Analysis and design of high-efficiency variable conduction angle doherty amplifier

The Doherty amplifier was first proposed to improve the efficiency under output power back-off using the technique of load-line modulation of a `carrier? amplifier through a `peak? amplifier. By varying input bias of the peak amplifier along with load of the carrier amplifier at low drive levels, different topologies of the Doherty amplifier are distinguished. An analytical analysis that determines the optimum output performance of these topologies in terms of output power, efficiency and output power back-off ensuring a near-peak efficiency is developed. The presented comprehensive analysis considered for variation of conduction angle of the peak amplifier biased class C. New design equations of the analysed topologies are derived. A realisation at a central frequency of 1.9 GHz using GaAs field effect transistor (FET) devices of a Doherty amplifier topology is reported. In this topology the carrier operates (at low drive levels) into load impedance 5/2 times larger than its optimum. Power-added efficiency of 61.8% is measured at P/sub 1dB/ of 25.9 dB m and 33.2% is measured at 9 dB back-off from P/sub 1dB/.     

平衡式E/F类功率放大器的设计与实现

为了解决功率放大器设计过程中存在的效率低和输入/输出端回波损耗较大的问题,设计了一种工作频率为1.5 GHz的平衡式功率放大器。通过采用3 dB定向耦合器对射频信号进行分配及合成,大大降低了输入/输出端的驻波系数,并将逆F类功率放大器的谐波控制网络引入E类功率放大器的匹配电路中。使用ADS对晶体管进行负载牵引和源牵引,得到晶体管的输入/输出阻抗,同时结合晶体管的寄生参数,在输出匹配电路中对二次谐波、三次谐波分别进行开路和短路处理,且为了进一步提高功率放大器的工作性能,在输入电路结构中抑制了二次谐波。选用GaN HEMT器件CGH40010F晶体管,利用ADS软件进行电路仿真,并采用Rogers4350b高频板材制作该功率放大器的实际测试电路板。仿真优化和实测表明：在输入功率为28 dBm时,该功率放大器的输出功率为41.54 dBm,漏极效率为76.99%,功率附加效率（power additional efficiency,PAE）达到73.59%,输入/输出端驻波系数小于2,同时具有160 MHz的高效率带宽,且最大输出功率较单管功率放大器提高了3 dB。实测结果与仿真数据有一定的误差,但仍有较好的一致性,满足设计指标要求,验证了设计方法的可行性。该设计方法具有效率高和回波损耗低的优势,提高了功率放大器的设计效率,使它在当今高效绿色节能的射频微波通信系统中具有广阔的应用前景。     

5.25 GHz CMOS cascode power amplifier for 802.11a wireless local area network

The authors investigate a 5.25 GHz highly integrated CMOS class-AB power amplifier for IEEE 802.11a wireless local area network. The proposed power amplifier is implemented with a two gain-stage structure which is followed by an off-chip output matching circuit. Moreover, transistor-level compensation techniques are employed to improve the linearity. The power amplifier is designed with an on-chip input matching circuit, whereas the output matching circuit translates the signal power from 50 to 20 V load resistance. The measured results indicate over 20% power-added efficiency, over 20 dBm output power and 28.6 dBm output IP3. All the specifications are based on 50 V input impedance at 2.4 V supply voltage.     

D类功放输出功率与效率的分析

随着音响系统的数字化以及便携式产品的市场化,D类功放作为模拟功放的替代产品,越来越被市场所接纳。但目前分析D类功放输出功率及效率还没有统一方法,文中利用数字功放的等效电路,分析了负载端输出电流的波形以及负载电流的平均值;建立了分析输出功率以及输出效率的较精确的数学模型,通过实验证明与实际相符。     

基于改进型匹配网络的宽带高效率E类功放的设计

为了解决E类功放工作带宽过窄的问题,对E类功放的输入、输出匹配网络提出了一种改进方案.该方案中输出匹配网络采用微带线结构与切比雪夫低通匹配网络相结合的方法,在较宽的工作带宽内有效地抑制了谐波;并采用阻抗变换方法设计了含闭式解的宽带带通输入匹配网络,明显增强了输入匹配网络设计的灵活性.利用该方案,同时采用多谐波双向牵引技术得到功率管的最佳源阻抗和负载阻抗,基于CGH40010F功率管设计了一款应用于L波段的宽带高效率E类功放.测试结果表明,在输入功率为28dBm,漏极偏置电压VDS=28V,栅极电压VGS=-3.3V时,在整个L波段频率范围内漏极工作效率大于65%,最高达到83%,输出功率为39~41.1dBm,增益为11~13.1dB,增益平坦度为±1dB.这一结果验证了该改进方案的有效性,使得E类功放具有宽带宽、高效率的性能.     

声学放大器对热声发动机性能的影响

对声学放大器的声功传输能力以及其对热声发动机性能的影响进行了实验研究,发现声学发大器只有在一定条件下才能提高热声发动机的输出压比,当末端阻抗减小时其放大能力也减小.声学放大器本身也是一个声学阻力部件,如果仅以负载引出功计算热声发动机的效率,声学放大器在输出端负载阻抗较大时能够提高系统热效率,当负载阻抗减小后,它将使发动机的热效率急剧降低.     

2.4 GHz Class-E power amplifier with transmission-line harmonic terminations

The design procedure, fabrication and measurement of a Class-E power amplifier with excellent second- and third-harmonic suppression levels are presented. A simplified design technique offering compact physical layout is proposed. With a 1.2 mm gate-width GaAs MESFET as a switching device, the amplifier is capable of delivering 19.2 dBm output power at 2.41 GHz, achieves peak PAE of 60% and drain efficiency of 69%, and exhibits 9 dB power gain when operated from a 3 V DC supply voltage. When compared to the classical Class-E two-harmonic termination amplifier, the Class-E amplifier employing three-harmonic terminations has more than 10% higher drain efficiency and 23 dB better third-harmonic suppression level. Experimental results are presented and good agreement with simulation is obtained. Further, to verify the practical implementation in communication systems, the Bluetooth-standard GFSK modulated signal is applied to both two- and three-harmonic amplifiers. The measured RMS FSK deviation error and RMS magnitude error were, for the three-harmonic case, 1.01 kHz and 0.122%, respectively, and, for the two-harmonic case, 1.09 kHz and 0.133%     

Exploring figures of merit associated with the suboptimum operation of class-E power amplifiers

Closed-form design equations for the operation of a class-E amplifier for zero switch voltage slope and arbitrary duty cycle are derived. This approach allows an additional degree of freedom in the design of class-E amplifiers which are normally designed for 50% duty ratio. The analysis developed permits the selection of non-unique solutions where amplifier efficiency is theoretically 100% but power output capability is less than that the 50% duty ratio case would permit. To facilitate comparison between 50% (optimal) and non-50% (suboptimal) duty ratio cases, each important amplifier parameter is normalised to its corresponding optimum operation value. It is shown that by choosing a non-50% suboptimal solution, the operating frequency of a class-E amplifier can be extended. In addition, it is shown that by operating the amplifier in the suboptimal regime, other amplifier parameters, for example, transistor output capacitance or peak switch voltage, can be included along with the standard specification criteria of output power, DC supply voltage and operating frequency as additional input design specifications. Suboptimum class-E operation may have potential advantages for monolithic microwave integrated circuit realisation as lower inductance values (lower series resistance, higher self-resonance frequency, less area) may be required when compared with the results obtained for optimal class-E amplifier synthesis. The theoretical analysis conducted here was verified by harmonic balance simulation, with excellent agreement between both methods.     

Dynamic linearisation overcoming sweet spot of Doherty amplifier for WiBRO handset

A dynamic predistorter is applied to a Doherty amplifier to obtain high linearity and efficiency for operation with multi-frequency-allocation WiBRO services. The non-linear path uses a reflection-type dynamic predistorter comprising common collector InGaP/GaAs HBTs operated at saturation. A 40-dB range of intermodulation signal is obtained, which overcomes the peaking amplifier inter-modulation transfer characteristic. At the same time, the Doherty amplifier having an unbalanced signal is based on the low-loss transistor cellcombining techniques, and it is used to make a carrier amplifier operated towards P1 dB within the range satisfying linearity for WiBRO in consideration of efficiency. The spurious emission characteristics are compatible with WiBRO standards up to an output power of 22 dB m for multi-frequency allocation. The efficiency is 21% at 22 dB m.     

Scaling up of a high average power dye laser amplifier and its new pumping designs

Scaling up of a high average power dye laser amplifier is discussed. Differences in the characteristics between a high average power dye laser amplifier with transverse pumping and longitudinal pumping are presented by a simple theory and simulations. The simulation results for dye laser amplifiers of 10-kW average output power show that longitudinal pumping is as efficient as transverse pumping with the potential of orders of magnitude lower dye flow rate. New pumping designs are also proposed for a dye laser amplifier aimed to achieve high gain with high efficiency to reduce the number of amplifier stages. Simulation results suggest that the new designs, in comparison with a conventional amplifier, can produce several orders of magnitude higher gain without decreasing the conversion efficiency.     

High-performance diode-pumped Nd:YLF amplifier

We report on the performance of a multipass diode-pumped amplifier design to provide a combination of high gain and efficiency with high stability. A simple rod-cavity design and the establishment of quasi-steady-state operation resulted in a saturated gain of over 6000 at an average output intensity during the pulse train of 7 kW/cm2. The amplifier showed an output stability of 0.2% rms in the short-term and 0.7% rms in the long-term and an output intensity insensitive to input power changes. Zernike analysis of the measurements of pump distortion showed an almost pure astigmatic phase error that can be compensated up to high average power levels.     

Low temperature operation of UHF power static induction transistors

This paper describes the results of recent experiments with high power surface gate static induction transistors (SITs) operated at and near liquid nitrogen temperatures. The temperature dependence of important large signal and small signal device parameters over a wide range of operating temperatures is described. UHF power performance of liquid nitrogen cooled SIT power amplifiers is described as well. At 425 MHz, a single transistor power amplifier has been fabricated which exhibits output power levels > 350 W with 8 dB gain and nearly 80% drain efficiency. Smaller test devices have been used in an 850 MHz amplifier, which exhibits 30 W c.w. with 7.8 dB gain and 64% drain efficiency.     

An X-band, high power dielectric resonator oscillator for future military systems

A 9.0-GHz dielectric resonator oscillator (DRO), generating a CW output power of 2.5 W at room temperature, has been designed and fabricated using a high-power GaAs MESFET and a dielectric resonator (DR) in a parallel feedback configuration. The oscillator exhibited a frequency stability of better than 130 ppm, without any temperature compensation, over the range -50 degrees C to +50 degrees C. The output power varied from +35 dBm (3.2 W) at -50 degrees C to +33 dBm (2 W) at +50 degrees C. The single-sideband phase noise levels were measured and found to be -105 and -135 dBc/Hz, at 10- and 100-kHz carrier offset frequencies, respectively. The oscillator output was then fed into a single-stage high-power MESFET amplifier, resulting in a total RF power output of 6.5 W. The overall DC to RF conversion efficiency of the 6.5-W unit was approximately 15.3%     

An ultrawideband spin-wave medium-power chaos generator based on field-effect transistors

A prototype of an ultrawideband (UWB) microwave chaos generator based on a nonlinear spin-wave transmission line, a multistage transistor amplifier with an output amplifier based on GaAs field-effect transistors, and a microstrip bandpass filter was constructed. The possibility of autonomous generation of a UWB chaotic microwave signal with a central frequency of 3 GHz and a total power of about 4 W in a frequency band exceeding 30% was demonstrated. The proposed chaos generator is characterized by a fairly high efficiency of about 20%.     

Design and evaluation of a feedback based phased array system for ultrasound surgery

A driving system has been designed for phased array ultrasound applicators. The system is designed to-operate in the bandwidth 1.2 to 1.8 MHz, with independent channel power control up to 60 W (8 bit resolution) for each array element. To reduce power variation between elements, the system utilizes switching regulators in a feedback loop to automatically adjust the DC supply of a class D/E power converter. This feedback reduces the RF electrical power variation from 20% to 1% into a 16 element array. DC-to-RF efficiencies close to 70% for all power levels eliminates the need for large heat sinks. In addition to power control, each channel may be phase shifted 360 degrees with a minimum of 8 bit resolution. To ensure proper operation while driving ultrasound arrays with varying element sizes, each RF driving channel implements phase feedback such that proper phase of the driving signal is produced either at the amplifier output before the matching circuitry or after the matching circuitry at the transducer face. This feedback has been experimentally shown to increase the focal intensities by 20 to 25% of two tested phased arrays without array calibration using a hydrophone.     

Generalized formula for continuous-wave end-pumped Yb-doped material amplifier gain and laser output power in various pumping configurations

We present a general formula fitted for computing the amplification and laser output power in a Yb-doped material under various quasi-end-pumping configurations. These configurations include single pass pumping, backreflection pumping in which the pump is reflected by a mirror set on the rear face of the amplifier medium, contrapropagation pumping where two pump beams are launched on both sides of the amplifier and, for every configuration, regenerative pumping in which the transmitted or reflected pump beam is recycled using the proper apparatus. We show that, with regenerative pumping, the efficiency is drastically improved and the optimum amplifier length leading to the maximum laser output power is shorter compared with the one obtained with conventional pumping. In this model, we do not take temperature effect into account.     

Highly efficient <Emphasis Type="Italic">X</Emphasis>-range AlGaN/GaN power amplifier

The development of microwave power amplifiers (PAs) based on transistors with an AlGaN/GaN heterojunction are discussed in terms of the possible enhancement of their efficiency. The main focus is on the synthesis of the transforming circuits, which ensure the reactive load at the second- and third-harmonic frequencies and complex impedance at the fundamental frequency. This makes it possible to optimize the complex operation mode of a PA; i.e., to reduce the scattering power and enhance the efficiency. A microwave PA based on the Schottky-barrier-gate field-effect transistor with 80 electrodes based on the GaN pHEMT transistor with a gate length of 0.25 nm and a gate width of 125 nm is experimentally investigated. The amplifier has a pulse output power of 35 W and a power-added efficiency of at least 50% at a working frequency of 9 GHz.     

Measurement and control of current/voltage waveforms of microwavetransistors using a harmonic load-pull system for the optimum design ofhigh efficiency power amplifiers

One of the most important requirements that RF and microwave power amplifiers designed for radiocommunication systems must meet is an optimum power added efficiency (PAE) or an optimal combination of PAE and linearity. A harmonic active load-pull system which allows the control of the first three harmonic frequencies of the signal coming out of the transistor under test is a very useful tool to aid in designing optimized power amplifiers. In this paper, we present an active load-pull system coupled to a vectorial “nonlinear network” analyzer. For the first time, optimized current/voltage waveforms for maximum PAE of microwave field effect transistors (FET's) have been measured. They confirm the theory on high efficiency microwave power amplifiers. The proposed load-pull setup is based on the use of three separated active loops to synthesize load impedances at harmonics. The measurement of absolute complex power waves is performed with a broadband data acquisition unit. A specific phase calibration of the set-up allows the determination of the phase relationships between harmonic components. Therefore, voltage and current waveforms can be extracted. The measurement results of a 600 gate periphery GaAs FET (Thomson Foundry) exhibiting a PAE of 84% at 1.8 GHz are given. Such results were obtained by optimizing the load impedances at the first three harmonic components of the signal coming out of the transistor. Optimum conditions correspond to a class F operation mode of the FET (i.e., square wave output voltage and pulse shaped output current). A comparison between measured and simulated current/voltage waveforms is also presented     

D类音频功率放大器的关键技术

随着移动音频设备的迅速发展,传统的模拟线性放大器已不能满足大功率输出同时发热量少的要求,而D类放大器能克服以上缺点,但其引入的失真通常大于线性放大器,研究适合的控制方法以改善D类放大器的保真度,是近年来声学技术和音频功率放大领域研究的热点。本文除了介绍D类放大器的基本原理之外,还着重分析了几种新型的关键控制技术以及元器件选择、电磁兼容、电路板布局方面需要重视的一些问题。     

Kilohertz femtosecond UV-pumped visible beta-barium borate and lithium triborate optical parametric generator and amplifier

We demonstrate optical parametric generation and amplification of femtosecond pulses in the entire visible range using type-I phase-matched beta-barium borate and lithium triborate crystals pumped by the frequency-doubled output of a Ti:sapphire regenerative amplifier at 395 nm. The output is tunable from 470 to 770 nm with a pulse width of ~170 fs at a repetition rate of 1 kHz and a maximum output energy of ~1.1 muJ/pulse. The visible optical parametric amplifier output was then frequency doubled and sum frequency mixed with the fundamental output of Ti:sapphire at 790 nm to produce UV pulses with a conversion efficiency of greater than 25%. The second harmonic generated UV pulses are tunable from 240 to 380 nm with a maximum pulse energy of ~260 nJ/pulse.