MMIC GaAs Power Limiter on 30 GHz with a Small Flat Leakage Power

The results of a study of the use of a planar-doped barrier diode as an active element in an MMIC power limiter are presented in the paper. The experimental results show that a planar-doped barrier diode has a capacitance that is two times lower than a Schottky diode while the burnout current density is equal. The experimental electrical characteristics are compared with a mass-produced MMIC power limiter based on a quasi-vertical Schottky diode manufactured according to the same topology. Measurements of S-parameters were carried out at the probe station. The power limiters low-signal properties are extremely similar to one another. Insertion loss is less than 1 dB in the frequency range up to 30 GHz. At an input power - 15 dBm input IP3 is 21- 36 dBm and 20-27 dBm, for power limiters on Schottky diodes and planar-doped barrier diodes respectively. Measurements of dynamic characteristics in the high-power CW mode were carried out on chips mounted on a heat sink. The burnout level at CW input power for the limiter was 4.3 W and 6.5 W, and the flat leakage power before the catastrophic failure was 32 mW and 13 mW on the Schottky diodes and planar-doped barrier diodes, respectively. The power limiter on planar-doped barrier diodes has an advantage based on a set of characteristics: the flat leakage power and the maximum handling power, even with the same values of small-signal parameters. The use of GaAs planar-doped barrier diodes in power limiters is a promising solution in millimeter-wave applications.