HVVi Semiconductors Inc., a developer of silicon RF power transistors, announces the company’s first products for airborne Distance Measuring Equipment (DME) applications operating in the 1025 to 1150 MHz frequency band. Based on the industry’s first High Voltage Vertical Field Effect Transistor (HVVFET™) architecture, the new HVV1012-060, HVV1012-100 and HVV1012-250 RF transistors deliver higher output power and gain in a smaller package than competitive technologies. By complementing previously announced products in the 1.2 to 1.4 GHz and 1030 to 1090 MHz bands, the new devices extend HVVi Semiconductor’s growing product portfolio across all three pulsed applications in the L-band frequency.

“Today’s commercial and military radar systems designers are facing constant pressure to build higher performance solutions in smaller, lighter and more highly ruggedized configurations, particularly in airborne applications,” said Wil Salhuana, HVVi president. “Using the industry’s first high frequency, high voltage vertical field effect transistor (HVVFET) architecture, our new RF power transistors allow designers of airborne DME systems to improve performance, reduce product footprint and weight, and maximize system reliability at the same time.”

The three new power transistors allow designers to build high density, high impedance systems in easy-to-match 48 V components. Designed for L-band avionics applications operating between 1025 to 1150 MHz, the HVV1012-060 RF transistor is designed for 48 V operation and delivers over 60 W of pulsed output power. The new device delivers 23 dB of gain when pulse width = 10 µsec and pulse duty cycle = 1% at VDD = 48 V and IDQ = 25 mA. To help boost system reliability, the HVV1012-060 is specified to withstand a 20:1 VSWR over all phase angles at the rated output power and operating voltage across the entire frequency band.

The HVV1012-100 RF transistor is also designed for L-band applications in the 1025 to 1150 MHz frequency band. It also operates off a 48 V supply voltage and delivers over 100 W of pulsed output power. The new transistor offers a power gain of 20.5 dB under a pulse width of 10 µsec and a pulse duty cycle of 1% at VDD = 48 V and IDQ = 50 mA. Like the HVV1012-060, the new device is specified to withstand a 20:1 VSWR.

The third product in the family, the HVV1012-250 RF transistor, delivers over 250 W of pulsed output power. Operating off a 48 V supply, the transistor offers a gain of 20 dB with a pulse width = 10 µsec and pulse duty cycle = 1% at VDD = 48 V and IDQ = 100 mA. Like the other products in the family, this device is specified to withstand a 20:1 VSWR over all phase angles at the rated output power and operating voltage across the entire frequency band.

From a system’s perspective, the HVVFET architecture’s unique performance advantages in terms of gain, efficiency and impedance allow designers to eliminate amplification stages in Power Amplifiers (PA), reduce parts count and shrink PCB space requirements. For example, designers building a 1 kW PA can use the HVV1012-060 to drive multiple HVV1012-250 devices and replace three-stage amplifiers using comparable LDMOS or bipolar components. A complete 48 V-compatible product line simplifies power supply design and minimizes power supply circuitry. At the same time, the technology’s higher rated ruggedness allows system designers to eliminate bulky and costly isolators and, in the process, significantly reduce system weight and size, a key consideration in weight- and space-constrained avionics environments.