Integrated Transceivers for 5G Mobile Communications in a strained GaN-HEMT Technology

• Applicants: Professor Dr.-Ing. Matthias Rudolph; Dr.-Ing. Andreas Wentzel; Dr.-Ing. Joachim Würfl
• Subject Area: Electronic Semiconductors, Components and Circuits, Integrated Systems, Sensor Technology, Theoretical Electrical Engineering
• Term: from 2019 to 2024
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 426573565

• Final Report Year: 2024

Final Report Abstract

The mobile communication of the future places a number of demands on the electronics of the radio interface. Base stations in particular must be further miniaturized, energy consumption must be reduced and linearity and bandwidth must be increased. GaN-based electronics offer an excellent basis for this, as they can provide both high power densities and low inherent noise. However, typical GaN technologies are optimized for classical power amplification. This project bundles three questions that need to be answered on the way to an optimal single-chip solution for the radio interface. Firstly, it was shown that the properties of the GaN HEMTs can be adjusted by selectively biasing the channel in order to optimize them individually for use in digital power amplifiers or low-noise amplifiers. At the circuit level, a transition was made from a traditional analog power amplifier (PA) to a digital PA, and the topology of the low-noise amplifier (LNA) was changed so that it separates the receiver electronics from the PA and antenna when transmitting. In this way, the PA and LNA components allow the realization of a single-chip transceiver module that does not require an antenna switch. The validity of the novel approach was demonstrated by realizing and characterizing a transceiver demonstrator monolithically integrated in GaN-HEMT technology.

Publications

• Threshold voltage shift induced by intrinsic stress in gate metal of AlGaN/GaN HFET. Semiconductor Science and Technology, 36(5), 055018.
  Yazdani, Hossein; Chevtchenko, Serguei; Ostermay, Ina & Würfl, Joachim
  
• ”Analysis of GaN-HEMT DC-Characteristic Alterations by Gate Encapsulation Layer“, International Conference on Compound Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology (CS ManTech), 2021.
  H. Yazdani, S.A. Chevtchenko, I. Ostermay & J. Wurfl
  
• A 4 GHz Digital Class-E Outphasing PA. 2022 IEEE/MTT-S International Microwave Symposium - IMS 2022, 622-625. IEEE.
  Hoffmann, Thomas; Schellhase, Lars; Heinrich, Wolfgang & Wentzel, Andreas
  
• GaN-HEMT Based Common-Gate LNA MMIC with Integrated Switch for Compact 5G Transceivers. 2022 IEEE Microwaves, Antennas, and Propagation Conference (MAPCON), 1104-1107. IEEE.
  Rao, Megha Krishnaji; Doerner, Ralf; Yazdani, Hossein & Rudolph, Matthias
  
• “GaN-HEMT Integrated Switch LNA Module for 5G Mobile Communications,” in: 2022 14th German Microwave Conference (GeMiC), May 2022, pp. 69–71.
  M. K. Rao, A. Wentzel, C. Andrei & M. Rudolph
  
• Analysis of Mechanical Strain in AlGaN/GaN HFETs. physica status solidi (a), 220(16).
  Yazdani, Hossein; Graff, Andreas; Simon-Najasek, Michél; Altmann, Frank; Brunner, Frank; Ostermay, Ina; Chevtchenko, Serguei & Würfl, Joachim
  
• Common-Gate LNA MMIC With Switching Feature Using GaN-HEMT for 5G RF Front-End. IEEE Microwave and Wireless Technology Letters, 33(10), 1446-1449.
  Krishnaji, Rao Megha; Doerner, Ralf; Chevtchenko, Serguei A.; Haque, Sanaul & Rudolph, Matthias
  
• Digital GaN-based Transceiver Module for Future Green 5G Networks. 2024 54th European Microwave Conference (EuMC), 136-139. IEEE.
  Rao, Megha Krishnaji; Wentzel, Andreas; Hoffmann, Thomas; Schellhase, Lars; Chevtchenko, Serguei A. & Rudolph, Matthias