Next Generation Amplifier Technology
Linear power amplifiers have been a requirement of many modulation schemes from the very start of wireless technology. No more so than now with the advent of 3G, OFDM and the plethora of higher order modulation schemes proposed for standards like 802.16.
Many hardware methods exist to improve the linearity of RF Power Amplifiers (PA) and this technology is continuously evolving. Only occasionally, however, does a new fundamental materials technology appear with the potential for making a step change in amplifier performance. Gallium Nitride (GaN) is such a material and, with its much higher junction temperatures and enhanced linearity characteristics, it has the potential to increase the efficiency of power amplifiers through simple device replacement. To demonstrate this possibility, our client asked us to design a demonstrator PA that would illustrate these enhanced operating characteristics.
From our existing experience of PA design we were able to offer our client a demonstration system that would allow a desktop comparison of the GaN devices against a more conventional RF power transistor technology.
A design was rapidly completed in a form that allowed the client to use the proven technology in their product roadmap.