A multi-mode multi-band reconfigurable power amplifier for low band GSM/UMTS handset applications

A practical reconfigurable structure for multi-mode multi-band (MMMB) reconfigurable power amplifier (PA) is proposed for GSM/UMTS handset applications. To overcome not only the frequency difference (MB) but also the power difference (MM) between GSM and UMTS standards, the proposed structure reconfigures the PA core as well as the output matching network. To verify the performance of the proposed structure, a MMMB PA is developed for GSM/EDGE/UMTS low-frequency bands applications. The fabricated MMMB PA showed good RF performance for UMTS as well as GSM/EDGE applications. Efficiency degradation was limited to less than 2% compared to the single-mode single-band PA. Measured RF performance validates the usefulness of the proposed structure for MMMB applications.