eight stacked-FET cells. The PA has a large-signal gain of 22 dB and power-added efficiency (PAE) of 33 \% at 25 GHz, while its chip area is 9.86 mm2. To the best of the authors' knowledge, the simulated PA has the highest PAE among the simulated GaAs PAs reported in the Ka band and achieves a saturated output power greater than 2 W.",

keywords = "0.15 μ m GaAs pHEMT, Broadband Amplifiers, Ka-Band, MMIC, PA, Power Amplifier, Stacked-FET",

author = "Din{\c c}, \{Mehmet Batuhan\} and Yelten, \{Mustafa Berke\}",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2025 IEEE.; 2025 IEEE Nordic Circuits and Systems Conference, NORCAS 2025 ; Conference date: 28-10-2025 Through 29-10-2025",

year = "2025",

doi = "10.1109/NorCAS66540.2025.11231313",

language = "English",

series = "2025 IEEE Nordic Circuits and Systems Conference, NORCAS 2025 - Proceedings",

publisher = "Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.",

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}

Dinç, MB & Yelten, MB 2025, A 4-W Ka-Band High-Efficiency 0.15 μm GaAs Stacked Power Amplifier Design. in J Nurmi, D Pikulins, P Ellervee & J Liobe (eds), 2025 IEEE Nordic Circuits and Systems Conference, NORCAS 2025 - Proceedings. 2025 IEEE Nordic Circuits and Systems Conference, NORCAS 2025 - Proceedings, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc., 2025 IEEE Nordic Circuits and Systems Conference, NORCAS 2025, Riga, Latvia, 28/10/25. https://doi.org/10.1109/NorCAS66540.2025.11231313

A 4-W Ka-Band High-Efficiency 0.15 μm GaAs Stacked Power Amplifier Design. / Dinç, Mehmet Batuhan; Yelten, Mustafa Berke.
2025 IEEE Nordic Circuits and Systems Conference, NORCAS 2025 - Proceedings. ed. / Jari Nurmi; Dmitrijs Pikulins; Peeter Ellervee; John Liobe. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc., 2025. (2025 IEEE Nordic Circuits and Systems Conference, NORCAS 2025 - Proceedings).

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution › peer-review

TY - GEN

T1 - A 4-W Ka-Band High-Efficiency 0.15 μm GaAs Stacked Power Amplifier Design

AU - Dinç, Mehmet Batuhan

AU - Yelten, Mustafa Berke

PY - 2025

Y1 - 2025

N2 - This paper introduces a two-stage 4 W Ka-band power amplifier (PA) operating between 23 and 28 GHz. Designed using commercially available 0.15 μ m GaAs pHEMT technology, the PA features a stacked FET topology to increase output power without expanding the chip area. This paper presents the first demonstration of a high-power GaAs power amplifier with a saturated output power of 4 W in the Ka band, utilizing a stacked-FET architecture and parallel combining. With an 8 V power supply, the simulated PA achieves a saturated output power of 4 W by combining eight stacked-FET cells. The PA has a large-signal gain of 22 dB and power-added efficiency (PAE) of 33 % at 25 GHz, while its chip area is 9.86 mm2. To the best of the authors' knowledge, the simulated PA has the highest PAE among the simulated GaAs PAs reported in the Ka band and achieves a saturated output power greater than 2 W.

AB - This paper introduces a two-stage 4 W Ka-band power amplifier (PA) operating between 23 and 28 GHz. Designed using commercially available 0.15 μ m GaAs pHEMT technology, the PA features a stacked FET topology to increase output power without expanding the chip area. This paper presents the first demonstration of a high-power GaAs power amplifier with a saturated output power of 4 W in the Ka band, utilizing a stacked-FET architecture and parallel combining. With an 8 V power supply, the simulated PA achieves a saturated output power of 4 W by combining eight stacked-FET cells. The PA has a large-signal gain of 22 dB and power-added efficiency (PAE) of 33 % at 25 GHz, while its chip area is 9.86 mm2. To the best of the authors' knowledge, the simulated PA has the highest PAE among the simulated GaAs PAs reported in the Ka band and achieves a saturated output power greater than 2 W.

KW - 0.15 μ m GaAs pHEMT

KW - Broadband Amplifiers

KW - Ka-Band

KW - MMIC

KW - PA

KW - Power Amplifier

KW - Stacked-FET

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105029448102

U2 - 10.1109/NorCAS66540.2025.11231313

DO - 10.1109/NorCAS66540.2025.11231313

M3 - Conference contribution

AN - SCOPUS:105029448102

T3 - 2025 IEEE Nordic Circuits and Systems Conference, NORCAS 2025 - Proceedings

BT - 2025 IEEE Nordic Circuits and Systems Conference, NORCAS 2025 - Proceedings

A2 - Nurmi, Jari

A2 - Pikulins, Dmitrijs

A2 - Ellervee, Peeter

A2 - Liobe, John

PB - Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.

T2 - 2025 IEEE Nordic Circuits and Systems Conference, NORCAS 2025

Y2 - 28 October 2025 through 29 October 2025

ER -

Dinç MB, Yelten MB. A 4-W Ka-Band High-Efficiency 0.15 μm GaAs Stacked Power Amplifier Design. In Nurmi J, Pikulins D, Ellervee P, Liobe J, editors, 2025 IEEE Nordic Circuits and Systems Conference, NORCAS 2025 - Proceedings. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc. 2025. (2025 IEEE Nordic Circuits and Systems Conference, NORCAS 2025 - Proceedings). doi: 10.1109/NorCAS66540.2025.11231313

A 4-W Ka-Band High-Efficiency 0.15 μm GaAs Stacked Power Amplifier Design

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Keywords

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