A Methodology for Analysis of mm-Wave Transmitter Linearization Trade-offs Under Spectrum Constraints

This paper presents a simple method to estimate the efficiency and modulated RF performance for pre-distortion linearized PAs. The method is based on AM/AM and AM/PM and DC power data obtained from single tone measurements or simulations. This method allows us to investigate the tradeoffs between efficiency, output power, and predistortion complexity in PAs, under spectrum mask requirements. This is particularly important for in mm-wave applications. For demonstration, a 29 GHz GaAs PA has been modeled and used to study how biasing and pre-distortion complexity shape the output in terms of power and efficiency.