Challenges in 100W CW UHF SSPA for communication payloads

A 100W CW UHF band SSPA has been developed and qualified for communication payloads in geostationary satellites. The design is based MOSFET devices in push-pull configuration. The Solid State Power amplifier (SSPA) is capable of operating in multi-carrier operation with 3rd Order Inter-Modulation Distortion (IMD) better than 21dBc. The SSPA provides 100W output power with DC power consumption of 320 watts. The design is a four module approach with High power Amplifier designed as balanced amplifier configuration and operating at 54% Power Added Efficiency. A high efficiency 400W Electronic Power Conditioner (EPC) has also been designed and qualified for the SSPA.