M/A-COM Tech Asia introduced a 2.5 to 4 GHz gallium arsenide (GaAs) monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) core chip, which consists of integrated transmit/receive switches, a low noise amplifier (LNA), a 6-bit phase shifter, a 6-bit attenuator and a driver amplifier. This core chip, identified as XZ1001-BD, features compensated on-chip gate bias and delivers 33 dB transmit/receive gain, 20 dBm transmit/receive P1dB and 2.5 dB receive noise figure. The XZ1001-BD is well suited for both military and weather phased-array radar applications and satellite communications systems.

"Our highly integrated S-band core chip is comparable to our X-band core chip, the XZ1002-BD, only shifted down in frequency for 2.5-4 GHz applications," said Peter J. Hales, Senior Director, M/A-COM Tech Asia. "We are showcasing both of these core chips at European Microwave Week to demonstrate 2-chip phased array radar solutions, which significantly reduce design time, save board space, increase reliability and lower overall costs."

M/A-COM Tech Asia performs 100 percent on-wafer RF, DC and output power testing on the XZ1001-BD, as well as 100 percent visual inspection to MIL-STD-883 method 2010. The chip has surface passivation to protect and provide a rugged part with backside via holes and gold metallization to allow either a conductive epoxy or eutectic solder die attach process.