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Evaluation of GaN-HEMT power amplifiers using BST-based components for load modulation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 April 2014

Mhd. Tareq Arnous ,
Alex Wiens ,
Paul Saad ,
Sebastian Preis ,
Zihui Zhang ,
Rolf Jakoby  and
Georg Boeck
Mhd. Tareq Arnous*
Affiliation:
Microwave Engineering Laboratory, Berlin Institute of Technology, Berlin, Germany. Phone: +49 30 31426814
Alex Wiens
Affiliation:
Institute for Microwave Engineering and Photonics, Technische Universitaet Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany
Paul Saad
Affiliation:
Microwave Engineering Laboratory, Berlin Institute of Technology, Berlin, Germany. Phone: +49 30 31426814
Sebastian Preis
Affiliation:
Microwave Engineering Laboratory, Berlin Institute of Technology, Berlin, Germany. Phone: +49 30 31426814
Zihui Zhang
Affiliation:
Microwave Engineering Laboratory, Berlin Institute of Technology, Berlin, Germany. Phone: +49 30 31426814
Rolf Jakoby
Affiliation:
Institute for Microwave Engineering and Photonics, Technische Universitaet Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany
Georg Boeck
Affiliation:
Microwave Engineering Laboratory, Berlin Institute of Technology, Berlin, Germany. Phone: +49 30 31426814 Ferdinand-Braun-Institut (FBH), Leibniz-Institut fuer Hoechstfrequenztechnik, Berlin, Germany
*
Corresponding author: M. T. Arnous Email: [email protected]
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Abstract

In this paper, the concept of load-modulated power amplifiers (PAs) is studied. Two GaN-HEMT power amplifiers (PAs), targeted for high efficiency at maximum and output back-off (OBO) power levels, are designed, implemented, and tested across 1.8–2.2 GHz. The load modulation in the first design is realized by tuning the shunt capacitors in the output matching network. A novel method is employed in the second design, where barium–stronrium–titante is used for the realization of load modulation. The large-signal measurement results across the desired band show 59–70% drain efficiency at 44–44.5 dBm output power for both designs. Using the available tunable technique, the drain efficiency of the PAs is enhanced by 4–20% at 6 dB OBO across the bandwidth.

Keywords

Adaptive matchingBroadbandBSTDynamic loadEfficiency enhancementFerroelectricsGaN-HEMTLoad modulationPower amplifierTunable component
Type
Research Paper
Information
International Journal of Microwave and Wireless Technologies , Volume 6 , Issue 3-4: European Microwave Week 2013 , June 2014 , pp. 253 - 263
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press and the European Microwave Association 2014 

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