WIN enhances 0.25µm GaN power process

WIN Semiconductors Corp of Taoyuan City, Taiwan – the largest pure-play compound semiconductor wafer foundry – has released an optimized version of its 0.25µm gallium nitride (GaN) technology, NP25, that provides what is claimed to be superior DC and RF transistor performance.

In production since 2014, NP25 is a 0.25µm-gate gallium nitride on silicon carbide (GaN-on-SiC) process, and offers the flexibility to produce both fully integrated amplifier products as well as custom discrete transistors. The optimized 0.25µm process offers enhanced RF performance with fast switching time, higher gain and increased power-added efficiency (PAE) for demanding power applications through Ku-band.

Optimized NP25 transistors exhibit better DC and RF current-voltage (IV) characteristics and provide 2dB higher maximum stable gain. Increased gain leads directly to higher power density and PAE under a range of tuning and bias conditions. This performance-optimized process is fully qualified and supported with a comprehensive design kit and transistor models.

WIN’s NP25 technology is fabricated on 4-inch silicon carbide substrates and operates at a drain bias of 28V. At 10GHz, NP25 provides saturated output power of 5W/mm with 19dB linear gain and over 65% power-added efficiency. These performance metrics make the NP25 process suitable for a variety of high-power, broad-bandwidth and linear transmit functions in the radar, satellite communications, and wireless infrastructure markets.

NP25 sample kits are available and can be obtained by contacting WIN’s regional sales managers.

WIN is showcasing its compound semiconductor RF and mm-Wave solutions in stand 111B at European Microwave Week (EuMW 2017) in Nurnberg, Germany (8-13 October).