INFOCOMMUNICATIONS

X-Band 300 W High-Power GaN HEMT for Marine Radar

Systems

Makoto NISHIHARA*, Makoto AOJIMA, and Naoyuki MIYAZAWA

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Magnetrons have long been used as transmitting devices for marine radar, however, gallium nitride high-electron-mobility
transistors (GaN HEMT) are increasingly adopted due to their long life, high performance, and compliance with radio laws and
regulations. This paper presents our internally-matched X-band GaN HEMT that feature the industry's highest output power of 300
W, targeting a variety of marine radars ranging from small-power radars for pleasure boats to high-power radar for large-
commercial vessels. We also report on a prototype compact solid-state amplifier that has been made to demonstrate these
transistors.
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Keywords: GaN HEMT, X-band, marine radar, high output power, microwave integrated circuit (MIC)

1. Introduction
use of the existing package made it possible to use devel-
In recent years, although large and high-speed vessels oped products for solid-state amplifiers that we had already
have been used to achieve efficient marine transport, the designed, resulting in a shorter development period. Next,
need for support systems that ensure safe marine naviga- the GaN HEMT chips integrated into the package measured
tion has increased because of a tight maritime labor market 5.68 × 0.76 mm to achieve long-term reliability and ease of
due to an aging population. Marine radar, one of the navi- assembly and to meet the desired radio frequency (RF)
gation support systems, is a useful system that helps in characteristics, and two chips were arranged in parallel.
preventing collisions by locating the position of the vessel, The chip size, which is larger than that of the X-band 200
tracking other ships, and presenting a real-time view of the W GaN HEMT, enlarged the total gate width from 44.8 to
surroundings. 64 mm. Photo 1 shows an internal view of an X-band 300
Magnetrons, which feature high peak power, have W GaN HEMT. Matching circuits implemented in the
been widely used as amplifiers of marine radar. Since package were designed so that the impedance was equal to
magnetrons must be periodically replaced every one to two the optimal impedance obtained from the load pull*4
years, they are being replaced with solid-state devices, with measurements on the unit chip. The input matching circuit
long-term reliability of over 10 years, to reduce mainte- was a two-stage transformer circuit that changed the
nance costs. Although one solid-state device has about one- impedance optimal for the chip gain to 50 Ω at the end of
hundredth peak power of conventional magnetrons, the the package, and the output matching circuit was a two-
application of power combination and pulse compression stage transformer circuit that changed the impedance
techniques makes it possible to achieve comparable or optimal for the output power to 50 Ω.
better radar performance than conventional magnetrons.
This paper presents X-band*1 300 W gallium nitride
(GaN) high-electron-mobility transistors (HEMT)*2, which
are adopted increasingly into marine radar, and an X-band
25 W GaN HEMT microwave integrated circuit (MIC)*3,
which was developed for small-power radar. It also reports
on a prototype of a solid-state amplifier using these prod-
ucts.

2. Development of X-Band 300 W GaN HEMT

We have commercialized an X-band 200 W GaN
HEMT for marine radar.(1),(2) This product has already been
used in the final stage amplifier of a transmitter, and the
market requires high-output GaN HEMT products to
improve the output power level. To address this require- Photo 1. Internal view of the X-band 300 W GaN HEMT
ment, we developed X-band 300 W GaN HEMT with much
higher output power than existing products.
First, we used the package for X-band 300 W GaN
HEMT with dimensions of 24.0 × 17.4 mm, which is the Photo 2 illustrates the RF test fixture for the X-band
same as those of existing X-band 200 W GaN HEMT. The 300 W GaN HEMT. Since the impedance was matched to

SEI TECHNICAL REVIEW · NUMBER 91 · OCTOBER 2020 · 29

50 Ω at the end of the package, only 50 Ω lines and bias of the solid-state amplifier is a disadvantage. To avoid this
circuits that were connected to an open stub of λ/4 were disadvantage and achieve space savings, we developed an
used in the fixture. internally matched*5 MIC adopting a small package with
Figure 1 shows the frequency response of the X-band dimensions of 6.7 × 8.3 mm. This made it possible to dras-
300 W GaN HEMT with an input power of 46 dBm (40 tically reduce the size of solid-state amplifiers compared
W). The device exhibited an output power of 55.3 dBm with that of amplifiers comprising discrete devices.
(340 W) and power added efficiency of 38% across a The circuit diagram of the X-band 25 W GaN HEMT
9.3–9.5 GHz frequency range, which are the industry’s MIC is shown in Fig. 2. Two GaN HEMT chips with
highest levels. outputs of 6 and 25 W are integrated in the package. In
addition, matching circuits that match the impedance to 50
Ω at the end of the package and bias circuits formed on a
printed circuit board outside the normal package were
designed. The package also includes a filter circuit that
combines inductances, resistors, and capacitors to attenuate
unnecessary gain in frequencies lower than the main band.

Photo 2. Test fixture for the X-band 300 W GaN HEMT

Fig. 2. X-band 25 W GaN HEMT MIC circuit diagram

Photo 3 shows the RF test fixture for the X-band 25 W

GaN HEMT MIC. Since the impedance is matched to 50 Ω
at the end of the package and bias circuits are integrated in
the package, only 50 Ω lines and bias circuits were used in
the fixture.

Fig. 1. RF characteristics of the X-band 300 W GaN HEMT

3. Development of the X-Band 25 W GaN HEMT

MIC
There is a demand for not only high-power solid-state
devices with an output of several hundreds of watts for
marine radar but also low-power products with an output of
several tens of watts for small radar, which is used, for Photo 3. Test fixture for the X-band 25 W GaN HEMT MIC
example, for pleasure boats. We developed an X-band 25
W GaN HEMT MIC to meet the demand for low-power
products.
In general, to cover a wide range of operating frequen- Figure 3 shows the frequency response of the X-band
cies, many low-power products have been manufactured as 25 W GaN HEMT MIC with an input power of 22 dBm
discrete devices, which integrate only chips in a package. (0.16 W). The device exhibited an output power of 45.4
However, since discrete devices must form matching dBm (35 W) and power added efficiency of 38% across a
circuits on an external printed circuit board, the large size 9.3–9.5 GHz frequency range, and the gain reached 23.4

30 · X-Band 300 W High-Power GaN HEMT for Marine Radar Systems

 Dimensions: 200 (W ) × 124 (H) × 20 (D) mm

Photo 4. Internal view of a solid-state amplifier

Fig. 3. RF characteristics of the X-band 25 W GaN HEMT MIC

The input–output characteristics of the prototyped
solid-state amplifier at a frequency of 9.4 GHz are plotted
in Fig. 5. An output power of 58.5 dBm (700 W) and a gain
dBm. A very high gain was obtained because of its two- of 53.5 dB were obtained at an input level of 5 dBm (3
stage hybrid structure, including two GaN HEMT chips. mW). Since we used a simple planar power combiner,
insertion loss is large, and the use of a low-loss combiner,
such as a waveguide, will lead to a higher output power.
4. Prototyping of Solid-State Amplifiers
We prototyped a solid-state amplifier for demonstra-
tion using the newly commercialized X-band 300 W GaN
HEMT and X-band 25 W GaN HEMT MIC. The schematic
diagram of the prototyped solid-state amplifier is shown in
Fig. 4. Outputs from four 300 W products were combined
in the final stage, and a 25 W MIC product, 100 W product,
and 300 W product were used for the driver stage.

Fig. 5. Input–output characteristics of a solid-state amplifier

5. Conclusion
Table 1 summarizes the evaluation results for the
Fig. 4. Schematic diagram of a solid-state amplifier newly developed X-band 300 W GaN HEMT and X-band
25 W GaN HEMT MIC for marine radar. The X-band 300
W GaN HEMT exhibited the industry’s highest output
power of 300 W or more because of our design optimiza-
Photo 4 shows the prototyped solid-state amplifier. It tion of the GaN HEMT chip and matching circuit. In addi-
is very compact, measuring 200 (W) × 124 (H) × 20 (D) tion, the X-band 25 W GaN HEMT MIC achieved down-
mm. The combined circuit in the final stage consisted of a sizing and high gain because of its hybrid structure. Finally,
90° hybrid circuit on the input side and a tournament-type using the developed GaN HEMT products, we prototyped a
circuit on the output side for distribution/combination. The solid-state amplifier to achieve an output power of 700 W
solid-state amplifier included a switching circuit, which with a compact size of 200 (W) × 124 (H) × 20 (D) mm.
can switch GaN HEMT products on and off at a high speed
in synchronization with a transistor-transistor logic (TTL)
signal for pulsed signals, with a direct applied voltage of
−5 V/+5 V/50 V.

SEI TECHNICAL REVIEW · NUMBER 91 · OCTOBER 2020 · 31

 Table 1. Evaluation results of the X-band GaN HEMT products References
(1) N. Miyazawa, M. Nishihara, K. Usami, M. Aojima “S-band 600 W and
Characteristic X-band 300 W X-band 25 W MIC
X-band 200 W High Power GaN HEMTs for Radar Transmitters,” SEI
Drain Voltage, V ds 50 V 50 V Technical Review, No. 84, pp. 146-150 (April 2017)
Pulse Width 100 µs 100 µs (2) S. Sano, K. Ebihara, T. Yamamoto, T. Satoh, N. Miyazawa “GaN HEMTs
for Wireless Communication,” SEI Technical Review, No. 86, pp. 65-70
Duty Cycle 10% 10%
(April 2018)
Frequency 9.3‒9.5 GHz 9.3‒9.5 GHz
Saturated Output Power, P sat 340 W 35 W
Power Gain, G p 9.3 dB 23.4 dB
Power Added Efficiency, PAE 38% 38%

Contributors The lead author is indicated by an asterisk (*).

Technical Terms M. NISHIHARA*

＊1 X-band: A frequency range from 8 to 12 GHz in the • ‌Sumitomo Electric Device Innovations, Inc.
microwave frequency range.
Since the shorter wavelengths of the X-band allow
antennas to be compact, the X-band is often used for
various types of radars, along with satellites and other
types of wireless communication systems, including M. AOJIMA
ship surveillance and weather radars, which use a • ‌Manager, Sumitomo Electric Device Innovations,
Inc.
range from around 8.5 to 10.0 GHz.
＊2 High-electron-mobility transistor (HEMT): A
transistor that uses two-dimensional electrons induced
on a semiconductor junction interface. It can form a
high-electron-density channel, less affected by
N. MIYAZAWA
• ‌Senior Manager, Sumitomo Electric Device
impurity scattering. Innovations, Inc.
＊3 Microwave integrated circuit: A circuit comprising
passive components or distributed-constant circuits
operating at microwave frequencies formed on an
insulating substrate, into which microwave
transistors, diodes, and other active components are
integrated, or an integrated circuit comprising
components and circuits that are all integrated onto a
semi-conducting substrate. The former circuit,
comprising circuit components integrated onto
alumina or other insulating substrates, is called a
microwave hybrid integrated circuit (MIC), and the
latter circuit, comprising components integrated onto
a semi-conducting substrate with a semiconductor
manufacturing method, is called a monolithic
microwave integrated circuit (MMIC).
＊4 Load pull: A technique for the characterization of
high-power devices. Using an impedance tuning
system called a tuner, load pull measures the
characteristics under different impedance matching
conditions.
＊5 Internally matched: A high-frequency amplifier device
comprising a substrate for matching circuits and
transistors, implemented in a package and connected
with each other. The material and shape of the
substrate and wire length are adjusted according to the
transistors and operating frequencies.

32 · X-Band 300 W High-Power GaN HEMT for Marine Radar Systems