High Efficiency, 4 Watt C Band Power Amplifier

This paper describes the design and performances of a high efficiency and high power monolithic C Band amplifier. The power performance on a whole wafer was measured under pulsed drain bias and RF conditions. 16 devices out of 33 exhibit an 3 dB compression output power greater than 36 dBm, with an associated gain of 18 dB and 30% of power added effiency over 4.8 GHz - 6.2 GHz frequency range. The best device demonstrate 37 dBm of output power and 19 dB of associated gain. Drain and gate biases were optimized to improve power added efficiency of these circuits mounted on a test fixture, a P.A.E. of 37% with an associated output power of 35 dBm was achieved.