An examination of data based large signal models for wireless amplifiers

The validity of the assumptions used to construct a data based large signal GaAs MESFET model is examined for wireless RF power amplification. The compliance of measured S-parameter data to model consistency constraints is calculated for a wide region of the device´s I-V plane. Strong compliance is observed at the contour integral point and over localized regions of the I-V plane, but not over extended regions which would be traversed by the dynamic load line of a power amplifier operating in gain compression. These effects ate further examined by comparing harmonic balance predictions of the data based model to that of a common analytical large signal GaAs MESFET model and to load pull measurements of power, efficiency, and linearity.