Bandwidth Enhancement of GaN MMIC Doherty Power Amplifiers Using Broadband Transformer-Based Load Modulation Network
In this paper, we present a bandwidth enhancement technique for monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) Doherty power amplifiers (DPAs) in wireless transmitters. A broadband load modulation network is proposed by exploiting transformers and output-referred parasitic capacitances of the carrie...
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
IEEE
2019-01-01
|
| Series: | IEEE Access |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8812732/ |
| _version_ | 1818323853731954688 |
|---|---|
| author | Gholamreza Nikandish Robert Bogdan Staszewski Anding Zhu |
| author_facet | Gholamreza Nikandish Robert Bogdan Staszewski Anding Zhu |
| author_sort | Gholamreza Nikandish |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In this paper, we present a bandwidth enhancement technique for monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) Doherty power amplifiers (DPAs) in wireless transmitters. A broadband load modulation network is proposed by exploiting transformers and output-referred parasitic capacitances of the carrier and peaking transistors of DPA. The proposed network comprises two transformers that are used to improve frequency response of the load impedance presented to the carrier transistor at back-off and extend the DPA bandwidth. The network benefits from a unity transformation ratio and it can be readily realized by using edge-coupled microstrip transmission lines. Optimal coupling coefficients of the two transformers are determined based on bandwidth and insertion loss considerations. A proof-of-concept DPA is implemented in a 0.25-μm GaN MMIC process. It achieves 35-36 dBm output power, 42.8-48.7% drain efficiency at peak power and 24.4-31.6% at 6-dB back-off, over 4.5-6.0 GHz bandwidth. When excited by a 100-MHz 64-QAM signal with 8 dB peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR), the DPA exhibits 29.3 dBm average output power and 28.4% average drain efficiency, while the error vector magnitude (EVM) is -30.5 dB (3%) without any predistortion. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-13T11:19:18Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-11d2db8d93e44c8395282ddfcfca825e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2169-3536 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-13T11:19:18Z |
| publishDate | 2019-01-01 |
| publisher | IEEE |
| record_format | Article |
| series | IEEE Access |
| spelling | doaj.art-11d2db8d93e44c8395282ddfcfca825e2022-12-21T23:48:31ZengIEEEIEEE Access2169-35362019-01-01711984411985510.1109/ACCESS.2019.29373888812732Bandwidth Enhancement of GaN MMIC Doherty Power Amplifiers Using Broadband Transformer-Based Load Modulation NetworkGholamreza Nikandish0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9970-3368Robert Bogdan Staszewski1https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9848-1129Anding Zhu2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8911-0905School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, University College Dublin, Dublin, IrelandSchool of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, University College Dublin, Dublin, IrelandSchool of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, University College Dublin, Dublin, IrelandIn this paper, we present a bandwidth enhancement technique for monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) Doherty power amplifiers (DPAs) in wireless transmitters. A broadband load modulation network is proposed by exploiting transformers and output-referred parasitic capacitances of the carrier and peaking transistors of DPA. The proposed network comprises two transformers that are used to improve frequency response of the load impedance presented to the carrier transistor at back-off and extend the DPA bandwidth. The network benefits from a unity transformation ratio and it can be readily realized by using edge-coupled microstrip transmission lines. Optimal coupling coefficients of the two transformers are determined based on bandwidth and insertion loss considerations. A proof-of-concept DPA is implemented in a 0.25-μm GaN MMIC process. It achieves 35-36 dBm output power, 42.8-48.7% drain efficiency at peak power and 24.4-31.6% at 6-dB back-off, over 4.5-6.0 GHz bandwidth. When excited by a 100-MHz 64-QAM signal with 8 dB peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR), the DPA exhibits 29.3 dBm average output power and 28.4% average drain efficiency, while the error vector magnitude (EVM) is -30.5 dB (3%) without any predistortion.https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8812732/5Gbandwidth enhancementbroadbandDohertyGaNintegrated circuits |
| spellingShingle | Gholamreza Nikandish Robert Bogdan Staszewski Anding Zhu Bandwidth Enhancement of GaN MMIC Doherty Power Amplifiers Using Broadband Transformer-Based Load Modulation Network IEEE Access 5G bandwidth enhancement broadband Doherty GaN integrated circuits |
| title | Bandwidth Enhancement of GaN MMIC Doherty Power Amplifiers Using Broadband Transformer-Based Load Modulation Network |
| title_full | Bandwidth Enhancement of GaN MMIC Doherty Power Amplifiers Using Broadband Transformer-Based Load Modulation Network |
| title_fullStr | Bandwidth Enhancement of GaN MMIC Doherty Power Amplifiers Using Broadband Transformer-Based Load Modulation Network |
| title_full_unstemmed | Bandwidth Enhancement of GaN MMIC Doherty Power Amplifiers Using Broadband Transformer-Based Load Modulation Network |
| title_short | Bandwidth Enhancement of GaN MMIC Doherty Power Amplifiers Using Broadband Transformer-Based Load Modulation Network |
| title_sort | bandwidth enhancement of gan mmic doherty power amplifiers using broadband transformer based load modulation network |
| topic | 5G bandwidth enhancement broadband Doherty GaN integrated circuits |
| url | https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8812732/ |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT gholamrezanikandish bandwidthenhancementofganmmicdohertypoweramplifiersusingbroadbandtransformerbasedloadmodulationnetwork AT robertbogdanstaszewski bandwidthenhancementofganmmicdohertypoweramplifiersusingbroadbandtransformerbasedloadmodulationnetwork AT andingzhu bandwidthenhancementofganmmicdohertypoweramplifiersusingbroadbandtransformerbasedloadmodulationnetwork |