GaAs optical PHemt process enables cost-effective mmWave apps

GaAs optical PHemt process enables cost-effective mmWave apps

TriQuint Semiconductor (Hillsboro, OR) recently announced a new foundry process that will enable cost-effective millimeter-wave (mmWave) applications. Called TQP15, this 150-mm GaAs commercial foundry process targets the Ka-band segment and is designed for cost-effectively building mmWave MMICs for applications such as VSAT, satellite communications, and point-to-point radios.

TQP15 is manufactured in the company’s high-volume GaAs fabrication facility in Hillsboro, OR. It uses optical lithography to reduce cost when compared to traditional E-beam-based solutions. The process offers optical gate self-aligned 0.15-µm depletion pHEMT coupled with high-density capacitors, epi resistors, thin-film resistors (TFR), and two layers of gold interconnect encapsulated in a high-performance interlayer die electric. With a typical Ft of 85 GHz and a pinch-off voltage of 1.0 V, TQP15 is well suited for Ka and Ku-band power amplifiers.

It also incorporates refractory gate metal architecture which does not exhibit the standard metal gate-sinking failure mechanism of non-refractory gate pHEMT processes. Throughout the development cycle, the process has been made available to select customer designers to collect feedback and aid process characterization.

Christina Nickolas