mmTron announces a family of five GaN power amplifiers (PAs) for the mmWave 5G and satellite communications (Satcom) bands from 22 to 41 GHz. The family offers a range of frequency coverage and output power options, and all five were designed to optimize linearity for high data rate communications waveforms.

mmTron’s GaN PA Family
— TMC211: 50 W, 27–31 GHz — Highest Power Single-Chip MMIC
— TMC2111: 40 W, 25.5–29.5 GHz
— TMC152: 10 W, 22–26 GHz
— TMC253: 6 W, 26–30 GHz
— TMC212: 5 W, 37–41 GHx

“Our customers tell us the market needs more power and better linearity to extend the reach and data rates of mmWave links, whether 5G or Satcom,” said Seyed Tabatabaei, mmTron’s CEO and founder. “We designed this family of GaN PAs with the goal of achieving higher power and linearity without sacrificing efficiency.”

mmTron’s GaN PAs are fabricated with an advanced GaN HEMT process that provides both power density and high linearity. mmTron’s approach to optimizing for power, linearity, and efficiency is illustrated by two of the MMIC designs.

TMC211

The lead product in the family, the TMC211, was designed to be the first single-chip PA to provide 50 watts saturated output power in the 27 to 31 GHz band.

The single die integrates a single-ended, two-stage PA designed to provide 50 watts without power combining multiple MMICs with the attendant combining losses — particularly problematic at mmWave frequencies. mmTron’s single-chip PA reduces the area some 60 percent compared to combining two MMICs.

A single, small die would typically increase the channel temperature of the MMIC. However, the TMC211’s design also reduces power consumption, which lowers the channel temperature and improves the mean time between failures (MTBF). mmTron’s design rules support 15-year satellite lifetimes.

Performance specifications for the TMC211 include 30 percent power-added efficiency (PAE), 12 dB large-signal gain, and an output third-order intercept (TOI) of 53 dBm — the highest linearity reported for a PA in this band.

TMC212

For the 39 GHz 5G band, the TMC212 was designed to provide 5 watts saturated power with an output TOI of 43 dBm and 20 dB small-signal gain.

The three-stage PA was simultaneously optimized for linearity and PAE: 4 percent error vector magnitude (EVM) at 27 dBm output power (with a 400 MHz, 64-QAM signal) and 26 percent PAE at saturated output power.

Availability

TMC212, TMC2111, TMC152, and TMC253 die are available for production orders. TMC211 die will be available in production volumes in the third quarter of 2023.

All MMICs in the family will also be available in packaged versions.

More information about the performance of mmTron’s GaN PA MMIC portfolio is available on the product page of the website: www.mmtron.com/products/.

For data sheets and to get characterization samples, reach out via email to contact@mmtron.com.

mmTron announces availability of a 2 watt, pHEMT, distributed power amplifier (PA) covering DC to 26.5 GHz.

The TMC200 at a glance:
— 2 W saturated output power mid-band
— 15 dB small-signal gain
— 44 dBm OIP3
— On-chip detector and reference diodes
— GaAs pHEMT process

Designed to improve the performance of the venerable distributed amplifier, the TMC200 covers DC to 26.5 GHz and provides more than 2 watts saturated output power with a typical third-order intercept (TOI) of 44 dBm. The PA’s small-signal gain is 15 dB, and it has a typical mid-band noise figure of 2.5 dB.

TMC200 gain measured on-wafer.

“With its wide bandwidth and dynamic range, the TMC200 is well-suited for instrumentation and electronic warfare systems,” said Seyed Tabatabaei, mmTron’s CEO and founder. “We designed the amplifier to be more linear by tailoring the epi used for the active devices and optimizing the gate widths and the load seen by each transistor. We added an integrated detector and reference diodes on-chip to enable output power measurement and temperature compensation.”

Because of the distributed amplifier architecture, the MMIC is well matched to 50 Ω, with input and output return losses better than 10 dB.

The recommended bias for the TMC200 is 15 V on the drain and a negative gate voltage to set the quiescent drain current to approximately 530 mA.

The MMIC die measures 3 mm x 1.9 mm x 0.1 mm and has Au-based metallization compatible with the wire and wedge bonding used in chip-and-wire assemblies. The backside metallization is optimized for both epoxy and eutectic die attachment.

Samples of the TMC200 are available for immediate shipment. To receive more information about the performance of the PA, including the datasheet, contact mmTron at contact@mmtron.com.

The TMC200 is one of a family of distributed amplifiers developed by mmTron. Other products in the family include the TMC162, optimized for low noise; the TMC163 designed for high linearity; and the TMC164, a medium power distributed amplifier. Performance information about these MMICs is at mmtron.com/products.

—Broadband TMC160 supports >10 giga-samples-per-second (GSPS) DACs
— 7 mm x 7mm QFN package integrates anti-aliasing filter; quasi-differential low noise, high IIP3 amplifiers; and balun for single-ended output
—Low noise amplifier (LNA) die available as a separate product

mmTron, Inc. announces the release of the TMC160 digital-to-analog converter (DAC) interface IC. The IC amplifies and converts the differential output of a high-speed DAC to a clean, low noise, single-ended signal to drive the RF chain of a transmitter.

“High-speed DACs now have sample rates above 10 GSPS and require low noise, highly linear microwave interfaces to filter and convert their differential outputs to feed the single-ended RF transmit chain,” said Seyed Tabatabaei, mmTron’s CEO and founder. "mmTron’s TMC160 DAC interface IC was designed for this purpose."

With 16 GHz bandwidth, the TMC160 integrates anti-alias lowpass filtering, low noise amplification, and a balun that converts the differential DAC output to a single-ended 50 Ω output compatible with traditional RF signal chains. The differential architecture provides high common-mode rejection.

TMC160 block diagram

The TMC160 has 10–16 dB nominal gain to 16 GHz, a noise figure (NF) under 5 dB, and 30 dBm output third-order intercept (IP3). The built-in anti-alias filter rejects the clock and intermodulation signals from the DAC. The TMC160 quasi-differential LNA is biased with 5 V and nominally draws 250 mA. To bias the gates of the low noise amplifiers, a low current negative supply is also required. As the input and output are DC coupled, the design includes an internal bias T to eliminate the need for an external inductor, simplifying the bias interface at the balun.

The multichip module is packaged in a 7 mm x 7 mm air-cavity QFN.

Characterization data and samples of the TMC160 are available for customer evaluation. To receive more information about the performance of the TMC160, including the data sheet, email mmTron at contact@mmtron.com.

The clock frequency and characteristics of the anti-alias filter can be customized, and future packaging options include ceramic air-cavity and plastic overmolded QFNs. The broadband LNA will also be available as a separate die product.

August 10, 2022

New TMC774 mmWave Amplifier Enables 6G, Satellite, Defense, and Instrumentation Applications to Deliver Industry-Leading High Performance

mmTron, a leading innovator and provider of high linearity mmWave semiconductor solutions, today announced the TMC774, a new groundbreaking wide band mmWave amplifier for 6G, Satellite, Aerospace, Defense, and Instrumentation applications.

mmTron’s TMC774 6G broadband amplifier, which is in fabrication now, operates at frequencies from DC to 150 GHz (D Band) and offers superior wide band linear power output, phase noise, and gain in an industry-leading small footprint. The TMC774 features industry-leading performance optimized for wide bandwidth multi-carrier high data throughput applications such as the emerging 6G cellular standard. This new mmWave amplifier will enable designers to offer much higher system performance at lower power as compared to competing multi-band solutions.

Seyed Tabatabaei, CEO, Founder, and President of mmTron, said, “mmTron is a pioneer in developing innovative high-performance millimeter wave solutions for 5G, 6G, satellite communication, defense, and instrumentation systems. The TMC774 is truly a breakthrough device for both commercial and defense applications. With its impressive 150GHz bandwidth, cutting-edge phase noise, and highly linear performance, the TMC774 will enable many new next-generation communication systems to offer significantly higher levels of performance than they could in the past.”

The TMC774 is available for pre-order now (under NDA) and is lead-free, and RoHS compliant. Measured data is expected by mid -January 2023, and samples by early February 2023.

For more information, visit our announcement.

July 1, 2022

mmTron Inc., a leading provider of mmwave Custom MMICs and integrated transceiver modules, has developed TMC201, a distributed linear amplifier (PA) for commercial, industrial, space, and military applications from 2 to 20 GHz.

Based on mmTron linear GaAs technology, the monolithic-microwave integrated-circuit (MMIC) distributed amplifier has 18dB of gain, delivers +26 dBm typical output power at 1-dB compression (P1dB), 2 dB of Noise Figure, and 39 dBm OIP3 through 12 GHz and typically +23 dBm through 20 GHz. The TMC201 MMIC features impressive gain and gains flatness over its broad bandwidth across temperatures -55 to +85°C, with a typical temperature-dependent gain variation of less than 0.03 dB/°C.

The TMC201 is designed for excellent OIP2 making it ideal for applications in Electronic Warfare, Broadband Commercial Wireless, and Optical Communications Systems as well as in Military Systems.

The TMC201 distributed amplifier is internally matched to 50 ohms and is unconditionally stable. It has typical input and output return loss of 15dB. It operates with typical drain voltages of +5 VDC and a typical supply current of 180 mA.

TMC201 is supplied as a RoHS-compliant die measuring 2 x 1.5 x 0.1 mm. The MMIC amplifier is rated for storage temperatures from -65 to +150°C. It is 100% DC and RF tested and visually inspected to MIL-STD-883, Method 2010 requirements.

For more information on the mmwave packages, along with mmTron’s complete portfolio of products, visit Our Products.