2017/09/25 by Yuan Zhuang, Zhouxiang Fei, Anqi Chen +4 · 26 citations
Engineering · #Advanced Power Amplifier Design #Amplifier #Bandwidth (computing) #Broadband #Computer science #Electrical engineering #Electrical impedance #Electronic engineering #Engineering #Gallium nitride #High-electron-mobility transistor #Impedance matching #Input impedance #Materials science #Microwave Engineering and Waveguides #Physics #Power (physics) #Power-added efficiency #RF power amplifier #Radio Frequency Integrated Circuit Design #Telecommunications #Transistor
paper · doi:10.1109/tmtt.2017.2750164
published in IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques 66(2), 1015-1023 (IEEE Microwave Theory and Techniques Society)
openalex publication_date 2017/09/25 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/02
This paper presents a novel general design method of frequency varying impedance matching. The method is applied to design of a broadband high-efficiency power amplifier (PA). The proposed method defines the optimal impedance regions of a PA at several frequency sections over the operational frequency band. These regions contain the impedances that can achieve a high output power and a high-power added efficiency (PAE) simultaneously. A low-pass LC-ladder circuit is selected as the matching network (MN). The element values of the MN can be obtained using a synthesizing method based on stochastic reduced order models and Voronoi partition. The MN provides desired impedance in the predefined optimal impedance region at each frequency section. Thus, optimal output power and PAE of the PA can be achieved. To validate the proposed method, two eighth-order low-pass LC-ladder networks are designed as the input and output MNs, respectively. A gallium nitride (GaN) HEMT from Cree is employed as the active device. Packaging parasitic of the transistor has been taken into account. A PA is designed, fabricated, and measured. The measurement results show that the PA can achieve P1 dB PAE of better than 60% over a fractional bandwidth of 160% (0.2-1.8 GHz). The output power is 42-45 dBm (16-32 W), and the gain is 12-15 dB. The performance of the PA outperforms existing broadband highefficiency PAs in many aspects, which demonstrates the excellence of the proposed method.