PA Output Power and Efficiency Enhancement Across the 2:1 VSWR Circle using Static Active Load Adjustment

This paper proposes a power amplifier (PA) correction technique to recover from load mismatch. It utilizes a main PA, two auxiliary PAs, and a coupler. By adjusting the input drive levels of the PAs it can recover the output power and to a great extent the efficiency of the main PA even when exposed to 2:1 VSWR mismatch conditions. When connected to 50 Ω loading, only the main PA is active, for impedances below or above 50 Ω, besides the main amplifier, one of the auxiliary PAs is also activated. The power generated by the auxiliary PA adds in phase to the output power of the main PA, as such allowing the output power to be constant at the expense of a minor efficiency penalty.