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13th International Conference Interdisciplinarity in Engineering (INTER-ENG 2019)

13th International Conference Interdisciplinarity in Engineering (INTER-ENG 2019)
Microwave Frequency Tripler using InGaAs HEMT Transistor
Microwave Frequencya, Tripler using InGaAs
a
HEMT Transistor
a
Moustapha El Bakkali *, Naima Amar Touhami , Taj-eddin Elhamadi
Moustapha
a
El Bakkalia,*, Naima Amar Touhamia, Taj-eddin Elhamadia
Abdelmalek Essaadi University, Faculty of Science, BP.2121 M’Hannech II, 93030 Tetuan, Morocco.
a
Abdelmalek Essaadi University, Faculty of Science, BP.2121 M’Hannech II, 93030 Tetuan, Morocco.

Abstract
Abstract
In this work, a 3x frequency multiplier in microstrip technology is presented. The frequency multiplier is used to generate
17.4GHz signal by multiplying 5.8GHz input and by using Indium gallium arsenide (InGaAs) High Electron Mobility Transistor
In this work, a 3x frequency multiplier in microstrip technology is presented. The frequency multiplier is used to generate
(MGF4918D). The input and output reflection coefficients (S11 and S22) are less than -30 dB. The Rollet factor is greater than
17.4GHz signal by multiplying 5.8GHz input and by using Indium gallium arsenide (InGaAs) High Electron Mobility Transistor
unity at the fundamental frequency 5.8GHz and in the 3rd harmonic which places at the frequency of 17.4GHz. The maximum
(MGF4918D). The input and output reflection rd coefficients (S11 and S22) are less than -30 dB. The Rollet factor is greater than
conversion of the fundamental signal to the 3 harmonic is given by an input power of 3.6dBm, gate-source voltage of -0.6V and
unity at the fundamental frequency 5.8GHz and in the 3rd harmonic which places at the frequency of 17.4GHz. The maximum
drain-source voltage of 3V. The dissipated powerrd Pdc is 45 mW and the surface of the chip occupied on a FR- 4 substrate is
conversion of the fundamental signal to the 3 harmonic is given by an input power of 3.6dBm, gate-source voltage of -0.6V and
7.3 x 3 cm2.
drain-source voltage of 3V. The dissipated power Pdc is 45 mW and the surface of the chip occupied on a FR- 4 substrate is
7.3 x 3 cm2.
© 2019 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
© 2020
© 2019TheTheAuthors. Published
Authors. by Elsevier
Published B.V. B.V.. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
by Elsevier
Peer-review
This is an openunder responsibility
access article underof
thethe
CC scientific
BY-NC-ND committee of the 13th International Conference Interdisciplinarity in
license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Engineering
Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the 13th International Conference Interdisciplinarity in Engineering.
Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the 13th International Conference Interdisciplinarity in
Engineering
Keywords:frequency tripler; InGaAs; HEMT; nonlinear,fundamental frequency; 3rd harmonic; conversion gain.

Keywords:frequency tripler; InGaAs; HEMT; nonlinear,fundamental frequency; 3rd harmonic; conversion gain.

1. Introduction
1. Introduction
In the world of microwave communications, the need for high stability local oscillator LO capable of providing
signal in the Gigahertz and Terahertz frequency bands is growing [1]. Currently, the focus of this research is on
In the world of microwave communications, the need for high stability local oscillator LO capable of providing
frequency multipliers that are known to be very good generators [2][3][4]. New types of transistors have been
signal in the Gigahertz and Terahertz frequency bands is growing [1]. Currently, the focus of this research is on
introduced as frequency multipliers. Their performances are very promising according to their noise and gain factor.
frequency multipliers that are known to be very good generators [2][3][4]. New types of transistors have been
This new range of transistors has recently been introduced in microwave technologies thanks to new facilities in
introduced as frequency multipliers. Their performances are very promising according to their noise and gain factor.
This new range of transistors has recently been introduced in microwave technologies thanks to new facilities in

* Corresponding author. Tel.: +212628725127.

E-mail address:elbakkalimoustapha91@gmail.com
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +212628725127.
E-mail address:elbakkalimoustapha91@gmail.com
2351-9789© 2019 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
2351-9789© 2019 The
Peer-review under Authors. Published
responsibility by Elsevier
of the scientific B.V..of
committee This
theis13th
an open access article
International under the
Conference CC BY-NC-NDinlicense
Interdisciplinarity Engineering
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the 13th International Conference Interdisciplinarity in Engineering

2351-9789 © 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.

This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the 13th International Conference Interdisciplinarity in Engineering.
10.1016/j.promfg.2020.04.010
 Moustapha El Bakkali et al. / Procedia Manufacturing 46 (2020) 814–821 815
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planar technology manufacturing processes. Specifically, the range of transistors HEMT (High Electron Mobility
Transistor) [5], pHEMT (Pseudomorphic High Electron Mobility Transistor) [6] and HBT (Hetero-junction Bipolar
transistor) [7]. These active components able to generate harmonics from its nonlinear intrinsic elements.
The main objective of this paper is to design a third order frequency multiplier in microstrip technology and
verify its behavior at a frequency 17.4GHz. The behavior analysis of nonlinear elements at the desired frequency and
harmonic will be performed by the harmonic balancing method.
The paper will be organized as follows. Section 2 explains the choice of non-linear model transistor. Section 3
will present the frequency multiplier topology and circuit design. Section 4 will present the results of proposed
circuit. Section 5 will deal with conclusion.

2. Selection of Non-linear model for HEMT

Selection of the proper non-linear model for device to be used for simulation purposes plays a very important
role in designing a nonlinear circuit accurately. The model represented in Figure 1 is quite general, adequate for
nodal analysis HEMT transistors. They present higher transconductance, operate at higher frequencies, and their
physical structure is more complex when compared to MESFETs [8].

Fig. 1. Nonlinear equivalent model for a HEMT transistor.

The nonlinear current source Ids is the most important element since it is responsible for power gain in an
amplifier and generation of harmonics in a frequency multiplier. The nonlinear modeling of the drain-source current
Ids is given by the following equations:

�
���
𝐼𝐼�� � 𝐼𝐼��� �� � � , for Vp<VGS<0 (1)
��

Ids=0, for VGS<Vp (2)

Ids=IDSS, for VGS>0 (3)

For the fundamental frequency, the transconductance gm is expressed by:

���� ���� ���

𝑔𝑔� � �� �� � � (4)
���� �� ��

Class B is defined when the device is biases at VGS=Vp, where the conduction angle is equal to 180 degrees. The
drain is composed of a train of square law sine wave tips where the first three Fourier terms are given by:

�� ∅�������∅����∅�����∅���
𝐼𝐼�� � � (5)
� �������∅��
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Moustapha El Bakkali et al / Procedia Manufacturing00 (2019) 000–000 3

��� ������∅���������∅�����∅����∅�
𝐼𝐼�� � � (6)
� �������∅��

��� ����� ������∅�����������������∅������∅��� � ���������∅�

𝐼𝐼�� � � �� � � (7)
� ���� ������ ����������∅��

���� �
𝐼𝐼� � ��� � ��� � ��� �� (8)
���

Id0, Id1, Id2 and Idn are respectively the expressions of the DC component of the current Idc, the fundamental, the
second harmonic and the harmonic of order greater than three.
The MGF4918D HEMT is designed for use in L to Ku band amplifiers (1GHz to 18GHz). Its non linear model
will be used in the design of frequency multipliers or frequency divider.
The pinch off voltage of the HEMT lies around -0.79Vand this point the level of odd harmonic value would be
very high, on the on there hand, it’s even harmonics dominate when its gate voltage cause transconductance
saturation in the device.
For understand the phenomenon harmonics generation of transistor MGF4918D, its dependency on Vgs must be
analyzed for the selection of proper DC bias point. The current-voltage characteristic and the variation of drain
current for the different values of Vgs (Vds=1V) are presented in Figure 2. These results are obtained by the
Advanced Design System (ADS) simulator.

(a) (b)
Fig. 2. (a) I-V characteristics, (b) Ids & Vgs of MGF4918D InGaAs HEMT.

The transconductance versus the gate-source voltage is plotted in Figure 3. The transconductance is almost null
when the gate voltage is around the pinch-off voltage (-0.79V). We can also see that the peak of transconductance is
achieved when the gate voltage is around 0V. The simulation results are in good agreement with the Eqs.2 and 4.
From the Figure 3-(b), it’s clear that the drain current waveform is similar to half wave rectified.

(a) (b)
Fig. 3. (a) Transconductance as function of gate-source voltage, (b) Drain current waveform of the InGaAs HEMT for Vds=3V.
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3. Frequency multiplier topology and Circuit Design

A frequency multiplier circuit should contain a nonlinear device and resonators to filter unwanted harmonics at
the output and separate the source from the generated harmonic.

Fig. 4. Proposed circuit for frequency tripler.

The power generator provides a RF signal characterized by a power of 7dBm and a frequency of 5.8GHz. The
MGF4918D transistor has a slightly larger S12 reverse conversion gain. In this case, there is the appearance of
harmonics in the source side. The resonators TL1 and TL2 respectively have a role of suppression of the second and
third harmonics (2f0 and 3f0). The input matching network is used to transmit the maximum power of the first
harmonic at the transistor input. On the other hand, the output matching network has been developed to transmit the
maximum power to the third harmonic. That is, the drain-source current Ids and transconductance gm become more
important in this harmonic. TL3 and TL4 are two resonators blocking the passage of harmonics f0 and 2.f0. The
input/output bias network was then designed using a high impedance quarter wavelength (l/4) line.
Stability is a key element that must be considered in the design of frequency multipliers. If the circuit is not stable
at the fundamental frequency and nth harmonic frequency or a desired frequency band, stabilization techniques are
used illustrated in Figure 5.

Fig. 5. Stabilization techniques.

In the fact, if the resistance Rs is sufficiently high, the power gain decrease. Among the proposed solutions is to
add a capacity in parallel with Rs if it is placed in series with the transistor. In the opposite case, the capacity will be
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Moustapha El Bakkali et al / Procedia Manufacturing00 (2019) 000–000 5

added in series with the grid or the drain according to the position of Rs. Stability can also control by adding a series
inductance in common gate or common source. This technique is very useful to avoid the losses introduced by the
joule effect.
Rollet factor or stability factor can be calculated by the following expression:

��|��� |� �|��� |� �|∆|�

�� (9)
�|��� ��� |

∆� 𝑆𝑆�� 𝑆𝑆�� � 𝑆𝑆�� 𝑆𝑆�� (10)

S21 and S12 are respectively a direct transfer gain and a reverse transfer gain.
When the Rollet factor K is greater than unity and the stability measure B greater than zero, the transistor
becomes an unconditionally stable element.

� � � � |𝑆𝑆�� |� � |𝑆𝑆�� |� � |𝑆𝑆�� |� � ∆ (11)

The performances of the frequency multipliers are determined from the following equations:
The output power at the nth harmonic, PL,n is

�
�
𝑃𝑃��� � 𝐼𝐼����� 𝑅𝑅� (12)
�

The dissipation power Pdc is:

𝑃𝑃�� ≅ 𝑉𝑉�� . 𝐼𝐼�� (13)

Conversion gain is

�������������������� ��������� ����

𝐺𝐺� � �����������
� ���
(14)

4. Results and discussion

The microwave Frequency tripler using InGaAs HEMT transistor is simulated by Advanced Design system ADS
softward from Agilent. The transconductance for 3th harmonic versus the gate-source voltage is plotted in Figure.6-
(a). We can see that the Transconductance is maximum when Vgs-0.79V and Vds>2V. The 3rd harmonic current
becomes the higher one in comparison with the fundamental signal as indicated in the Fig.6-(b).

(a) (b)
Fig. 6. (a) Transconductance versus Vgs and Vds , (b) Iout versus Vgd.
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The stability of this circuit is improved by using a low resistance at the output circuit and a series inductor with
source electrode:

Table 1. Stability values before and after using Ls and Rs & Input/output reflection coefficients.

Without Ls & Rs By using Ls & Rs Input reflection coefficients Output reflection coefficients

K@5.8GHz K@17.4GHz K@5.8GHz K@17.4GHz ΓS @5.8GHz ΓL @17.4GHz

0.89 0.11 1.58 1.02 0.859/48.641° 0.726/-17.51°

The input/output matching networks are designed from ΓS and ΓL conjugate at the frequency 5.8GHz and
17.4GHz respectively. Figure.7 illustrates the simulation result.

(a) (b)

Fig. 7. Frequency Response of (a) Input reflection coefficient, (b) output reflection coefficient.

Final circuit of frequency tripler using FR4-substrate is shown in Figure 8.

Vgs Vds

Input (f0)
Output (3f0)

Fig. 8. Layout of frequency tripler (7.3x 3cm2).

Input and output spectrum voltage - current of the proposed design are displayed in Figure 9.
Figure 10 shows the simulated time domain waveform of the fundamental and 3rd harmonic voltage – current at
the output of HEMT. And according to Figure 11, the conversion gain from the input power to the 3rd harmonic is
maximum for a power of 3.75dBm.
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(a) (b)

Fig. 9. Input/output spectrum (a) voltage, (b) current of Frequency Tripler.

(a) (b)

Fig. 10. Time domain fundamental and 3rd Harmonic (a) Voltage; (b) Current.

Fig. 11. Frequency simulation of conversion gain.

The following table summarizes the performances of the frequency tripler.

Table 2. Performances of the frequency tripler.

Vgs Vds Pin_fun Pdc Pout_3rd_Harm Vin Vout

(dBm)
(V) (V) (dBm) (mW) (mV) (mV)
-0.6 3 2.75 45 4.03 531 503
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5. Conclusion

In this paper, we have discussed the nonlinear behavior analysis of an InGaAs HEMT transconductance in order
to design tripler frequency. The results show a good agreement with the analytic study. When the bias of Vgs near
the pinch voltage Vp and the input power of 3.75dBm, the transconductance transmits the maximum power to the
third harmonic. In this case, the proposed circuit multipliers the frequency of the input signal frequency of 5.8GHz
to 17.4GHz using of course two matching network the first at f0 and the second at 3.f0. The resonators are used
primarily to suppress unwanted harmonics at the input and output of the frequency tripler.

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