A fully integrated high efficiency SiGe HBT class F power amplifier at 2.2 GHz

This paper presents a fully integrated high efficiency SiGe HBT class F power amplifier (PA). A maximum on-chip power added efficiency (PAE) of 25 % has been measured, which at 2.2 GHz and a supply voltage of 1.3 V, is to the forefront of fully integrated HBT class F power amplifier design. The PA is suitable for applications that include DECT and GSM which employ the constant envelope modulation scheme, GMSK. The power amplifier was fabricated using an advanced 0.18 um BiCMOS process [J. Kirchgessner et al., September 2001].