GB2095945A - Radio frequency network having plural electrically interconnected field effect transistor cells - Google Patents
Radio frequency network having plural electrically interconnected field effect transistor cells Download PDFInfo
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- GB2095945A GB2095945A GB8208584A GB8208584A GB2095945A GB 2095945 A GB2095945 A GB 2095945A GB 8208584 A GB8208584 A GB 8208584A GB 8208584 A GB8208584 A GB 8208584A GB 2095945 A GB2095945 A GB 2095945A
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- 230000005669 field effect Effects 0.000 title claims abstract description 58
- 230000008878 coupling Effects 0.000 claims abstract description 41
- 238000010168 coupling process Methods 0.000 claims abstract description 41
- 238000005859 coupling reaction Methods 0.000 claims abstract description 41
- 230000005540 biological transmission Effects 0.000 claims description 57
- 239000004020 conductor Substances 0.000 description 40
- 239000000758 substrate Substances 0.000 description 29
- 238000001465 metallisation Methods 0.000 description 16
- JBRZTFJDHDCESZ-UHFFFAOYSA-N AsGa Chemical compound [As]#[Ga] JBRZTFJDHDCESZ-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 9
- 229910001218 Gallium arsenide Inorganic materials 0.000 description 9
- 239000004065 semiconductor Substances 0.000 description 8
- 239000003990 capacitor Substances 0.000 description 6
- 230000000903 blocking effect Effects 0.000 description 3
- 230000001939 inductive effect Effects 0.000 description 3
- 239000000969 carrier Substances 0.000 description 2
- 230000000694 effects Effects 0.000 description 2
- 238000005468 ion implantation Methods 0.000 description 2
- 238000000034 method Methods 0.000 description 2
- 238000000926 separation method Methods 0.000 description 2
- PCLIRWBVOVZTOK-UHFFFAOYSA-M 2-(1-methylpyrrolidin-1-ium-1-yl)ethyl 2-hydroxy-2,2-diphenylacetate;iodide Chemical compound [I-].C=1C=CC=CC=1C(O)(C=1C=CC=CC=1)C(=O)OCC[N+]1(C)CCCC1 PCLIRWBVOVZTOK-UHFFFAOYSA-M 0.000 description 1
- 239000013078 crystal Substances 0.000 description 1
- 230000001419 dependent effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000010586 diagram Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000009792 diffusion process Methods 0.000 description 1
- 239000002019 doping agent Substances 0.000 description 1
- 238000000407 epitaxy Methods 0.000 description 1
- 239000012535 impurity Substances 0.000 description 1
- 238000009413 insulation Methods 0.000 description 1
- 150000002500 ions Chemical class 0.000 description 1
- 239000000463 material Substances 0.000 description 1
- 230000003071 parasitic effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 239000010409 thin film Substances 0.000 description 1
Classifications
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
- H01L27/00—Devices consisting of a plurality of semiconductor or other solid-state components formed in or on a common substrate
- H01L27/02—Devices consisting of a plurality of semiconductor or other solid-state components formed in or on a common substrate including semiconductor components specially adapted for rectifying, oscillating, amplifying or switching and having potential barriers; including integrated passive circuit elements having potential barriers
- H01L27/04—Devices consisting of a plurality of semiconductor or other solid-state components formed in or on a common substrate including semiconductor components specially adapted for rectifying, oscillating, amplifying or switching and having potential barriers; including integrated passive circuit elements having potential barriers the substrate being a semiconductor body
- H01L27/08—Devices consisting of a plurality of semiconductor or other solid-state components formed in or on a common substrate including semiconductor components specially adapted for rectifying, oscillating, amplifying or switching and having potential barriers; including integrated passive circuit elements having potential barriers the substrate being a semiconductor body including only semiconductor components of a single kind
- H01L27/085—Devices consisting of a plurality of semiconductor or other solid-state components formed in or on a common substrate including semiconductor components specially adapted for rectifying, oscillating, amplifying or switching and having potential barriers; including integrated passive circuit elements having potential barriers the substrate being a semiconductor body including only semiconductor components of a single kind including field-effect components only
- H01L27/095—Devices consisting of a plurality of semiconductor or other solid-state components formed in or on a common substrate including semiconductor components specially adapted for rectifying, oscillating, amplifying or switching and having potential barriers; including integrated passive circuit elements having potential barriers the substrate being a semiconductor body including only semiconductor components of a single kind including field-effect components only the components being Schottky barrier gate field-effect transistors
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01P—WAVEGUIDES; RESONATORS, LINES, OR OTHER DEVICES OF THE WAVEGUIDE TYPE
- H01P1/00—Auxiliary devices
- H01P1/10—Auxiliary devices for switching or interrupting
- H01P1/15—Auxiliary devices for switching or interrupting by semiconductor devices
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H03—ELECTRONIC CIRCUITRY
- H03F—AMPLIFIERS
- H03F1/00—Details of amplifiers with only discharge tubes, only semiconductor devices or only unspecified devices as amplifying elements
- H03F1/08—Modifications of amplifiers to reduce detrimental influences of internal impedances of amplifying elements
- H03F1/18—Modifications of amplifiers to reduce detrimental influences of internal impedances of amplifying elements by use of distributed coupling, i.e. distributed amplifiers
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H03—ELECTRONIC CIRCUITRY
- H03F—AMPLIFIERS
- H03F3/00—Amplifiers with only discharge tubes or only semiconductor devices as amplifying elements
- H03F3/60—Amplifiers in which coupling networks have distributed constants, e.g. with waveguide resonators
- H03F3/605—Distributed amplifiers
- H03F3/607—Distributed amplifiers using FET's
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H03—ELECTRONIC CIRCUITRY
- H03F—AMPLIFIERS
- H03F3/00—Amplifiers with only discharge tubes or only semiconductor devices as amplifying elements
- H03F3/68—Combinations of amplifiers, e.g. multi-channel amplifiers for stereophonics
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- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Power Engineering (AREA)
- Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- Condensed Matter Physics & Semiconductors (AREA)
- General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- Computer Hardware Design (AREA)
- Microelectronics & Electronic Packaging (AREA)
- Microwave Amplifiers (AREA)
- Waveguide Switches, Polarizers, And Phase Shifters (AREA)
- Junction Field-Effect Transistors (AREA)
Abstract
A radio frequency network is provided having a plurality of field effect transistor cells (12a-12f), each one of such cells having a reacting element (C), and coupling means (13,L) for electrically interconnecting the plurality of field effect transistor cells, such coupling means having an impedance in accordance with the reactance of the reactive elements of the cells so that the coupling means and the plurality of field effect transistor cells provide the radio frequency network with a predetermined characteristic impedance related to the impedance of an input circuit which feeds radio frequency energy to an input one of the plurality of cells. The network may be for example, a switching arrangement (as in Figure 1) or an amplifier (Figure 13). <IMAGE>
Description
SPECIFICATION
Radio frequency network having plural electrically interconnected field effect transistor cells
This invention relates generally to radio frequency networks which include field effect transistors and more particularly to radio frequency networks which include field effecttransistors having a plurality of electrically interconnected cells.
As is known in the art, field effect transistors (FET) have been used in a wide range of applications. in many microwave applications it is sometimes desired to form a microwave transmission line and a field effect transistor on a common, semi-insulating gallium arsenide substrate. Generally, the microwave transmission line is a microstrip transmission line with the strip conductor and ground plane formed on upper and lower surfaces, respectively, of the semi-insulation substrate, such substrate providing the dielectric for the microstrip transmission line.
To form the field effect transistor an active layer of gallium arsenide semiconductor material is generally formed over the upper surface of the substrate.
This active layer may be formed epitaxially or by ion implantation techniques. When formed using epitaxy, a doped single crystal semiconductor layer is typically deposited on the semi-insulating substrate, usually with an intervening high resistivity epitaxial buffer layer to screen out diffusion impurities from the substrate during the active layer growth. With ion implantation, dopant atoms are implanted directly into the surface of a semi-insulating gallium arsenide substrate.
In one application the field effect transistor is used as a switch to electrically couple or decouple a microwave energy source and a load selectively in accordance with a switching signal. In such application a microstrip transmission line is formed with the strip conductor of such transmission line extending laterally across a portion of the upper surface of the substrate. One end of the strip conductor provides an input port for coupling to the microwave source and the other end of the strip conductor provides an output port for coupling to the load. The field effect transistor is formed in a region of the upper surface of the active semiconductor layer adjacent the strip conductor and intermediate the input and output ports formed by the ends of the strip conductor.
More particularly, the field effect transistor is formed with, for example, its drain electrode connected to the strip conductor at a point intermediate the ends of the strip conductor. The gate electrode is fed by a switching signal source. The source electrode is connected to the ground plane of the microstrip transmission line. In such application microwave energy fed by the microwave source is either allowed to pass the load or is reflected back to the microwave source selectively in accordance with the response of the field effect transistor to the switching signal fed to the gate electrode.
In high power applications it is sometimes necessary to provide a field effect transistor having a plurality of electrically interconnected cells. Here the active layer has formed on the upper surface thereof a plurality of source electrodes and a plurality of drain electrodes, such electrodes being disposed in alternating relationship laterally across the active layer in the region where the field effect transistor is formed. Disposed between each source electrodedrain electrode pair is a gate electrode. In the switching circuit application the gate electrodes are interconnected together at a common gate pad which is fed by a switching signal source, as described. Likewise, the drain electrodes are electrically interconnected to a common drain pad which is typically connected to the strip conductor at a point intermediate the ends thereof, as described.Finally, the source electrodes are interconnected together and to the ground plane conductor of the microstrip transmission line. In one interconnecting arrangement, for example, the source electrodes are interconnected by a metallization layer which overlays or bridges, in insulating relationship, the gate and drain electrodes, such bridging metallization layer having its ends terminating in a pair of contact pads on either side of the field effect transistor region. The contact pads are connected to the ground plane through via holes passing through the substrate and the active layer. In another interconnecting arrangement each one of the source electrodes is interconnected to the ground plane conductor through its own via hole which passes through a substrate.It is further known that reactive elements of the transistor, which are not inherent to the operation of the field effect transistor, limit the performance of the circuit. For example, associated with each field effect transistor is a capacitance Cds between each drain electrode and the grounded source electrode. Likewise, there is a capacitance Cgs between each gate electrodes and the grounded source electrode.
When a multiple cell field effect transistor is formed, however, the total effective drain-source capacitance is the parallel addition of the respective drain-source capacitances between the individual drain electrodes and the total effective gate source capacitance is the parallel addition of the respective gate-source capacitances. Consequently, in the switching arrangement described above, during the nonconducting state of the field effect transistor, as when it is desired that the field effect transistor acts as an open circuit so as to pass microwave energy from the microwave source to the load, these capacitances signficantly reduce the impedance of the field effect transistor and thereby reduce its effectiveness.While it is at least theoretically possible to reduce the effect of these parasitic capacitances, as by forming an inductive element in parallel with them to thereby form a high impedance "tank" circuit, such compensation technique is generally only effective over a relatively narrow band of frequencies. Further, when the source electrodes are interconnected using the overlay metallization layer described above, in order to provide adequate separation between the source contact pads and the strip conductor a short conductor is generally used to interconnect the drain pad and the strip conductor. This short conductor, however, forms a small transmission line section which, during the conducting state of the field effect transistor, provides a reactive, frequency dependent element, thereby limiting the effective operating frequency bandwidth of the circuit.
In accordance with the present invention a radio frequency network is provided having: a plurality of field effect transistor cells, each one of such cells having a reactive element; and coupling means for electrically interconnecting the plurality of field effect transistor cells, such coupling means having an impedance in accordance with the reactance of the reactive elements of the cells to provide such radio frequency network with a predetermined characteristic impedance. With such arrangement the coupling means and the plurality of field effect transistor cells provide the radio frequency network with a predetermined characteristic impedance which is related to the impedance if an input circuit which feeds radio frequency energy to an input one of the plurality of interconnected cells.
In accordance with a first feature of the invention, the radio frequency network is configured as an artificial line with the coupling means and the reactive elements providing series and shuntele- ments, respectively, of the artificial line. The reactance of the coupling means is selected in accordance with the reactance of the reactive elements to provide such artificial line with a characteristic impedance related to the characteristic impedance of the input circuit. In accordance with a second feature of the invention, the coupling means is a radio frequency transmission line having a characteristic impedance, ZL, selected in accordance with the reactance of the reactive elements to provide the radio frequency network with a characteristic impedance related to the characteristic impedance of the input circuit.With either one of these arrangements, the coupling means, in additiion to providing an electrical interconnect for like ones of the source, drain and gate electrodes of the plurality of transistor cells, is configured in accordance with the reactance of the inherent reactive elements of the field effect transistor cells, for example, to provide a radio frequency network having a characteristic impedance substantially matched to the impedance of the input circuit over a relatively wide bandwidth.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, and in accordance with the first feature of the invention, first like ones of the source, drain and gate electrodes of the plurality of transistor cells are coupled to a predetermined reference potential, typically ground potential. The coupling means is configured to provide a lumped inductor between interconnected ones of a second like one of the electrodes, such lumped inductors providing the serially connected inductors for the artificial line. Inherent capacitances produced between the grounded first like ones of the electrodes and the second like ones of the electrodes provide the lumped, shunt connected capacitors for the artificial line.The field effect treansistor, and hence the artificial line, is serially connected between a pair of microstrip transmission lines, one thereof being fed by a microwave source and the other one thereof feeding a load. The inductance of the coupling means is selected so that the ratio of the inductive reactance of the coupling means to the capacitive reactance of the reactive elements is related to the characteristic impedances of the pair of microstrip transmission lines.With such arrangement, in addition to the coupling means providing an interconnecting structure for like electrodes of the transistor cells, such coupling means provides lumped inductive elements of an artificial line and, therefore, additionally compensates for inherent reactive elements of the field effect transistor cells with the result that a microwave circuit is provided adapted to operative over a relatively wide bandwidth.
In a second preferred embodiment, and in accordance with the second feature of the invention, the coupling means is a radio frequency transmission line. Such embodiment is particularly useful where, in the embodiment described above, for example, physical constraints limit the amount of inductance obtainable with the coupling means.In accordance with the second preferred embodiment, the radio frequency transmission line provides the electrical interconnect for the like electrodes of the transistor cells and has its characteristic impedance and length selected to compensate for the inherent capacitances of the transistor cells by providing, together with the inherent capacitances of the field effect transistor cells, a radio frequency network having a characteristic impedance related to, preferably substantially matched to, the characteristic impedance of input and output transmission lines over a relatively wide band of frequencies.
Figure lisa diagrammatical plan view of a radio frequency network having a plurality of electrically interconnected field effect transistor cells according to the invention;
Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view of the network of
Figure 1 such section being taken along line 2-2 of
Figure 1;
Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of the network of
Figure 1, such section being taken along line 3-3 of
Figure 1;
Figure 4 is an equivalent circuit of the network of
Figure 1;
Figure 5 is a diagrammatical plan view of a radio frequency network having a plurality of electrically interconnected field effect transistor cells according to a first alternative embodiment of the invention;
Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view of the network of
Figure 5, such section being taken along line 6-6 of Figure 5; ; Figure 7 is a cross-sectional view of the network of
Figure 5, such section being taken along line 7-7 of FigureS; Figure 8 is an equivalent circuit of the network of FigureS; Figure 9 is a diagrammatical plan view of a radio frequency network having a plurality of electrically interconnected field effect transistor cells according to a second alternative embodiment of the invention;
Figure 10 is a cross sectional view of the network of Figure 9, such section being taken along line 10-10 of Figure 9;
Figure 7 1 is a cross-sectional view of the network of Figure 9, such section being taken along line 11-11 of Figure 9;
Figure 12 is an equivalent circuit of the network of
Figure 9;;
Figure 13 is a diagrammatical plan view of a distributed amplifier having a pair of radio frequency networks according to the invention;
Figure 14 is a cross-sectional view of the amplifier of Figure 13, such section being taken along line 14-14of Figure 13;
Figure 15 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of one of the radio frequency networks used in the amplifier of Figure 13, such section being taken along line 15-15 of Figure 13;
Figure 16 is a schematic diagram of the amplifier of Figure 13; and
Figure 17 is an equivalent circuit of the amplifier of
Figure 13.
Referring now to Figures 1,2 and 3, a microwave network 10 is shown to include a plurality of, here six, field effect transistor cells 12a-12f, and a coupling means, here a metallization layer 13, for electrically interconnecting a like one of the source electrodes 14a-14c, drain electrodes 15a-15d and gate electrodes 16a-16f, here for electrically interconnecting the drain electrodes 15a-15d, as shown.
In this way, the microwave network 10 includes a series of cascade connected field effect transistor cells 12a-12f, as will be discussed in detail hereinafter. Sufficient to say here that the metallization layer 13 is dimensionally configured to have an impedance selected in accordance with the reactance of inherent reactive elements of the transistor cells 12a-12f, (here the capacitances between the source and drain electrodes of the transistor cells 12a-12f) to provide the microwave network 10 with a characteristic impedance Zn related to, here preferably substantially equal to, the characteristic impedance Z0 of an input circuit 17 which feeds microwave energy to the microwave network 10 and an output circuit 18.
The microwave network 10, together with the input circuit 17 and an output circuit 18 are formed on a dielectric substrate 22, here a semi-insulating gallium arsenide substrate having a resistivitiy of 107 ohm-cm. A ground plane conductor 11 is formed on the bottom surface of the substrate 22, as shown. An active semi-conductor region 24 is formed on the upper surface of the substrate 22, as shown. Formed in the semiconductor active layer 24 is the plurality of field effect transistor cells 12a-12f. The active semiconductor region 24 is here an n-type conductive layer of epitaxially grown gallium arsenide, here having a doping concentration of 1017 electrons/cm3.
Formed in ohmic contact with n+ type conductivity contact regions 25 is the plurality of drain electrodes 15a-15d and the plurality of source electrodes 14a14c. The contact regions 25 here have a doping concentration of 1018 electrons/cm3 and are formed from a second, epitaxially grown layer. Alternatively, such contact regions 25 may be found ion implanting into selected regions of the epitaxial layer 24.
Disposed between each of the pairs of the source drain electrodes 15a-15c, 14a-14e are the gate electrodes 16a-16f, as shown. Each one of the gate electrodes 16a-16f is formed in a conventional manner as a rectifying metal-semiconductor junction or a Schottky junction with the active epitaxial layer 24 thereby forming the plurality of six single gate transistor cells 12a-12f, each one of the transistor cells being here a depletion mode device. The gate electrodes 16a-16f extend beyond the epitaxial layer 24 and onto the upper surface of the substrate 22 where they are electrically interconnected by a common gate pad 32, as shown. Likewise, the source electrodes 14a-14c extend beyond the epitaxial layer 24 and onto the upper surface of the substrate 22 where they are electrically interconnected by a common source pad 35, as shown.The source pad 35 is electrically connected to the ground plane conductor 11 by providing a pair of via holes 37,39 with conductive material 41 passing therethrough, as shown in Figure 3. The drain electrodes 15a-15d are interconnected by the metallization layer 13 which overlays or bridges the gate electrodes 16a-16f and the source electrodes 14a-14c, as shown. It is noted that the source electrodes 14a-14c and gate electrodes 16a-16f are separated from layer 13 by air regions 19, as shown. The input and output circuits 17, 18 are here a pair of microstrip transmission line circuits. The input and output microstrip transmission circuits 17, 18 include strip conductors 48, 50 (which are integrally formed with metallization layer 13) and the ground plane conductor 11 with the dielelectric separation being provided by the portions of substrate 22 disposed therebetween.
Thus, the dimensions of the microstrip transmission line 17 formed by strip conductor 48 and the thickness of the semi-insulating, dielectric substrate 22 are selected to provide microstrip transmission line 17 with a predetermined characteristic impedance, ZO, here 50 ohms. Likewise, microstrip transmission line 18 is designed in a similar manner to provide a predetermined characteristic impedance, Z,, here also 50 ohms.It is here noted that the metallization layer 13 interconnecting the drain electrodes 15a-15d is configured in width (W), lengths (B) and thickness to provide lumped inductors between interconnected pairs of the drain electrodes 15a-15d which, together with inherent lumped capacitance elements (to be described) of the field effect transistor cells 1 2a-1 2f, form the microwave network 10 as an artificial line having a predetermined characteristic impedance Z,. Here such characteristic impedance, Znl is preferably matched (or equal) to the characteristic impedances Z0 of the microstrip transmission lines 17, 18. That is, the microwave network 10 is an artificial line having a characteristic impedance Z,, here preferably 50 ohms, made up of the cascade connected field effect transistor cells 12a-12f, such transistor cells being connected in cascade by the metallization layer 13; such metallization layer providing series lumped inductorsforthe artificial line while the lumped shunt capacitors for the artificial line are provided by the inherent capacitance between the drain and source electrodes.
Referring now to Figure 4, an equivalent circuit of the microwave network 10 shown in Figures 1-3 is shown as an artificial line. The overlay metallization layer 13 (Figures 1,2 and 3) is shown as a series of lumped inductors Land the inherent capacitive elements between the source and drain electrodes of the field effect transistor cells 12a-12f being shown as a shunt capacitive element, C. The capacitor C represents the inherent, shunt-connected capacitance between each one of the drain electrodes 15a-15d and the adjacent one of the grounded source electrodes 14a-14c.The serially connected inductors L represent the lumped inductances formed by the portions 52a, 52b, 52c of the overlayed metallization layer 13 disposed between adjacent pairs of interconnected drain electrodes 15a, 15b; 15b, 15c; and 15c, 15d, respectively. Itis noted that the microwave network 10 has a characteristic impedance Zn which may be approximated as < , independent of frequency if the length (B) of the overlay metallization layer 13 is small compared to the shortest operating wavelength of the network 10.Therefore, by dimensionally configuring the drain electrode interconnecting metallization layer 13 in accordance with the reactance (here the source-drain capacitance) of the inherent reactive element of the field effect transistor cells 12a-12f the network 10 is formed as an artificial line having a characteristic impedance Zn related to, and here preferably equal to, the characteristic impedance, Z,, of microstrip transmission lines 17,18 (i.e. Zn ZZo) over an extremely wide range of frequencies. Thus, in operation, a source of radio frequency energy Us is fed to the microstrip transmission line 17.When the control signal fed to the gate pad 32 biases the field effect transistor cells 1 2a-1 2f to the nonconducting state (so that a relatively high resistance (represented by the variable resistors R in Figure 4) is provided to carriers in the active semiconductor layer 24 passing between the source and drain electrodes thereof) the radio frequency fed input microstrip transmission line 17 passes through the such artificial line (i.e. network 10) and then to a load
RL connected to output transmission line 8. To provide maximum powertransfertothe load, the microstrip transmission lines 17, 18 and the network 10, together with the load, all have the same impedance, Z,, here 50 ohms.Therefore, by proper selection of the thickness, width and length of the metallization layer 13 and by proper selection of the size of the periphery and spacing of the drain, gate and source electrodes of the transistor cells 1 2a-1 2f, the network 10 has an impedance Zn preferably matched to the characteristic impedance of the other microwave circuitry also formed on the same substrate 22.When the control signal fed to the gate pad 32 biases the field effect transistor cells 1 2a-1 2f to the conducting state (so that a relatively low resistance, R, is presented to carriers passing between the source and drain electrodes thereof) the network 10 acts as a "short circuit" to ground and the radio frequency energy from source is reflected back to such source so that the network acts as a switch in the off position to inhibit a flow of energy from the source Vs to the load RL.
Referring now to Figures 5,6 and 7, an alternative embodiment is shown wherein a microwave network 10' includes a plurality offield effect transistor cells 12a'-12f' with source electrodes 14a', 14b' and 14c' connected to ground plane conductor 11 by conductors 41, passing through via holes 37' formed through gallium arsenide substrate 22 and epitaxial layer 24, as shown. Here, however, the drain electrodes 15a', 15b', 15c' and 15d' are electrically interconnected through interconnecting or coupling structure 13' formed over the surface of the substrate 22, as shown. Each one of the transistor cells 12'a-12'f includes a corresponding one of the gate electrodes 16'a-16'f, such gate electrodes being interconnected to gate pad 32', as shown.It is noted that the length, width and thickness of the interconnecting structure 13' are selected to provide lumped inductors L' (Figure 8) between the drain electrodes 15a', 15b', 1 5c' and 15d' and thereby, together with the inherent capacitances C' produced between connected pairs of the drain electrodes 15a'-15d' and the adjacent ground source electrodes 14a'-14c', form such network 10' as an artificial line as shown in Figure 8. Here the portions 52a', 52b' and 52c' of interconnecting metallization layer 13' which are used to electrically interconnect the pairs of source electrodes 15a', 15b'; 15b', 15c'; 15c' and 15d' are dimensionally configured to approximate the lumped inductors, L'.The value of the inductance L' is selected so that the characteristic impedance of the network 10 (and hence the artificial line), Z,. is approximately equal to oand is related to, here preferably, the same as, the characteristic impe dance to of the pair of strip transmission lines 17', 18', here 50 ohms (i.e. Zn4=50 ohms).
Referring nowto Figures 9, 10 and 11,a microwave network 10" is shown to include a plurality of field effect transistor cells 12a"-12d" disposed between a pair of microstrip transmission lines 17", 18".
The cells 1 2a"-1 2d" are formed in the epitaxial layer 24 disposed over a single gallium arsenide substrate 22. Here the plurality of transistor cells 12a" to 12d" have drain electrodes 15a" to 15d" in ohmic contact with contact region 25 of the gallium arsenide epitaxial layer 24, with the drain electrodes 15a" and 15d" being integrally formed with end portions of strp conductors 48", 50" of microstrip transmission lines 17", 18", as shown. Drain electrodes 15a" and 15d" are electrically connected to drain electrodes 15b" and 15c" by conductors 40a, 40b, respectively, as shown.It is noted that here conductors 40a, 40b are relatively short and have negligible inductances in comparison to a microstrip transmission line 42 used to electrically interconnect drain electrode 15b" to drain electrode 15c". The microstrip transmission line 42 here includes a strip conductor 44 which is formed over a portion of the surface of substrate 22 as shown. The ground plane for such strip transmission line 42 is provided by a ground plane conductor 11 formed over the bottom surface of the substrate 22, as shown. The source electrodes 14a", 14b" of the field effect transistor cells 12a"-12d" are electrically connected to a source pad 35" which is electrically connected to the ground plane conductor 11 through conductor 41" which pass through via hole 37", as shown. Gate electrodes 16a", 16b", 16c" and 16d" are disposed between pairs of source-drain electrodes, as shown; such gate electrodes 16a"-16d" being electrically interconnected by gate pad 32", as shown.
The equivalent circuit for the microwave network 10" is shown in Figure 12 where C" represents the inherent capacitance between each one of the drain electrodes 15a"-15d" and the adjacent one of the ground source electrodes 14a", 14b". The resistances between the source and drain electrodes in the active layer 24 are represented by variable resistors,
R, the resistances of which are controlled by a control signal fed to gate electrodes 16a"-16d" via pad 32". The microstrip transmission line 42 is configured to have a characteristic impedance ZL = A/LL/C, where LL is the distributed, series per unit length inductance of the strip transmission line 42 and CL is the distributed, shunt per unit length capacitance of the microstrip transmission line.
Microstrip transmission line 42 is selected so that the characteristic impedance of the network 10" Zn is related to, here preferably equal to, the characteristic impedance of the strip transmission lines 17", 18", i.e. Z,, here 50 ohms. That is, here the characteristic impedance of the network 10" is approximately Zn = VLL/(CL+2(C"/D)), where D is the length of the microstrip transmission line 42 as shown in Figure 9 and C" is the capacitance between one of the source electrodes 15a"-15d" and the adjacent one of the ground drain electrodes 14a", 14b". Thus, the microstrip transmission line 42 is here configured with characteristic impedance ZL such that the characteristic impedance of network 10", Z,, is related to, here preferably equal to, the characteristic impedance Z0 of each ofthetransmission lines 17", 18" and is also substantially equal to the impedance of the load RL (i.e. Z = Zo) Referring now to Figures 13 and 14, a distributed amplifier 60 according to the invention is shown to include a pluality of, here eight, field effect transistor cells 62a-62h. Pairs of gate electrodes 66a-66h are electrically connected to to contact pads 68a-68d, as shown. The gate pads 68a-68d are electrically cascade connected by microstrip transmission lines 69a-69c as shown, a portion of line 69a being shown in Figure 15. The drain electrodes 70a-70d are electrically cascade interconnected by microstrip transmission lines 72a-72c, and microstrip transmission lines 73a-73d, as shown.A plurality of, here five, source electrodes 75a-75e are provided. Source electrodes 75b-75d are connected to ground plane conductor 11 by providing conductors 27 passing through the active layer 24 and substrate 22, as shown in Figure 14. Drain electrodes 75a, 75e are connected to ground plane conductor 11 by conductor 27' passing through substrate 22, as shown. The plurality of field effect transistor cells 6?a-62h and are formed in active layer 24 and microstrip transmission lines 69a-69c, 72-72c and 73a-73d are formed with the gallium arsenide semi-insulating substrate 22 providing the dielectric between the ground plane conductor 11 and the strip conductors of such microstrip transmission lines.Here the source electrodes 75a-75e are connected to ground plane conductor 11 which is formed on the bottom surface of substrate 22 through via holes, as shown.
A pair of d.c. blocking capacitors 81,83 are used to block direct current in biasing circuitry (not shown) and include pairs of electrodes 85a, 85b and 87a, 87b separated by suitable dielelectric layers 89a, 89b, as shown. The upper electrodes 85a, 85b are connected to the load resistors RL', RL respectively, here thin film resistors, and through microstrip transmission lines 91 a, 91 b, respectively, and the bottom electrodes 87a, 87b are connected to the source electrodes 75a, 75e and hence to ground plane conductor 11 by conductors 27' passing through via holes formed through the substrate 22 as shown in Figure 14.In operation, a microwave signal is coupled to input terminal 74 of microstrip transmission line 93 and propagates from gate electrode pad 68a successively in cascade fashion, to gate electrode pads 68b, 68c, and 68d through microstrip transmission lines 69a, 69b, 69c, respectively. It is noted that microstrip transmission line 69c in addition to being connected to gate electrode pad 68d is connected to a resistive load RL, here 50 ohms. The resistive load RL is connected to ground through dc blocking capacitor 83 as described. A schematic circuit for the amplifier 60 is shown in Figure 16 and an equivalent circuit for such amplifier 60 is shown in Figure 17.It is noted that each of the cells 62a-62h includes a current source 93a-93h which provides an amount of current equal to Grne where Gm is the transconductance of the cell and e is the voltage across the input gate-source capacitance C1 of such cell. In response to the microwave energy fed to the input 74 microwave signals are produced at the drain electrodes 70a-70d. The drain electrode 70a in addition to being coupled to microstrip transmission lines 72a, 73a is connected via line 73a to a resistive load
RL' which is connected via line 91a to the ground plane conductor 11 through dc blocking capacitor 81.
The drain electrode 70d is connected to an output terminal 76 of microstrip transmission line 95. The electrical pathlengths from the input 74 to the ouput 76 through each one of the field effect transistor cells 62a-62h are electrically equal. A drain voltage supply
Vdd (not shown) is coupled to output terminal 76 and biases each one of the field effect transistor cells 62a-62h to provide gain to the portion of the microwave signal fed to the gate pads 68a-68d. A gate bias voltage (not shown) is coupled to the input terminal 74.Further, the characteristic impedance of each one of the microstrip transmission lines 69a69c is selected in accordance with the inherent capacitance C1 between the gate electrodes 66a-66h and the grounded source electrodes 75a-75e to provide a microwave network 80 (Figure 17) with a characteristic impedance Zn related to, here preferably substantially equal to, the characteristic impedance Z0 of an input microstrip transmission lie 93, here 50 ohms. Likewise, the characteristic impedance of the microstrip transmission lines 72a-72c and microstrip transmission lines 73a-73d are selected in accordance with the inherent capacitances C2 between the drain electrodes 70a-70d and the grounded source electrodes 75a-75e to provide a microwave network 84 (Figure 17) with a characteristic impedance Zn related to, here also substantially equal to, the characteristic impedance Z0 of an output microstrip transmission line 95, here 50 ohms.
Having described preferred embodiments of the invention it will now be apparent to one of skill in the art that other embodiments incorporating its concept may be used. It is believed therefore that this invention should not be restricted to the disclosed embodiment but rather should be limited only by the spirit and scope of the appended claims.
Claims (15)
1. Aradiofrequency network comprising:
(a) a plurality of field effect transistor cells, each one of such cells having a reactive element; and
(b) coupling means for electrically interconnecting the plurality of field effect transistor cells, such coupling means having an impedance in accordance with the impedance of the reactive elements of the cells to provide such radio frequency network with a predetermined characteristic impedance.
2. The radio frequency network recited in Claim 1 wherein the coupling means and the reactive elements provide series and shunt elements, respectively, of an artificial line.
3. The radio frequency network recited in Claim 1 wherein the coupling means includes a radio fre quencytransmission line having a characteristic impedance in accordance with the impedance of the reactive elements to provide the radio frequency network with the predetermined characterstic impedance.
4. A radio frequency network comprising:
(a) a plurality of field effect transistor cells, each one of such cells having a reactive element; and
(b) coupling means for electrically cascade interconnecting the plurality of field effect transistor cells, such coupling means having an impedance in accordance with the impedance of the reactive elements of the cells to provide such radio frequency network with a predetermined characteristic impedance.
5. The radio frequency network recited in Claim 4 wherein the coupling means and the reactive elements provide series and shunt elements, respectively, of an artificial line.
6. The radio frequency network recited in Claim 4 wherein the coupling means includes a radio fre quencytransmission line having a characteristic impedance in accordance with the impedance of the reactive elements to provide the radio frequency network with the predetermined characteristic impedance.
7. A radio frequency network comprising:
(a) a plurality of field effect transistor cells, each one of such cells having a reactive element and source, drain and gate electrodes;
(b) coupling means for electrically cascade interconnecting the plurality of field effect transistor cells with one of such source, drain and gate electrodes of one of the cells being electrically connected to a like one of the source, drain and gate electrodes of another one of the cells, such coupling means having an impedance selected in accordance with the impedance of the reactive element of the cells to provide such radio frequency network with a predetermined characteristic impedance.
8. The radio frequency network recited in Claim 7 wherein the coupling means and the reactive elements provide series and shunt elements, respectively, of an artificial line.
9. The radio frequency network recited in Claim 7 wherein the coupling means includes a radio fre quencytransmission line having a characteristic impedance in accordance with the impedance of the reactive elements to provide the radio frequency network with the predetermined characteristic impedance.
10. A radio frequency network comprising:
(a) a plurality of field effect transistor cells, each
one of such cells having a reactive element;
(b) coupling means for electrically interconnecting the plurality of field effect transistor cells, such coupling means having an impedance in accordance with the reactance of the reactive elements of the cells to provide such radio frequency network with a predetermined characteristic impedance related to the impedance of an input circuit which feeds radio frequency energy to an input one of the plurality of cells.
11. The radio frequency network recited in Claim 10 wherein the coupling means and the reactive elements provide series and shunt elements, respectively, of an artificial line.
12. The radio frequency network recited in Claim 10 wherein the coupling means includes a radio frequency transmission line having a characteristic impedance in accordance with the impedance of the reactive elements to provide the radio frequency network with the predetermined characteristic impedance.
13. A radio frequency network comprising:
(a) a plurality of field effect transistor cells, each one of such cells having a reactive element and source, drain and gate electrodes;
(b) coupling means for electrically cascade interconnecting the plurality of field effect transistor cells with one of such source, drain and gate electrodes of one ofthe cells being electrically connected to a like one of the source, drain and gate electrodes of another one of the cells, such coupling means having an impedance in accordance with the reactance of the reactive elements of the cells to provide such radio frequency network with a predetermined characteristic impedance related to the impedance of an input circuit which feeds radio frequency energy to an input one of the plurality of cells.
14. The radio frequency network recited in Claim 13 wherein the coupling means and the reactive elements provide series and shunt elements, respectively, of an artificial line.
15. The radio frequency network recited in Claim 13 wherein the coupling means includes a radio frequency transmission line having a characteristic impedance in accordance with the impedance of the reactive elements to provide the radio frequency network with the predetermined characteristic impedance.
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| US24767881A | 1981-03-26 | 1981-03-26 |
Publications (2)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| GB2095945A true GB2095945A (en) | 1982-10-06 |
| GB2095945B GB2095945B (en) | 1986-02-26 |
Family
ID=22935881
Family Applications (2)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| GB8208584A Expired GB2095945B (en) | 1981-03-26 | 1982-03-24 | Radio frequency network having plural electrically interconnected field effect transistor cells |
| GB08423660A Withdrawn GB2146195A (en) | 1981-03-26 | 1984-09-19 | Radio frequency network having plurality electrically interconnected field effect transistor cells |
Family Applications After (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| GB08423660A Withdrawn GB2146195A (en) | 1981-03-26 | 1984-09-19 | Radio frequency network having plurality electrically interconnected field effect transistor cells |
Country Status (3)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| JP (1) | JPS57173201A (en) |
| DE (1) | DE3211239C2 (en) |
| GB (2) | GB2095945B (en) |
Cited By (1)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EP0156585A2 (en) * | 1984-03-21 | 1985-10-02 | Plessey Overseas Limited | Travelling-wave field-effect transistor |
Families Citing this family (3)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US4543535A (en) * | 1984-04-16 | 1985-09-24 | Raytheon Company | Distributed power amplifier |
| US4939485A (en) * | 1988-12-09 | 1990-07-03 | Varian Associates, Inc. | Microwave field effect switch |
| FR2697698A1 (en) * | 1992-11-04 | 1994-05-06 | Philips Electronique Lab | Semiconductor device comprising a broadband, high gain monolithically integrated amplifier circuit. |
Family Cites Families (3)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DE1298591B (en) * | 1967-12-11 | 1969-07-03 | Schlumberger Overseas | Arrangement for the optional connection of one of several signal sources to common output terminals |
| CH467556A (en) * | 1967-12-29 | 1969-01-15 | Ibm | Microwave generator |
| FR2443765A1 (en) * | 1978-12-05 | 1980-07-04 | Thomson Csf | DISTRIBUTED AMPLIFIER FOR HYPERFREQUENCIES AND AMPLIFICATION DEVICE CONTAINING SUCH AMPLIFIER |
-
1982
- 1982-03-24 GB GB8208584A patent/GB2095945B/en not_active Expired
- 1982-03-26 DE DE19823211239 patent/DE3211239C2/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
- 1982-03-26 JP JP4879682A patent/JPS57173201A/en active Granted
-
1984
- 1984-09-19 GB GB08423660A patent/GB2146195A/en not_active Withdrawn
Cited By (2)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EP0156585A2 (en) * | 1984-03-21 | 1985-10-02 | Plessey Overseas Limited | Travelling-wave field-effect transistor |
| EP0156585A3 (en) * | 1984-03-21 | 1987-03-25 | Plessey Overseas Limited | Travelling-wave field-effect transistor |
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| GB8423660D0 (en) | 1984-10-24 |
| JPS57173201A (en) | 1982-10-25 |
| GB2146195A (en) | 1985-04-11 |
| DE3211239A1 (en) | 1982-11-18 |
| DE3211239C2 (en) | 1994-07-14 |
| JPH0150122B2 (en) | 1989-10-27 |
| GB2095945B (en) | 1986-02-26 |
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Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE20 | Patent expired after termination of 20 years |
Effective date: 20020323 |