This manuscript presents a millimeter-wave GaN high-power amplifier (HPA) intended for next generation inter-satellite links (ISLs). The proposed architecture achieves a fractional bandwidth wider than 18% in the V-band spectrum, to deliver a 10 Gbit/s throughput compatible with multi-thousand-km ISLs. Core of the HPA is the monolithic microwave integrated circuits (MMIC ) power amplifier which covers the whole 59–71 GHz band with high efficiency through innovative topologies and a cutting-edge gallium nitride on silicon carbide (GaN-on-SiC) process. The MMIC is then parallelized by means of a 1-to-8 splitter/combiner to obtain a V-band 10 W GaN HPA. Measurement results show a peak small-signal gain of 25.6 dB, 6.5% peak power-added efficiency, and a maximum P1dB of 40.3 dBm.

Electronic measurement systems in the THz frequency range are often bulky and expensive devices. While some compact single-chip systems operating in the high millimeter-wave frequency range have recently been published, compact measurement systems in the low THz frequency range are still rare. The emergence of new silicon-germanium (SiGe) semiconductor technologies allow the integration of system components, like oscillators, frequency multipliers, frequency dividers, and antennas, operating in the low THz frequency range, into a compact monolithic microwave integrated circuits (MMIC), which contains most components to implement a low-cost and compact frequency-modulated continuous-wave-radar transceiver. This article presents a single transceiver solution containing all necessary components. It introduces a $0.48\,\mathrm{THz}$ radar transceiver MMIC with a tuning range of $43\,\mathrm{GHz}$ and an output power of up to $-9.4\,\mathrm{dBm}$ in the SG13G3 $130\,\mathrm{nm}$ SiGe technology by IHP. The MMIC is complemented by a dielectric lens antenna design consisting of polytetrafluoroethylene, providing up to $39.3\,\mathrm d\mathrm B\mathrm i$ of directivity and half-power beam widths of 0.95∘ in transmit and receive direction. The suppression of clutter from unwanted targets deviating from antenna boresight more than 6∘ is higher than $24.6\,\mathrm d \mathrm B$ in E- and H-Plane.

Single-ended and balanced 90–120 GHz microstrip power amplifier MMICs have been designed for cost-sensitive 5G and 6G backhaul in a commercial 6-inch, 0.1-µm GaAs process. At 108 GHz, measured output power is 20.4 and 22.5 dBm, respectively. At 120 GHz, measured output is 12.6 and 17.4 dBm, respectively. This is the highest reported for GaAs, among the highest reported to date for microstrip MMIC amplifiers at these frequencies and competitive with more expensive InP and GaN processes. Measurement is compared with simulation.

This paper investigates the frequency response of load modulation networks for asymmetric Doherty power amplifiers (ADPA) with an output back-off power level larger than 6 dB and a power ratio of peak to main amplifier (N − 1) larger than 1. The influence of the main path impedance transformer (IT) on the Doherty impedances at main and peak path as well as on the ADPA's efficiency is analyzed. Scaling of the main IT's characteristic impedance via ξ indicates a maximum broadband matching for an input voltage Vin of ξ · Vin,max. By weighting the frequency- and ξ-dependent efficiency curves using a probability density function (PDF), an optimum is obtained for ξ = 1/N. To verify the theory, three ADPAs with different ξ-scaled ITs are designed, measured, and compared. For the design at 3.6 GHz, a gallium nitride (GaN) transistor is used. By means of the intrinsic node matching technique, matching at the current source plane is obtained. In laboratory measurements, the ADPA with ξ = 1/N achieves a power-added efficiency (PAE) of 63% at 42 dBm output power and a PDF-weighted average PAE of 38.8% within 400 MHz bandwidth for 8 dB peak-to-average power ratio. Comparison with similar state-of-the-art ADPAs in GaN technology shows highest PAE and operation power gain GP for center frequencies larger than 3.0 GHz.

We report a 2 kW all-fiberized Raman fiber amplifier with efficient brightness enhancement based on the graded-index fiber. The maximum power output reaches up to 2.034 kW centered at 1130 nm, with a conversion efficiency of 79.35% with respect to the injected pump power. To the best of our knowledge, this is the highest conversion efficiency obtained for any Raman laser system using graded-index fiber. An optimized fiber combiner adopting graded-index fiber as the pigtail fiber was fabricated, enabling the preservation of the seeding brightness in the core-pumped Raman fiber amplifier, and further enhancing the ultimate brightness of the output laser after amplification. At the maximum power output, the beam quality parameter M2 is 2.8, corresponding to a signal-to-pump brightness enhancement factor of 11.2. As far as we know, we obtain the highest brightness enhancement among Raman fiber lasers of over 100 W, and the best beam quality for graded-index Raman fiber lasers of over 150 W.

This paper presents a high-efficiency linear GaN K-band transmitter for broadband high peak-average power ratio (PAPR) signals. A GaN MMIC 18.5–24 GHz three-stage power amplifier with over 4 W peak output power, 20 dB saturated gain, and 40% peak PAE is supply-modulated with a four-level discrete dynamic supply GaN MMIC. For 100 MHz signals with ${\rm PAPR}\gt 10\, {\rm dB}$, we demonstrate an average efficiency improvement from 14 to 20% with a simultaneous linearity improvement in noise power ratio (NPR) from 23 to 26 dB through a shaping function focused on gain linearization. For 250 MHz signal bandwidth, there is no observed degradation in NPR and the efficiency is improved by 5 percentage points. For discrete supply modulation, the switching transients between levels are experimentally investigated for wideband signals.

The paper presents a highly efficient GaN-based synchronous buck converter suitable for switching in the lower GHz range. The module includes a very compact 2-stage GaN half-bridge converter MMIC (monolithic microwave integrated circuit) for low parasitic inductances between switches and drivers and a hybrid output network with core-less inductors to avoid ferrite losses. At 1 GHz switching frequency the buck converter achieves with pulse-width modulated (PWM) input signals power loop conversion efficiencies up to 78% for 40 V operation and output voltages up to 33 V. For 100 MHz the power loop efficiencies peak at 87.5% for 14.5 W conversion to 25 V. By changing the output network to a 2nd order low-pass with 700 MHz cut-off frequency the module has been characterized for the use as a supply modulator in very broadband envelope tracking systems with modulation bandwidths of up to 500 MHz. For 1 GHz switching frequency the power-added efficiency peaks at 74% for a 90% duty-cycle PWM input signal. The novelty of this work is that for the first time a buck converter design proves highest flexibility supporting different applications from very compact DC converters to microwave power amplifier efficiency enhancement techniques as well as efficient high frequency switching up to 1 GHz.

A flexible and adaptive energy-efficient high-speed wireless hub is developed in polymer foil as a Hybrid System-in-Foil (HySiF) using Chip-Film Patch (CFP) technology. In this matter, the SiGe BiCMOS silicon chips (2.39 × 1.65 mm2) are thinned down to 45 μm and are embedded face-up inside a two-polymer CFP carrier. The active pads of the embedded silicon chips inside foil are extended to the surface of the foil to interconnect to the antenna on the foil. The integrated hybrid system has a signal transmission at 5–6 GHz frequency band. The overall thickness of the system is below 100 μm and its bendability is down to 4 mm radius of curvature. The designed and fabricated PA silicon chips operate at 50 mA with a 1.5 V supply voltage. Therefore, in addition to the high lateral thermal resistance of the thinned chip, self-heating loop inside polymer due to the low thermal conductivity of the embedding polymer raises the system temperature. Consequently, the thermal behavior and RF performance of the PA chip under different conditions are investigated. Moreover, the antenna with the required carrier frequency is simulated, fabricated, and measured on top of the polymer foil as a stand-alone system in the flexible CFP.

The next generation mobile communication systems impose challenging performance, size, and cost requirements on the power amplifiers (PAs). This paper presents novel DC-biasing circuits, which are compact and yet can control the harmonics almost arbitrarily. The proposed circuit consists of a composite right-/left-handed (CRLH) transmission line (TL) stub, of which the size and harmonics-control function can be tuned by modifying the dispersion diagram of the stub line. As a proof of concept, a compact 2-GHz 7-W GaN HEMT class-F PA using the versatile CRLH-TL stubs was fabricated, demonstrating 85.8% drain efficiency and 77.3% power-added efficiency.

In this paper, we report the analysis, design, and implementation of stacked transistors for power amplifiers realized on InP Double Heterojunction Bipolar Transistors (DHBTs) technology. A theoretical analysis based on the interstage matching between all the single transistors has been developed starting from the small-signal equivalent circuit. The analysis has been extended by including large-signal effects and layout-related limitations. An evaluation of the maximum number of transistors for positive incremental power and gain is also carried out. To validate the analysis, E-band three- and four-stacked InP DHBT matched power cells have been realized for the first time as monolithic microwave integrated circuits (MMICs). For the three-stacked transistor, a small-signal gain of 8.3 dB, a saturated output power of 15 dBm, and a peak power added efficiency (PAE) of 5.2% have been obtained at 81 GHz. At the same frequency, the four-stacked transistor achieves a small-signal gain of 11.5 dB, a saturated output power of 14.9 dBm and a peak PAE of 3.8%. A four-way combined three-stacked MMIC power amplifier has been implemented as well. It exhibits a linear gain of 8.1 dB, a saturated output power higher than 18 dBm, and a PAE higher than 3% at 84 GHz.

In this contribution, a design methodology for octave-bandwidth power amplifiers (PA) for 5G communication systems using surface mount dual-flat-no-lead packaged gallium-nitride high-electron-mobility transistor devices is presented. Systematic source- and load-pull simulations have been used to find the optimum impedances across 75% fractional bandwidth for S- (1.9–4.2 GHz) and C-band (3.8–8.4 GHz) PAs. The harmonic impact is considered to improve the output power and efficiency of the PAs. Utilizing the characteristic behavior of the transistors leads to modified optimum fundamental load impedances for the low-frequency range, which have higher gain compared with high-frequency range, and minimize the influence of the higher harmonics. Continuous wave large-signal measurements of the realized S-Band PA show a power added efficiency (PAE) of more than 40% from 1.9–4.2 GHz and a flat power gain of 11 dB while achieving a saturated output power of 10 W. The measured performance of the C-Band PA demonstrates a delivered power between 3.5 and 5 W across the frequency range of 3.8–8.4 GHz. A flat power gain of around 9 ± 0.5 dB with 26–40% PAE is achieved.

We present a novel bonding process for gallium nitride-based electronic devices on diamond heat spreaders. In the proposed technology, GaN devices are transferred from silicon (Si) onto single (SCD) and polycrystalline diamond (PCD) substrates by van der Waals bonding. Load-pull measurements on Si and SCD heat spreaders at 3 GHz and 50 V drain bias show comparable power-added-efficiency and output power (Pout) levels. A thermal analysis of the hybrids was performed by comparison of 2 × 1mm2 AlGaN/GaN Schottky diodes on Si, PCD, and SCD, which exhibit a homogeneous field in the channel in contrast to gated transistors. Significantly different currents are observed due to the temperature dependent mobility in the 2DEG channel. These measurements are supported by a 3D thermal finite element analysis, which suggests a large impact of our transfer technique on the thermal resistance of these devices. In summary, we show a promising new GaN-on-diamond technology for future high-power, microwave GaN device applications.

An analytical method is proposed to reduce the memory effects and third-order intermodulation distortions for improving the linearity of wideband power amplifier (PA). An excellent linearity can be obtained by reducing the second-harmonic output power levels and reducing the envelope voltage components in the megahertz range. An improved wideband Chebyshev low-pass matching network including the bias network is analyzed and designed to validate the proposed method. The measured results indicate that a wideband high-efficiency linearized PA is realized from 1.35 to 2.45 GHz (fractional bandwidth = 58%) with power added efficiency of 60–78%, power gain of 10.8–12.3 dB, and output power of 40.0–41.2 dBm. For a 20 MHz LTE modulated signal, the adjacent channel leakage ratios (ACLRs) of the proposed PA with digital pre-distortion (DPD) linearization are −55.7 ~ −53.9 dBc across 1.5–2.4 GHz at an average output power of 32.4–33.6 dBm. For a 40 MHz two-carrier LTE modulated signal, the ACLRs of the proposed PA with DPD linearization are −51.1 ~ −48.2 dBc at an average output power of ~30.5 dBm in the frequency range from 1.5 GHz to 2.4 GHz.

A selection of hybrid frequency- and time-domain approaches is evaluated with respect to their suitability for predicting the multi-tone behavior of a reference Ku-band helix traveling-wave tube. For this, a frequency-domain code is extended by a selection of frequency-dependent and frequency-independent envelope models and compared to a number of simulated and measured responses to two-tone signal excitation with varying frequency spacing. The selected envelope methods are investigated both in the hybrid approach and based on measured TWT characteristics. Output levels and classical multi-tone metrics, such as intermodulation products and phase transfer factors, are considered. By reducing a modulation scenario to a number of significant sequences, a comparison to full physics-based frequency-domain simulation is presented to show the potential of the proposed approach.

The paper presents a two-dimensional (2D) extended envelope memory polynomial model for concurrent dual-band radio frequency (RF) power amplifiers (PAs). The model is derived based on the physical knowledge of a dual-band RF PA. The derived model contains cross-modulation terms not included in previously published models; these terms are found to be of importance for both behavioral modeling and digital predistortion (DPD). The performance of the derived model is evaluated both as the behavioral model and DPD, and the performance is compared with state-of-the-art 2D-DPD and dual-band generalized memory polynomial (DB-GMP) models. Experimental result shows that the proposed model resulted in normalized mean square error of −51.7/−51.6 dB and adjacent channel error power ratio of −63.1/−63.4 dB, for channel 1/2, whereas the 2D-DPD resulted in the largest model error and DB-GMP resulted in model parameters that are three times more than those resulted with the proposed model with the same performance. As pre-distorter, the proposed model resulted in adjacent channel power ratio of −55.8/−54.6 dB for channel 1/2 and is 7–10 dB lower than those resulted with the 2D-DPD model and 2–4 dB lower compared with the DB-GMP model.

In building highly efficient transmitters of today, one is forced to sacrifice linearity for efficiency. Some of the highest power amplifier efficiency figures are reported by envelope tracking (ET) amplifiers. These amplifiers can generate strong higher-order harmonics, which can lead to interference with receivers operating at the harmonic frequencies. Using non-linear interference cancellation, we can help to remove the interference being caused in those receivers. This paper looks at the problem of modeling the third and second-order harmonic emission from an ET amplifier. It derives the non-linear kernel for estimating such interference. This kernel has been rigorously expanded to show its correlation with the various harmonics and its effectiveness in predicting the harmonic content. We then set up an envelope amplifier test-bench to capture harmonic signal content and cancel it using the derived kernel model. The experiment yields excellent agreement with theory and provides a validation of the system and concept.

In this work, the possibility of achieving GaN-on-Si devices for millimeter wave applications operating at high bias is demonstrated. It is shown that highly scaled AlN/GaN-on-Si double heterostructure enables us to significantly improve electron confinement under high electric field as compared to single heterostructure while delivering high carrier density (>2 × 1013 cm−2). Subsequently, trapping effects can be minimized resulting in the highest GaN-on-Si output power density up to 40 GHz and at a drain bias of 15 V together with a record fmax close to 200 GHz. At higher bias, infrared camera analysis clearly shows that these devices are mainly limited by self-heating effects. Furthermore, low noise figure has been assessed on this heterostructure, promising integration of cost effective low noise and high power millimeter wave amplifiers.

A polar transmitter driven by digital input signals for envelope and phase is demonstrated, using a band-switching output resonator to achieve multiband operation. A new digital pulse width modulation algorithm is also shown to partially suppress spurious signals associated with the digital input envelope signal. The transmitter consists of a current-mode class-D (CMCD) CMOS power amplifier (PA), together with a buck converter with a dead-time generator for improved efficiency. The CMCD PA is tuned by band-switching capacitors that can handle up to 9 V, and is measured to have approximately 30 dBm output power with 31–35% drain efficiency under single-tone testing. The proposed spurious signal reduction technique works to partially suppress quantization noise without increasing power consumption. Overall efficiencies of 27.1/25.6% are obtained at 30.2/28.9 dBm continuous wave (CW) output powers and 0.85/1.75 GHz carrier frequencies, respectively. Spur suppression of 9–10 dB peak is achieved when the proposed algorithm is applied with wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA) modulation.

This paper describes a digital signal processing (DSP) method for achieving “ideal” amplification, maximizing both the average output signal power and power-added-efficiency for any signal waveform and any power amplifier (PA) transfer characteristic. Detailed algorithms are described for optimally accomplishing peak reduction (PR), predistortion (PD) linearization, and integration of these DSP techniques with envelope tracking PAs. Hardware characterization results validate the theories of PD and PR operation.

LInear amplification using Non-linear Components (LINC) is an architecture that achieves linear power amplification for radio-frequency (RF) transmitters. This paper describes the impact of RF power amplifiers (PAs) class on the overall system performances. The linearity and efficiency of the LINC transmitter with different PA classes (AB, B, C, D, E, F, F−1, and J) are evaluated and compared, in terms of error vector magnitude (EVM), adjacent channel leakage ratio (ACLR), and power added efficiency (PAE), for a 16QAM modulation having 5.6 dB peak to average power ratio. Simulations are performed using a gallium-nitride high electron mobility transistor (GaN HEMT) for a power amplifier with an output power of 10 W at 900 MHz.