On the feasibility of application of class E RF power amplifiers in UMTS

This paper investigates the feasibility of the application of class E RF power amplifiers in UMTS. A typical class E circuit has been designed and simulated, in conjunction with a linearization scheme based on the EER principle. The EER testbench uses ideal building blocks, since the emphasis is on the operation of the amplifier itself. Three different technologies have been used for the active device (Si BJT, GaAs HBT and CMOS) in order to examine the influence of the device technology on the PA performance. Relevant parameters have been monitored and put in the table form, for comparison of technologies. The simulation results indicate that class E PAs can successfully be used for power amplification of WCDMA RF signal and that GaAs technology is offering the highest efficiency.