30-V MMIC power amplifier with novel bias circuitry

Author

Peterson, K.E. ; Hung, H.-L.A. ; Phelleps, F.R. ; Chang, E.Y. ; Singer, J.L. ; Carlson, H.E. ; Cornfield, A.B.

Author_Institution

CMOSAT Lab., Clarksburg, MD, USA

fYear

1991

fDate

10-14 July 1991

Firstpage

823

Abstract

High-voltage power amplifiers allow more efficient DC power conditioning and distribution than is possible with low-voltage systems. Results are presented for the first fully monolithic high-voltage FET amplifier, with on-chip power combining and novel bias circuitry. Output power greater than 2 W was obtained with 30-V drain bias at 11 GHz. A power-added efficiency of 34% was also achieved, which is believed to be the best reported for such amplifiers. The bias circuitry developed here allows the high-voltage amplifier to be biased for class AB operation. This will lead to improved DC-to RF conversion efficiency in satellite transponders by allowing the elimination of an electronic power converter or its replacement by a simple voltage regulator.<>

Keywords

MMIC; field effect integrated circuits; microwave amplifiers; power amplifiers; 11 GHz; 2 W; 30 V; 34 percent; DC power conditioning; DC-to RF conversion efficiency; MMIC power amplifier; bias circuitry; class AB operation; drain bias; monolithic high-voltage FET amplifier; on-chip power combining; output power; power-added efficiency; satellite transponders; Circuits; Distributed amplifiers; FETs; High power amplifiers; MMICs; Operational amplifiers; Power amplifiers; Power conditioning; Power generation; Radiofrequency amplifiers;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Microwave Symposium Digest, 1991., IEEE MTT-S International

Conference_Location

Boston, MA, USA

ISSN

0149-645X

Print_ISBN

0-87942-591-1

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/MWSYM.1991.147133

Filename

147133