CDMA handset power amplifier with a switched output matching circuit for low/high power mode operations

This paper presents a switched output matching circuit for low/high power modes using a novel structure switch. By adjusting the output matching circuit for the power levels, the efficiency at a low-power region is improved significantly without compromising linearity and efficiency at a high-power region. This switched power amplifier provides 13% power-added efficiency (PAE) with adjacent-channel-power-ratio (ACPR) less than -48 dBc at an output power level of 16 dBm and 41% PAE with ACPR less than -43 dBc at 28 dBm.