A GaN MMIC Inverse Class-F Power Amplifier Using Co-Designed Bias Network and LC Resonator

This paper proposed a novel methodology to design compact and fully integrated inverse class-F (class-F^-1) power amplifier (PA). In this method, a bias network (BN) is utilized to provide alternated open-circuit and short-circuit harmonic impedances and assist with fundamental matching. Then, a matching network (MN) formed by a parallel LC resonator is adopted to achieve isolation at 2nd harmonic and simultaneously help with impedance transformation at fundamental frequency. To validate the proposed method, a high efficiency class-F^-1 PA operating at 5.8 GHz is designed using a commercial 0.25 μm GaN-on-SiC technology. Simulation results indicate that the proposed class-F^-1 PA can provide a peak power-added efficiency (PAE) of 71% at saturation output power of 36.5 dBm.