Steady-State Performance Analysis and Step-Size Selection for LMS-Adaptive Wideband Feedforward Power Amplifier Linearizer

Balancing between power amplifier (PA) linearity and power efficiency is one of the biggest implementation challenges in radio communication transmitters. Among various linearization methods, the feedforward linearization technique is a fairly established principle offering a good tradeoff between linearity and power-efficiency even under wideband operation. Moreover, adaptive techniques for such linearizer have been proposed in literature to track parameter changes in the main PA and other circuitry. Among those, least mean squares (LMS) method for adapting signal cancellation loop (SCL) and error cancellation loop (ECL) coefficients is an attractive low-complexity alternative. In this paper, we carry out extensive closed-form performance analysis of the achievable intermodulation distortion (IMD) reduction of the overall LMS-adaptive feedforward linearizer, as a function of the used step-sizes and essential waveform statistics. Such analysis is currently missing from the state-of-the-art literature. Both memoryless nonlinearities and Wiener-Hammerstein type PA memory models are studied for which IMD suppression expressions are derived. Comprehensive computer simulations are also provided to illustrate the accuracy of the analysis when practical OFDM waveforms are used. Design examples are given as well where the analysis results are used to choose proper linearizer step-sizes to meet given transmitter spectral mask specifications.