A NOVEL COMPACT MONOLITHIC ACTIVE REGULATED SELF-BIASED INP HEMT AMPLIFIER

This letter reports on the first results of a monolithic active regula ted self-biased HEMT amplifier fabricated in InP technology. The self- bias scheme incorporates an op-amp-based HEMT regulator topology that regulates the bias current to within 6% over a threshold variation of +/-0.2 V. The dc yield based on this performance criteria was 75% acro ss a wafer. The InP HEMT amplifier achieves an rf gain of 10-dB and a 3-dB bandwidth of 1-14 GHz. Across a wafer with a total threshold vari ation of 0.4 V, the gain variation was maintained to less than +/-1 dB . The compact integrated HEMT regulated amplifier circuit was realized using area-efficient analog design techniques that consumed less than 1.3 x 1.1 mm2. This demonstration has far-reaching implications to th e producibility and reliability of InP HEMT MMIC's.