Systematic approach for design of broadband, high efficiency, high power RF amplifiers

Abstract

This paper demonstrates a systematic approach for the design of broadband, high efficiency, high power, Class-AB RF amplifiers with high gain flatness. It is usually difficult to simultaneously achieve a high gain flatness and high efficiency in a broadband RF power amplifier, especially in a high power design. As a result, the use of a computer-aided simulation is most often the best way to achieve these goals; however, an appropriate initial value and a systematic approach are necessary for the simulation results to rapidly converge. These objectives can be accomplished with a minimum of trial and error through the following techniques. First, signal gain variations are reduced over a wide bandwidth using a proper pre-matching network. Then, the source and load impedances are satisfactorily obtained from small-signal and load-pull simulations, respectively. Finally, two highorder Chebyshev low-pass filters are employed to provide optimum input and output impedance matching networks over a bandwidth of 100 MHz-500 MHz. By using an EM simulation for the substrate, the simulation results were observed to be in close agreement with the measured results.