Load/Source-Pull Evaluation of Modulated Performance in GaAs HBT Power Cells for WiFi-6

This work establishes a methodology based on continuous-wave load-pull data in order to estimate modulated figures of merit for radio-frequency transistors. By automatically accounting for source termination effects without any measurement overhead, the technique allows to fully explore the intrinsic trade-offs between linearity, gain, output power and power added efficiency. The approach is used to experimentally analyze three different layouts of gallium arsenide (GaAs) Heterojunction Bipolar Transistor (HBT) power cells for Wi-Fi 6 applications.