InAs-Channel high-electron-mobility transistors for ultralow-power low noise amplifier applications

An InAs-channel high-electron-mobility transistor (HEMT) with an 80nm gate length for ultralow-power low-noise amplifier (LNA) applications has been fabricated and characterized on a 2-in. InP substrate. Small-signal S-parameter measurements performed on the InAs-channel HEMT at a low drain-source voltage of 0.2V exhibited an excellent f_T of 120GHz and an f_max of 157 GHz. At an extremely low level of dc power consumption of 1.2mW, the device demonstrated an associated gain of 9.7 dB with a noise figure of less than 0.8 dB at 12 GHz. Such a device also demonstrated a higher associated gain and a lower noise figure than other InGaAs-channel HEMTs at extremely low dc power consumption. These results indicate the outstanding potential of InAs-channel HEMT technology for ultralow-power spacebased radar, mobile millimeter-wave communications and handheld imager applications.