TCAD-based Pseudo-Common-Gate X-PAR Model for GaAs Stacked Power Amplifier Design

Series device stacking has proved to be a very interesting solution for developing high-voltage high-power microwave amplifiers in low-breakdown technologies. The availability of 3-terminal device nonlinear models that are accurate and reliable, yet computationally efficient, in simulating a pseudo-common-gate stage are of crucial importance for developing a stacked power amplifier. This work presents the extraction and validation of a 3-terminal X-parameter model of a GaAs MESFET from physics-based simulations. Remarkable accuracy can be obtained by properly selecting the port terminations, accounting for the peculiar circuit scheme adopted for model extraction.