GaN MMICs for millimeter-wave front ends

A number of applications in the millimeter-wave region of the spectrum require improved performance of solid-state devices, e.g. increased output power levels and high level of integration. This talk overviews GaN MMIC circuits designed in several millimeter-wave GaN processes, including the Qorvo GaN15 and GaN09, WIN Semiconductors NP15 and HRL 40-nm T3 process. Several Ka-band GaN PAs for operation with signals of varying output power will be presented, followed by a detailed discussion of the design and characterization of multistage power amplifiers (PAs) with varying levels of on-chip power combining for operation at W-band. Additional circuits that pave the path to a full integrated front end will be presented, including VCOs, frequency doublers, mixers, phase shifters, LNAs and switches, all implemented in the HRL 40-nm process. Finally, some heterogeneous integration techniques that are currently in development for millimeter-wave frequencies will be overviewed.

Short Bio

Zoya Popovic is a Distinguished Professor and the Lockheed Martin Endowed Chair of Electrical Engineering at the University of Colorado. She obtained her Dipl.Ing. degree at the University of Belgrade, Serbia, and her Ph.D. at Caltech. She has graduated over 65 PhD students and currently advises 18 graduate students in various areas of high-frequency electronics and microwave engineering. She is a Fellow of the IEEE and the recipient of two IEEE MTT Microwave Prizes for best journal papers, the White House NSF Presidential Faculty Fellow award, the URSI Issac Koga Gold Medal, the ASEE/HP Terman Medal and the German Humboldt Research Award. She was named IEEE MTT Distinguished Educator in 2013 and a Distinguished Research Lecturer of the University of Colorado in 2016. She was elected as Member of the National Academy of Engineering in 2022. She has a husband physicist and three daughters who can all solder.