HVVi Semiconductors Inc., a developer of silicon RF power transistors, announced the company’s first product using the revolutionary High Voltage Vertical Field Effect Transistor (HVVFET™) architecture for radar applications in the UHF band. Operating across the 420 to 470 MHz band, the HVV0405-175 offers UHF system designers a fully qualified 175 W RF power transistor with unsurpassed gain and ruggedness specifications.
“Our first HVVFET products offered designers of L-band applications dramatic advantages in terms of output, gain and ruggedness over competitive bipolar and LDMOS alternatives,” said Wil Salhuana, president and CMO. “With today’s announcement we are extending those same benefits to the UHF band weather and long range radar applications.”
At the same time HVVi Semiconductors announced the HVV0912-150, a new addition to company’s growing family of power transistors for Distance Measuring Equipment (DME) applications. Operating across the 960 to 1215 MHz band, the HVV0912-150 is designed for ground-based DME systems that require a wider bandwidth than the company’s earlier announced parts for airborne DME applications.
Like HVVi’s earlier HVVFET devices, the two new parts introduced allow designers to build high density, high impedance systems in easy-to-match 50 V components. The HVV0405-175 operates across the 420 to 470 MHz band and delivers up to 175 W of power. The new device outperforms competitive bipolar and LDMOS devices by supplying up to 25 dB of gain when pulse width = 300 µs and pulse duty cycle = 10 percent at VDD = 50 V and IDQ = 50 mA. The UHF part also boosts system reliability by withstanding an output load mismatch corresponding to a 20:1 VSWR across all phase angles at rated output power and operating voltage across the entire frequency band. For designers of ground-based DME systems, the HVV0912-150 delivers up to 150W of power. Operating off a 50 V supply voltage, the new transistor delivers power gain of 20 dB under a pulse width of 10 µsec and a pulse duty cycle of 10 percent. Like HVVi’s other HVVFET devices, the HVV0912-150 is specified to withstand a VSWR of 20:1 across all phase angles.
The HVVFET’s unique performance advantages over bipolar and LDMOS alternatives in terms of gain, efficiency and impedance allow designers to eliminate amplification stages in power amplifiers (PA), reduce parts count and shrink PCB requirements. A complete 50 V-compatible product line simplifies power supply design and minimizes power supply circuitry. Moreover, the technology’s significantly higher rated ruggedness improves reliability and, by eliminating bulky isolators, significantly reduces system size and weight.
The two new devices are sampling immediately and come in a compact HV400-style, two-lead metal flanged package with liquid crystal polymer lid. Both devices are fully qualified. The HVV0405-175 sells for $280.42 in quantities up to 24 pieces. The HVV0912-150 sells for $316.61 in similar quantities. Both transistors are available through distributor Richardson Electronics.
