Abstract
In this paper, the effect of emitter ballast on the ruggedness of RF power amplifiers is investigated. Silicon bipolar 1.8-GHz power amplifiers based on different ballasted transistors have been integrated and tested under load mismatch conditions. A ballasted device with 25-mV emitter voltage drop achieves the optimum trade-off between ruggedness and performance. The power amplifier based on this device is able to tolerate a 20:1 load standing-wave ratio up to a 5.8-V supply voltage. It delivers a 33.4-dBm saturated output power with 51% maximum power-added efficiency at a nominal 3.5-V supply voltage.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have