Design of 0.8–2.7 GHz High Power Class-F Harmonic-Tuned Power Amplifier with Parasitic Compensation Circuit

Abstract

The design, implementation, and measurements of a high efficiency and high power wideband GaN HEMT power amplifier are presented. Package parasitic effect is reduced significantly by a novel compensation circuit design to improve the accuracy of impedance matching. An improved structure is proposed based on the traditional Class-F structure with all even harmonics and the third harmonic effectively controlled, respectively. Also the stepped-impedance matching method is applied to the third harmonic control network, which has a positive effect on the expansion bandwidth. CGH40025F power transistor is utilized to build the power amplifier working at 0.8 to 2.7 GHz, with the measured saturated output power 20–50 W, drain efficiency 52%–76%, and gain level above 10 dB. The second and the third harmonic suppression levels are maintained at −16 to −36 dBc and −16 to −33 dBc, respectively. The simulation and the measurement results of the proposed power amplifier show good consistency.