3.3-4.3 GHz efficient continuous class-F gallium nitride power amplifier based on simplified real frequency technique...

Area of Science:

• Electrical Engineering
• Telecommunications Engineering
• Radio Frequency (RF) Engineering

Background:

• Fifth generation (5G) communication systems require efficient power amplifiers for low-frequency bands (3.3-4.3 GHz).
• Designing wideband RF power amplifiers (RFPAs) for these frequencies presents challenges in impedance matching and efficiency.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose and verify a wideband RFPA design for the 3.3-4.3 GHz 5G frequency band.
• To optimize input and output matching networks for a 10W Gallium Nitride (GaN) device.

Main Methods:

• Utilized Simplified Real Frequency Technique (SRFT) for designing input and output matching networks (MN).
• Employed load-pull and source-pull simulations at 100 MHz intervals across the bandwidth.
• Designed a harmonic tuning network for performance enhancement.
• Verified the RFPA design through simulation and experimental measurements.

Main Results:

• Achieved measured drain efficiency (DE) between 57.5% and 67.5% at 40 dBm output power across the 3.3-4.3 GHz band.
• Attained a peak DE of 81.2% at 42.2 dBm output power at 3.3 GHz (1 dB compression point).
• Obtained a maximum gain of 12.4 dB at 3.5 GHz.
• Demonstrated linearity with a two-tone signal below -22 dBc across the band.

Conclusions:

• The proposed wideband RFPA design effectively operates within the 3.3-4.3 GHz 5G band.
• The design achieves high efficiency and linearity, meeting the demands for 5G communication.
• The employed SRFT and harmonic tuning techniques are suitable for wideband RFPA development.