In this paper, a 10 W ultra-broadband GaN power amplifier (PA) is designed, fabricated, and tested. The suggested design technique provides a more accurate starting point for matching network synthesis and better prediction of achievable circuit performance. A negative-image model was used to fit the extracted optimum impedances based on source-/load-pull technique and multi-section impedance matching networks were designed. The implemented amplifier presents an excellent broadband performance, resulting in a gain of 8.5 ± 0.5 dB, saturated output power of ≥10 W, and power added efficiency (PAE) of ≥23% over the whole bandwidth. The linearity performance has also been characterized. An output third-order intercept point (OIP3) of ≥45 dBm was extracted based on a two-tone measurement technique in the operating bandwidth with different frequency spacing values. The memory effect based on AM/AM and AM/PM conversions was also characterized using a modulated WiMAX signal of 10 MHz bandwidth at 5.8 GHz. Furthermore, a broadband Wilkinson combiner was designed for the same bandwidth with very low loss to extend the overall output power. Excellent agreement between simulated and measured PA performances was also achieved.
Highly Efficient Wideband RF Power Amplifier Design for 5G and Beyond
