A K-band Driven Power Amplifier for Automotive Radar Applications in 0.15-µm GaAs pHEMT Process

In this paper, a K-band driving power amplifier (DPA) with high gain and high output 1 dB compression point (P _{-1 dB, out} ) is presented, which is designed and manufactured in the 0.15-μm GaAs pHEMT process. In order to achieve high gain with simple direct current (DC) bias, the four-stage common source amplifier based on self-biased techniques are employed. The DC feed network adopts a dual inductors topology, which makes the DPA achieve a high power capacity threshold. Furthermore, in order to obtain higher linearity and P _{-1 dB, out} , the maximum power output matching are adopted in the DPA. The DPA exhibit a measured gain more than 20 dB, and a P _{-1 dB, out} over 16 dBm from 20 to 26 GHz and the S ₁₁ and S ₂₂ are less than -8.5 dB within the entire band of frequencies, it is just with only one DC feed pad and serviceable for the automotive radar applications.