RF/MW Integrated Circuit (RFIC/MMIC) Design
Engineers designing integrated circuits will benefit from these courses on RF CMOS and available processes for custom integration.
The successful design of monolithic microwave integrated circuits (MMICs) is the fruit of a disciplined design approach. This three-day course covers, in detail, the theory, and practical strategies required to achieve first-pass design success. Specifically, the course covers the monolithic implementation of microwave circuits on GaAs substrates including instruction on processing, masks, simulation, layout, design rule checking, packaging, and testing. Numerous design examples are provided with emphasis on increasing yield, and reliability.
This course introduces attendees to the GaN transistor, its properties, various structures, discrete devices and MMIC sources, including the latest GaN power amplifier (PA) design techniques. The properties of GaN will be presented showing the advantage of these devices over GaAs and Si. GaN HEMT transistors will be shown delineating the various geometries, semiconductor processes and structures with associated breakdown voltages, power capability, gain, efficiency, and frequency performance. Guidelines for reliable operation will be presented considering device junction temperature including thermal management techniques. Available GaN HEMT devices from various companies including discrete as well as MMIC elements will be presented. MMIC matching and biasing elements will be shown. The nonlinear models of GaN HEMT devices necessary for the CAD of PAs will be presented. Design considerations for both constant amplitude envelope signals (GSM) as well as the non-constant amplitude envelope signals (Edge, CDMA, WCDMA, WIMAX, LTE) will be presented. Step-by-step design procedures will be shown for various GaN PA examples including different classes of operation as well as the popular Doherty PA. The class offers approximately one day's worth of material, but is typically offered in five 90-minute sessions via web-classroom.