8-12GHz Pre-matched Load Modulation Balanced Power Amplifier

A pre-matched load modulated balanced amplifier (LMBA) operating at 8-12GHz is presented. In the scenario of signal transmission with a large peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR), the efficiency performance of a power amplifier (PA) will degrade sharply at the power back-off (PBO) region. Hence, the active load modulation is used to improve the efficiency at 6-dB PBO. A prototype of LMBA MMIC was designed and simulated in the 0.25μm GaN HEMT process. The results demonstrate a peak output power of 43.1dBm over 8-12GHz, with drain efficiency (DE) of 52%-57%. Moreover, the DE is 41%- 44% at 6-dB PBO, achieving 12%-16% DE enhancement over an idealistic Class-B PA.