High linearity and high efficiency of class-B power amplifiers in GaN HEMT technology (original) (raw)
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High-linearity class B power amplifiers in GaN HEMT technology
IEEE Microwave and Wireless Components Letters, 2000
A 36-dBm, high-linearity, single-ended Class B MMIC power amplifier is reported in GaN HEMT technology. The circuit demonstrates high linearity, greater than 35 dBc of third-order intermodulation (IM3) suppression and high power added efficiency (PAE) of 34%. We demonstrate experimentally that Class B power amplifiers can achieve IM3 suppression comparable to Class A, while providing approximately 10% improved power added efficiency.
Applied sciences, 2019
The power amplifier (PA) and low-noise amplifier (LNA) are the most critical components of transceiver systems including radar, mobile communications, satellite communications, etc. While the PA is the key component of the transmitter (TX), the LNA is the key component of the receiver (RX) of the transceiver system. It is pointed out that traditional design approaches for both the LNA and PA face challenging drawbacks. When designing an LNA, the power gain and noise figure of the LNA are difficult to improve simultaneously. For PA design, it indicates that efficiency and linearity of the PA are also hard to improve simultaneously. This study aims to surmount this by proposing a novel independently biased 3-stack GaN high-electron-mobility transistor (HEMT) configuration for efficient design of both PA and LNA for next generation wireless communication systems. By employing an independently biased technique, the proposed configuration can offer superior performance at both small-signal (SS) for LNA design and large-signal (LS) for PA design compared with other typical circuit configurations. Simulation results show that by utilizing an adaptive bias control of each transistor of the proposed configuration, both power gain and noise figure can be improved simultaneously for the LNA design. Moreover, efficiency and linearity can be also improved at the same time for the PA design. Compared results with other typical configurations including a single-stage, conventional cascode, independently biased cascode, and conventional 3-stack reveals that the proposed configuration exhibits superior advantages at both SS and LS operation.
Design of Broadband, High-Efficiency, and High-Linearity Gan Hemt Class-J RF Power Amplifier
Progress In Electromagnetics Research C, 2017
In this paper, the design of a broadband, high-efficiency, and high-linearity Class-J GaN HEMT RF power amplifier (PA) over 1.6-2.6 GHz is explained. The source impedance is conjugatematched to the input impedance of the device resulted from small signal simulation to make a high-gain power amplifier. The load impedance related to the maximum power added efficiency (PAE) and maximum output power is obtained by pulling the only fundamental and second harmonic components over frequency bandwidth. Thus, not only a high-efficiency PA but also a high-linearity PA is formed. The input and output matching networks are implemented by microstrip transmission lines. The theoretical PA designed is optimized using computer-aided simulations. The fabricated PA provides output power in the range of 38-39.9 dBm with 60%-73% PAE and 15-16.3 dB power gain across the band. The worst measured ACLR1 as the PA is fed by the CDMA signal with 1.2288 MHz bandwidth is at a level of −38.6 dBc. A close agreement between the measured and simulation results is observed due to the use of high-order harmonic balance simulator and high-accuracy implementation procedure.
Development of a GaN HEMT class-AB power amplifier for an envelope tracking system at 2.45 GHz
2010
A class-AB power amplifier was designed for an envelope tracking (ET) application. Class-AB amplifier is widely used in wireless communication systems due to the compromise between linearity and efficiency. As a power device, Cree Gallium Nitride High Electron Mobility Transistor (GaN HEMT) CGH4010F was chosen. The input and output matching networks were designed and simulated with Advanced Design System (ADS). After some optimization, the amplifier was fabricated using a Rogers RT/Duroid 5880 substrate. The amplifier together with a MAX2247 preamplifier as a driver was measured. A good agreement between the simulation and measurement results was observed. The maximum power added efficiency (PAE) is around 50 percents with the supply voltage Vsup= 10V and the maximum drain efficiency is around 75 percents with Vsup= 5V. An output power up to 42 dBm and good linearity of the output voltage with respect to the supply voltage in the range 0≪Vsup≪20V were achieved. Thus, the amplifier i...
A 10-W S-band class-B GaN amplifier with a dynamic gate bias circuit for linearity enhancement
International Journal of Microwave and Wireless Technologies, 2013
In the present paper, we present a dynamic gate biasing technique applied to a 10 W, S-band GaN amplifier. The proposed methodology addresses class-B operation of power amplifiers that offers the potential for high efficiency but requires a careful attention to maintain good linearity performances at large output power back-off. This work proposes a solution to improve the linearity of class-B amplifiers driven by radio frequency-modulated signals having large peak to average power ratios. An important aspect of this work concerns the characterization of the dynamic behavior of GaN devices for gate bias trajectory optimization. For that purpose, the experimental study reported here is based on the use of a time-domain envelope setup. A specific gate bias circuit has been designed and connected to a 10 W – 2.5 GHz GaN amplifier demo board from CREE. Compared to conventional class-B operation with a fixed gate bias, a 10-dB improvement in terms of third-order intermodulation is reache...
A High Efficiency Class AB AlGaN/GaN HEMT Power Amplifier for High Frequency Applications
Medicon Engineering Themes
GaN HEMT is chosen for many high frequency applications such as Power Amplifiers because of its desirable properties. Most semiconductors fail at high frequency applications because of their thermal and bias limitations. It's very difficult to operate the amplifier at high frequency and high power ratings. The HEMT transistors can operate at high electric fields and high frequencies. The heterojunction structure provides more no of free electrons without any doping which significantly improves the mobility and the current. The heterostructure also blocks the current flow in unwanted directions. This paper explains about GaN HEMT transistor and its practical application as a Power Amplifier. CREE CGH40010F GaN (10 W) device is chosen and developed at the schematic level. The schematic provides 15.5 dB gain and 66% efficiency.
Nonlinear Device Model of Microwave Power GaN HEMTs for High Power-Amplifier Design
IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques, 2004
This paper presents a nonlinear equivalent circuit model of microwave power GaN high electron-mobility transistors (HEMTs), amenable for integration into commercial harmonic balance or transient simulators. All the steps taken to extract its parameter set are explained, from the extrinsic linear elements up to the intrinsic nonlinear ones. The predictive model capabilities are illustrated with measured and simulated output power and intermodulation-distortion data of a GaN HEMT. The model is then fully validated in a real application environment by comparing experimental and simulated results of output power, power-added efficiency, and nonlinear distortion obtained from a power amplifier.
High Power Two- Stage Class-AB/J Power Amplifier with High Gain and Efficiency
Journal of Academic and Applied Studies, 2014
This paper presents a hybrid Broadband power amplifier which provides high drain efficiency. AB and J, Two Classes of power amplifier are described using GaN HEMT with matching networks together with input and output compact elements. Using Load Pull method, the best input and output network in the central frequency of 3GHz for output power of 40dBm, 10dB high gain and high efficiency of 80%, has been designed. After describing the design of each of the amplifiers and comparing their performance, the proposed circuit, two-class AB/J are discussed to be the target of the circuit design, reducing the input power to achieve high efficiency output power and gain. Input and output matching proposed circuit elements in terms of theory and simulation are compared, and the results of both investigations were similar. Also, the fundamental harmonic and the second harmonic in the 0.5GHz bandwidth have the desirable amplitude of the output signal.
Design of a high efficiency GaN-HEMT RF power amplifier
2015
This paper presents the design and implementation of a GaN-HEMT, c1ass-J power amplifier suitable for cognitive radio transceivers, i. e., which presents high-efficiency and wideband characteristics, being these maintained for large load variations. Simulation results are presented which show large signal measurement results of 30 dB gain with 60%-76% power added efficiency (PAE) over a band of 1.3-2.3 GHz. Adaptivity to load changes is being developed to ensure PAE above 70% for large load variations.