Concurrent dual-band power amplifier with different operation modes

In this work for the first time a simultaneous 1.5 GHz / 3.8 GHz dual band power amplifier (PA) with different operation modes for each frequency is presented. A dedicated matching network is employed to synthesize Class-AB impedance condition at lower bands and Class-J condition at upper bands. A low cost GaN-on-Si device with plastic package was used for demonstration. The measured results show a 47% and 52% power added efficiency (PAE) for an output power of 37.3 dBm and 35.7 dBm at 1.5 GHz and 3.8 GHz, respectively. Furthermore, the PA exhibits a drain efficiency of more than 41% across 1.4 - 1.6 GHz and 3.0 - 3.9 GHz whilst delivering an average output power of more than 36 dBm. To our best knowledge, the highest output power and bandwidths in concurrent dual-band PAs reported to date.