Design of a broadband and highly efficient 45W GaN power amplifier via simplified real frequency technique

A comprehensive approach for designing broadband and highly efficient power amplifier based on optimal impedance analysis and simplified real frequency technique (SRFT) is presented. Upon determining the impedances for highest efficiency across the bandwidth of interest, the SRFT is used to obtain the optimal matching topology and element values. The effectiveness of this design technique is illustrated using a commercially available 45 W GaN device which achieved an average drain efficiency of 63% from 1.9 GHz to 2.9 GHz (~42%) with an average output power and gain of 45.8 dBm and 10.8 dB respectively. The PA with DPD yielded ACPR below -50 dBc when driven with WCDMA and LTE at 2.14 and 2.6 GHz respectively.