Compact Modeling of N-Polar GaN HEMTs for Intermodulation Distortion in Millimeter-Wave Bands

This article develops a modified Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) virtual source gallium nitride (GaN) (MVSG)-high-electron-mobility transistor (HEMT) model for N-polar HEMTs and demonstrates the predictive accuracy of the model. This article provides motivation for physics-based modeling approaches and the need to modify these in N-polar devices. The extraction methodology is developed for a millimeter-wave HEMT model from device characterizations. Experimental corroboration of the model demonstrates that the linear gain efficiency (LGE) characterized by the ratio of third-order output intercept point (OIP3) to dc power consumption ( P-dc) is more than 10 dB with a gain of 7 dB at 30 GHz for a 60-nm N-polar GaN HEMT device. The role of different physical features in the N-polar model is quantitatively described.