New Industry Products

Highest Power L-Band Radar GaN HEMT

September 19, 2016 by Jeff Shepard

Wolfspeed, A Cree Company will release the highest power 50V GaN HEMT demonstrated to date — its 900W (typical) CGHV14800 GaN HEMT for L-Band radar applications — to market at European Microwave Week 2016, which will take place in London, October 3 - 7.

Delivering a minimum of 800W of pulsed power at 1.2- to 1.4-GHz and 50V operation with better than 65% drain efficiency, the CGHV14800 features high efficiency, high gain, and wide bandwidth capabilities, which makes it ideal for L-Band radar amplifier applications, including: air traffic control (ATC) radar, penetration radar, antimissile system radar, target-tracking radar, and long-range surveillance radar.

Internally matched on input and output, the 900W, 50V GaN HEMT also exhibits 14dB power gain and <0.3dB pulsed amplitude droop. Wolfspeed’s CGHV14800 is supplied in a ceramic/metal flange package that can be shipped individually, or alongside or installed on a test board.

“We demonstrated the CGHV14800 at this year’s International Microwave Symposium, where it received a great deal of interest, so we are very excited to release the highest output power GaN transistor for L-Band radar available on the market during our exhibition at European Microwave Week,” said Jim Milligan, RF and microwave director, Wolfspeed. “Our comprehensive and continually expanding radar product portfolio enables state-of-the-art RF amplifier performance critical for the development of the next-gen defense, aerospace, and commercial radar applications that help to keep us all safe and informed.”

Compared to conventional silicon and gallium arsenide devices, Wolfspeed’s GaN-on-SiC RF devices deliver higher breakdown voltage, higher temperature operation, higher efficiency, higher thermal conductivity, higher power density, and wider bandwidths, all of which are critical for achieving smaller, lighter, and more efficient microwave and RF products.

In addition to L-Band radar power amplifiers, Wolfspeedâ„¢ GaN-on-SiC RF devices are also enabling next-generation broadband, public safety, and ISM (industrial, scientific, and medical) amplifiers; broadcast, satellite, and tactical communications amplifiers; UAV data links; cellular infrastructure; test instrumentation; and two-way private radios.