MRF157

Linear RF Power MOSFET

600W, to 80MHz Rev. V1

Product Image
Designed primarily for linear large signal output stages
to 80 MHz.
 Specified 50 volts, 30 MHz characteristics
Output power = 600 watts
Power gain = 21 dB (typ.)
Efficiency = 45% (typ.)

1
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 MRF157
Linear RF Power MOSFET
600W, to 80MHz Rev. V1

2
M/A-COM Technology Solutions Inc. (MACOM) and its affiliates reserve the right to make changes to the product(s) or information contained herein without notice.
Visit www.macom.com for additional data sheets and product information.

For further information and support please visit:

https://www.macom.com/support
 MRF157
Linear RF Power MOSFET
600W, to 80MHz Rev. V1

3
M/A-COM Technology Solutions Inc. (MACOM) and its affiliates reserve the right to make changes to the product(s) or information contained herein without notice.
Visit www.macom.com for additional data sheets and product information.

For further information and support please visit:

https://www.macom.com/support
 MRF157
Linear RF Power MOSFET
600W, to 80MHz Rev. V1

4
M/A-COM Technology Solutions Inc. (MACOM) and its affiliates reserve the right to make changes to the product(s) or information contained herein without notice.
Visit www.macom.com for additional data sheets and product information.

For further information and support please visit:

https://www.macom.com/support
 MRF157
Linear RF Power MOSFET
600W, to 80MHz Rev. V1

5
M/A-COM Technology Solutions Inc. (MACOM) and its affiliates reserve the right to make changes to the product(s) or information contained herein without notice.
Visit www.macom.com for additional data sheets and product information.

For further information and support please visit:

https://www.macom.com/support
 MRF157
Linear RF Power MOSFET
600W, to 80MHz Rev. V1

6
M/A-COM Technology Solutions Inc. (MACOM) and its affiliates reserve the right to make changes to the product(s) or information contained herein without notice.
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 MRF157
Linear RF Power MOSFET
600W, to 80MHz Rev. V1

RF POWER MOSFET CONSIDERATIONS

MOSFET CAPACITANCES GATE CHARACTERISTICS
The physical structure of a MOSFET results in capacitors The gate of the RF MOSFET is a polysilicon material, and
between the terminals. The metal oxide gate structure de- is electrically isolated from the source by a layer of oxide.
termines the capacitors from gate–to–drain (Cgd), and gate The input resistance is very high — on the order of 109
–to–source (Cgs). The PN junction formed during the fabri- ohms
cation of the RF MOSFET results in a junction capacitance — resulting in a leakage current of a few nanoamperes.
from drain–to–source (Cds). Gate control is achieved by applying a positive voltage
These capacitances are characterized as input (Ciss), slightly in excess of the gate–to–source threshold voltage,
output (Coss) and reverse transfer (Crss) capacitances on VGS(th).
data sheets. The relationships between the inter–terminal Gate Voltage Rating — Never exceed the gate voltage
capacitances and those given on data sheets are shown rating. Exceeding the rated VGS can result in permanent
below. The damage to the oxide layer in the gate region.
Gate Termination — The gates of these devices are es-
Ciss can be specified in two ways: sentially capacitors. Circuits that leave the gate open–
1. Drain shorted to source and positive voltage at the circuited or floating should be avoided. These conditions
gate. can result in turn–on of the devices due to voltage build–up
2. Positive voltage of the drain in respect to source and on the input capacitor due to leakage currents or pickup.
zero volts at the gate. In the latter case the numbers Gate Protection — These devices do not have an internal
are lower. However, neither method represents the monolithic zener diode from gate–to–source. If gate protec-
actual operating conditions in RF applications. tion is required, an external zener diode is recommended.

IMPEDANCE CHARACTERISTICS
Device input and output impedances are normally ob-
tained by measuring their conjugates in an optimized nar-
row band test circuit. These test circuits are designed and
constructed for a number of frequency points depending on
the frequency coverage of characterization. For low fre-
quencies the circuits consist of standard LC matching net-
works including variable capacitors for peak tuning. At in-
creasing power levels the output impedance decreases,
resulting in higher RF currents in the matching network.
LINEARITY AND GAIN CHARACTERISTICS This makes the practicality of output impedance measure-
In addition to the typical IMD and power gain data pre- ments in the manner described questionable at power lev-
sented, Figure 5 may give the designer additional informa- els higher than 200–300 W for devices operated at 50 V
tion on the capabilities of this device. The graph represents and 150–200 W for devices operated at 28 V. The physical
the small signal unity current gain frequency at a given sizes and values required for the components to withstand
drain current level. This is equivalent to fT for bipolar tran- the RF currents increase to a point where physical con-
sistors. Since this test is performed at a fast sweep speed, struction of the output matching network gets difficult if not
heating of the device does not occur. Thus, in normal use, impossible. For this reason the output impedances are not
the higher temperatures may degrade these characteristics given for high power devices such as the MRF154 and
to some extent. MRF157.
However, formulas like for a single ended
DRAIN CHARACTERISTICS
One figure of merit for a FET is its static resistance in the design or for a push–pull design can be
full–on condition. This on–resistance, VDS(on), occurs in
the linear region of the output characteristic and is specified used to obtain reasonably close approximations to actual
under specific test conditions for gate–source voltage and values.
drain current. For MOSFETs, VDS(on) has a positive tem-
perature coefficient and constitutes an important design
consideration at high temperatures, because it contributes
to the power dissipation within the device.

7
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 MRF157
Linear RF Power MOSFET
600W, to 80MHz Rev. V1

MOUNTING OF HIGH POWER RF CIRCUIT CONSIDERATIONS

POWER TRANSISTORS At high power levels (500 W and up), the circuit layout
The package of this device is designed for conduction becomes critical due to the low impedance levels and high
cooling. It is extremely important to minimize the thermal RF currents associated with the output matching. Some of
resistance between the device flange and the heat dissipa- the components, such as capacitors and inductors must
tor. also withstand these currents. The component losses are
Since the device mounting flange is made of soft copper, directly proportional to the operating frequency. The manu-
itmay be deformed during various stages of handling or facturers
during transportation. It is recommended that the user
makes a final inspection on this before the device installa- specifications on capacitor ratings should be consulted on
tion. 0.0005 is considered sufficient for the flange bottom. these aspects prior to design.
The same applies to the heat dissipator in the device Push–pull circuits are less critical in general, since the
mounting area. If copper heat sink is not used, a copper ground referenced RF loops are practically eliminated, and
head spreader is strongly recommended between the de- the impedance levels are higher for a given power output.
vice mounting surfaces and the main heat sink. It should be High power broadband transformers are also easier to de-
at least 1/4 thick and extend at least one inch from the sign than comparable LC matching networks.
flange edges. A thin layer of thermal compound in all inter-
faces is, of course, essential. The recommended torque on
the 4–40 mounting screws should be in the area of 4–5 lbs.
–inch, and spring type lock washers along with flat washers
are recommended.
For die temperature calculations, the  temperature from a
corner mounting screw area to the bottom center of the
flange is approximately 5C and 10C under normal operat-
ing conditions (dissipation 150 W and 300 W respectively).
The main heat dissipater must be sufficiently large and
have low R for moderate air velocity, unless liquid cooling
is employed.

8
M/A-COM Technology Solutions Inc. (MACOM) and its affiliates reserve the right to make changes to the product(s) or information contained herein without notice.
Visit www.macom.com for additional data sheets and product information.

For further information and support please visit:

https://www.macom.com/support
 MRF157
Linear RF Power MOSFET
600W, to 80MHz Rev. V1

9
M/A-COM Technology Solutions Inc. (MACOM) and its affiliates reserve the right to make changes to the product(s) or information contained herein without notice.
Visit www.macom.com for additional data sheets and product information.

For further information and support please visit:

https://www.macom.com/support
 MRF157
Linear RF Power MOSFET
600W, to 80MHz Rev. V1

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M/A-COM Technology Solutions Inc. (MACOM) and its affiliates reserve the right to make changes to the product(s) or information contained herein without notice.
Visit www.macom.com for additional data sheets and product information.

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