A highly extended high-efficiency range Doherty power amplifier for high PAPR communication signals

Abstract

In this paper, design, simulation and fabrication of a new highly extended high-efficiency range Doherty power amplifier (DPA) for high peak to average power ratio (PAPR) communication signals were presented with a main and only a single auxiliary amplifier. In order to extend the output high-efficiency range, it employed non-equal cells as main and auxiliary amplifiers in the complex combining load (CCL) methodology. As a new method, a new design parameter ( $$\gamma$$ ) was added to the conventional complex combining load method. The effect of the new added design parameter on extension of output back-off (OBO) were analyzed and formulated. Also, to verify the proposed methodology, a DPA with 12 dB of OBO was designed, simulated and fabricated for WCDMA applications. Large signal continuous wave measurement results show the power gain of 11 dB with the drain efficiency of 53% at 12 dB of OBO. Two-tone test exhibits the third-order intermodulation distortion lower than − 34 dBc. Modulated wave simulations show over 51% of average drain efficiency and lower than − 31 dBc of adjacent channel leakage power ratio at output power level of 31.5 dBm.