class-E Power Amplifier Research Articles

A Design Review for Biomedical Wireless Power Transfer Systems with a Three-Coil Inductive Link through a Case Study for NICU Applications

This paper outlines a design approach for biomedical wireless power transfer systems with a focus on three-coil inductive links for neonatal intensive care unit applications. The relevant literature has been explored to support the design approach, equations, simulation results, and the process of experimental analysis. The paper begins with a brief overview of various power amplifier classes, followed by an in-depth examination of the most common power amplifiers used in biomedical wireless power transfer systems. Among the traditional linear and switching amplifier classes, class-D and class-E switching amplifiers are highlighted for their enhanced efficiency and straightforward implementation in biomedical contexts. The impact of load variation on these systems is also discussed. This paper then explores the basic concepts and essential equations governing inductive links, comparing two-coil and multi-coil configurations. In the following, the paper discusses foundational coil parameters and provides theoretical and experimental analysis of both two-coil and multi-coil inductive links through step-by-step measurement techniques using lab equipment and addressing the relevant challenges. Finally, a case study for neonatal intensive care unit applications is presented, showcasing a wireless power transfer system operating at 13.56 MHz for powering a wearable device on a patient lying on a mattress. An inductive link with a transmitter coil embedded in a mattress is designed to supply power to a load at distances ranging from 4 cm to 12 cm, simulating the mattress-to-chest distance of an infant. the experimental results of a three-coil inductive link equipped with a Class-E power amplifier are reported, demonstrating power transfer efficiency ranging from 75% to 25% and power delivery to a 500 Ω-load varying from 340 mW to 25 mW over various distances.

Design and Analysis of CPT System With Wide-Range ZVS and Constant Current Charging Operation Using 6.78 MHz Class-E Power Amplifier

Design and Analysis of CPT System With Wide-Range ZVS and Constant Current Charging Operation Using 6.78 MHz Class-E Power Amplifier

High-Performance Wireless Power and Data Transmission System for Medical Implant Devices Using ASK Modulation

Wireless power and data transmission (WPDT) solutions for medical implants are highly desired. However, achieving a high-power transmission efficiency and data rate simultaneously over an inductive link remains a significant challenge. This paper presents an innovative WPDT circuit that incorporates additional MOSFETs with an inductor in a Class-E power amplifier (PA), achieving amplitude-shift keying (ASK) modulation to address this issue. Firstly, the efficiency of the inductive power transmission link and Class-E PA was analyzed, providing design insights. Then, leveraging the insights, the proposed circuit was designed in such a way that it could effectively switch between two load networks to maintain high transfer efficiency for ASK modulation. Based on the load networks, the relationship between introducing the inductor’s value and the data modulation index (MI) was derived to help achieve the desired high-power transmission efficiency. Additionally, the design and calculation of the proposed circuit are also presented. Finally, the proposed circuit was validated through simulations and experiments, demonstrating a power delivery to a load of 84.1 mW with a power transmission efficiency of 70.8% at a data rate and carrier frequency of 3 Mbps and 16 MHz, respectively. Furthermore, the bit error rate (BER) is less than 10−6 with an MI of 10%.

Design of a hybrid continuous mode broadband high efficiency power amplifier based on reconfigurable devices

AbstractThis letter presents a design method of resistance reactance hybrid continuous power amplifier based on reconfigurable devices and CG2H40010F. The power amplifier combines resistive‐reactive inverse F‐class power amplifier (RRIFPA), resistive‐reactive J‐class power amplifier (RRJPA), and resistive‐reactive F class power amplifier (RRFPA). We utilize the principle of low‐pass filters to control the impedance of multi‐frequency harmonics, and use the reconfigurable device SMP1345‐079LF to expand the bandwidth of the power amplifier. This article designs and produces a 1–4 GHz broadband power amplifier. The simulation and measurement results show that within the entire frequency range of 1–4 GHz, the Drain efficiency is between 53.6 and 72.1, the output power is between 40.1 and 42.6 dBm, the gain is between 10.1 and 12.6 dB, and the relative bandwidth is up to 120.

High efficiency wideband continuous class power amplifier design based on reflection coefficient circle impedance area optimization

High efficiency wideband continuous class power amplifier design based on reflection coefficient circle impedance area optimization

Optimizing Power Losses and Efficiency of Broadband Parallel-Circuit Class-E Power Amplifier

Optimizing Power Losses and Efficiency of Broadband Parallel-Circuit Class-E Power Amplifier

A 55 nm CMOS RF Transmitter Front-End with an Active Mixer and a Class-E Power Amplifier for 433 MHz ISM Band Applications

In order to meet the increasing demands of wireless communication for ISM bands, a 433 MHz transmitter RF front-end is designed using a 55 nm low-power CMOS technology. The circuits consist of an active mixer, a driver amplifier and a class-E power amplifier (PA). A double-balanced Gilbert active mixer is designed to realize binary phase-shift keying (BPSK) modulation. The driver is used to preamplify the modulated RF signals. The class-E PA adopts a parallel four-branch cascode structure to control the output power level. The load network of the PA is implemented through an off-chip circuit, in which a finite DC-feed inductance load network is selected to reduce the power loss. The mixer and driver are designed with a 1.2 V supply voltage, while the PA is operated at a 1.8 V supply voltage. The area of the chip is 0.206 mm × 0.089 mm, and the measured results show that it achieves a maximum output power of 2.7 dBm, with a total power consumption of 6.72 mW. At a drain efficiency (DE) of 34.5%, an S22 less than −10 dB over the frequency ranges from 393.79 MHz to 455.70 MHz can be measured for the PA. With 192 kbps BPSK data modulated at 433 MHz, the measured EVM is about 0.83% rms.

An efficient microwave outphasing transmitter based on class-E power amplifiers

This article presents two alternative topologies combining lumped and distributed elements for designing class-E power amplifiers (PAs) for the 3.5 GHz frequency band, that differ in their approach to terminating the second harmonic. The first design employs a transmission line with a capacitor to create a short-circuit, while the second design uses a simple stub. The first design outperforms the second one in terms of efficiency enhancement. Accordingly, an outphasing transmitter based on a surface mount hybrid coupler combiner is designed using the first topology, achieving peak value results of 78% drain efficiency and 44.3 dBm output power. At a 6 dB back-off point, the simulation results show that the proposed architecture achieves 67.6% drain efficiency.

Design Procedure for a High-Efficiency Class-E/F3 Power Amplifier

The switch voltage stress in a Class-E power amplifier (PA) is larger than that in any other switching PAs. A series resonant filter is added across the switch to filter out the third harmonic of the switch voltage and reduce the switch voltage stress. The new circuit is usually called a Class-E/F <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">3</sub> PA. The output power, the efficiency, and the component values of a Class-E/F <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">3</sub> PA can be <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">sensiti</b> ve to the design of the harmonic filter. In this article, we perform a sensitivity analysis on Class-E/F <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">3</sub> PA and provide guideline to design a Class-E/F <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">3</sub> PA which is robust against variations in the harmonic filter components. We also provide new design equations to calculate the component values. To validate the proposed design guidelines and equations, a prototype circuit was designed and implemented. At <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">V</i> <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">DD</sub> = 4.5 V, the measured output power, the efficiency, and the switching frequency of the prototype PA were 0.96 W, 94.2%, and 800 kHz, respectively.

Analysis and Design of a Duty-Cycle-Controlled Amplitude Shift Keying Class-E Power Amplifier

This paper presents a method for implementing amplitude modulation in class-E power amplifiers (PA). The output voltage amplitude of a class-E PA is proportional to the input signal duty cycle. The proposed method exploits this feature in order to implement amplitude shift keying (ASK) modulation in the standard class-E power amplifier. The conditions for the optimum operation of a class-E PA while using two different input duty cycles are analyzed. The desired conditions are derived at the same time to reduce differences between optimum circuit elements while using different input duty cycles. The resulting class-E PA satisfies both zero voltage switching (ZVS) and zero derivatives of voltage at switching (ZDVS) conditions by changing only one capacitor. This method neither degrades the efficiency nor needs many changes in circuit components. A step-by-step design procedure based on the proposed method is introduced. The simulations and measurement results verify the accuracy of the proposed method. The fabricated PA is designed to operate at 1MHz frequency with V <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">DD</sub> = 2V and 50Ω load. The input duty cycle is changed from 25% to 49%, resulting in output amplitudes of 1.2Vpp and 3.68Vpp, and efficiencies of 88% and 94%, respectively.

A continuous Class‐EF power amplifier based on the general continuous mode design theory

SummaryContinuous mode provides better bandwidth performance and constant efficiency by offering greater design flexibility in fundamental and harmonics. However, this mode is mainly applicable to limited classes of power amplifiers (PAs) (such as Class‐F, Class‐J, and their derived types). In view of this problem, this paper proposes a general design theory for high‐efficiency broadband continuous PAs, which can easily extend any waveform of PAs to obtain the continuous impedance space. In theoretical analysis, first, the high‐efficiency equations are analyzed from the perspective of frequency domain. Furthermore, combining time domain constraints, a general continuous mode analysis and solution theory is presented. The theory is applied to the bandwidth expansion of Class‐EF PAs, resulting in a new continuous Class‐EF (C‐EF) mode that maintains constant efficiency while offering greater broadband design freedom. The proposed theory is verified by fabricating a C‐EF PA using GaN HEMT CGH40010F, which demonstrated output power (Pout) ranging from 39.5 to 41.2 dBm and drain efficiency (DE) of 69.5% to 79.2% in the frequency range of 2.5–3.6 GHz.

An Inverse Class-E Power Amplifier for Ultrasound Transducer.

An inverse Class-E power amplifier was designed for an ultrasound transducer. The proposed inverse Class-E power amplifier can be useful because of the low series inductance values used in the output matching network that helps to reduce signal distortions. Therefore, a newly designed Class-E power amplifier can obtain a proper echo signal quality. The measured output voltage, voltage gain, voltage gain difference, and power efficiency were 50.1 V, 22.871 dB, 0.932 dB, and 55.342%, respectively. This low voltage difference and relatively high efficiency could verify the capability of the ultrasound transducer. The pulse-echo response experiment using an ultrasound transducer was performed to verify the capability of the proposed inverse Class-E power amplifier. The obtained echo signal amplitude and pulse width were 6.01 mVp-p and 0.81 μs, respectively. The -6 dB bandwidth and center frequencies of the echo signal were 27.25 and 9.82 MHz, respectively. Consequently, the designed Class-E power amplifier did not significantly alter the performance of the center frequency of the ultrasound transducer; therefore, it could be employed particularly in certain ultrasound applications that require high linearity and reasonable power efficiency.

High-Efficiency Moderate-Power Amplifier Using Packaged GaN Transistor With Improved Average PAE and Gain for Batteryless IoT Applications

One of the fundamental problems in power amplifier (PA) design is the mismatch between the optimum loads for maximum output power and maximum efficiency. This work demonstrates that a GaN transistor of choice can reduce such mismatch when operating at the minimum input RF power required ( <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$P_{\text {in}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> ) to obtain its maximum output power. Furthermore, this work investigates the average power-added efficiency (PAE) degradation caused by the baseband terminations for high-efficient switch-mode class-E PAs. Our results show that the average PAE degradation mechanism of class-E PAs is similar to that of class-B ones, but some class-E solutions are more susceptible to the driving signal’s bandwidth. To clarify that, two class-E PAs were implemented using commercial package GaN transistors based on two different modes from the continuum of class-E solutions. Despite being driven by half of <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$P_{\text {in}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> typically employed by designers, the PAs have achieved a gain almost 3 dB higher than the state-of-the-art and excellent efficiency controlling only the second harmonic. Based on the obtained results, the proposed design strategy is believed to have a promising potential for developing high-efficiency simultaneous wireless information and power transmission (SWIPT) base stations for batteryless Internet of Things (IoT).

Efficiency Maximization for Battery-Powered OFDM Transmitter via Amplifier Operating Point Adjustment.

While Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) is a dominating spectrum access technology in modern, wideband access networks, it is important to maximize its transmission efficiency considering the underlying radio front-end characteristics. A practical front-end contains nonlinear components, e.g., a Power Amplifier (PA), resulting in nonlinear distortion being injected into OFDM band deteriorating symbols detection. A PA operating point, defined here by Input Back-Off (IBO), can be adjusted to balance the wanted signal power and nonlinear distortion power. While it is the most common to maximize the spectral efficiency (SE), recently, energy efficiency (EE) maximization gained momentum. However, EE maximization requires, in addition to PA nonlinearity modeling, modeling of the power consumption of the PA and all other transmitter components. While it is commonly overlooked, if a battery is used to power the transmitter, its model should be considered as well. This paper derives mathematical expressions for EE and SE of an OFDM transmitter considering Rapp and soft-limiter models of PA nonlinearity, class A, class B, and perfect PA power consumption models, and two battery models: perfect and worst-case. While closed-form expressions cannot be obtained for most of the derived integrals, numerical methods have been used to obtain the optimal IBO value in each case. The numerical results show, in addition to optimal IBO values, the expected Signal-to-Noise and Distortion Ratios (SNDRs). It is shown that the optimal IBO value changes significantly with the wireless channel properties, utilized hardware architecture, or the utilized optimization goal. As such, the proposed optimization is an important topic for 5G and beyond transmitters.

A Systematic Approach of Generalized Reactance Compensation Technique in Wideband Class-E Power Amplifier for Lower High Frequency (HF) Bands

A Systematic Approach of Generalized Reactance Compensation Technique in Wideband Class-E Power Amplifier for Lower High Frequency (HF) Bands

A New Design Method for Class-E Power Amplifiers Using Artificial Intelligence Modeling for Wireless Power Transfer Applications

This paper presents a new approach to simplify the design of class-E power amplifier (PA) using hybrid artificial neural-optimization network modeling. The class-E PA is designed for wireless power transfer (WPT) applications to be used in biomedical or internet of things (IoT) devices. Artificial neural network (ANN) models are combined with optimization algorithms to support the design of the class-E PA. In several amplifier circuits, the closed form equations cannot be extracted. Hence, the complicated numerical calculations are needed to find the circuit elements values and then to design the amplifier. Therefore, for the first time, ANN modeling is proposed in this paper to predict the values of the circuit elements without using the complex equations. In comparison with the other similar models, high accuracy has been obtained for the proposed model with mean absolute errors (MAEs) of 0.0110 and 0.0099, for train and test results. Moreover, root mean square errors (RMSEs) of 0.0163 and 0.0124 have been achieved for train and test results for the proposed model. Moreover, the best and the worst-case related errors of 0.001 and 0.168 have been obtained, respectively, for the both design examples at different frequencies, which shows high accuracy of the proposed ANN design method. Finally, a design of class-E PA is presented using the circuit elements values that, first, extracted by the analyses, and second, predicted by ANN. The calculated drain efficiencies for the designed class-E amplifiers have been obtained equal to 95.5% and 91.2% by using analyses data and predicted data by proposed ANN, respectively. The comparison between the real and predicted values shows a good agreement.

Enhanced Power Conversion Capability of Class-E Power Amplifiers With GaN HEMT Based on Cross-Quadrant Operation

Class-E power amplifiers are widely used in megahertz frequency power conversion systems due to their high efficiency, which can further be enhanced by virtue of wide-bandgap devices such as GaN high-electron-mobility transistors. Here, a GaN-based cross-quadrant mode Class-E amplifier is proposed, which addresses one of the major challenges for such amplifiers, i.e., to achieve both high power and high efficiency with low-voltage-rating devices. By utilizing the reverse conduction of GaN transistors, a cross-quadrant mode Class-E amplifier with small dc-feed inductance is constructed, whose circuit model is derived by virtue of the Laplace transform technique. We demonstrate an experimental prototype operating at 3.11 MHz with a 100-V GaN transistor, achieving an output power of about 6 W with the efficiency being almost 90% when the input voltage is 10 V and the load resistance is 28 <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mathrm{\Omega }$</tex-math></inline-formula> . Compared with conventional Class-E amplifiers, the power conversion capability of the proposed amplifier is increased up to three times from 0.49 to 1.69 with a slight reduction in efficiency. Such cross-quadrant mode amplifiers can be used to improve the power conversion capability and to reduce the peak switch voltage at the same output power level.

Precise Configuration of Transmission Line Class-E Power Amplifier Operating at GHz Frequency

Power amplifier (PA) is a core part of microwave power transmission (MPT) system. Featuring simple topology and theoretical 100% efficiency, class-E PA is widely discussed both in industry and academia. This article centers around the precise configuration of transmission line class-E PA operating at GHz frequency. Based on the conversion between lumped element topology and transmission line topology of class-E PA, the equal resistance surface-based configuration method is proposed. Specific configuration method for different types of matching network is analyzed according to the corresponding characteristics. Then, an L-type matching network-based class-E PA is designed in detail for the MPT system. Besides, extended application of the proposed method is discussed for different derivate topologies of class-E PA. Finally, a 2.5-GHz/10-W transmission line class-E PA is fabricated in the lab and the proposed configuration method is fully verified with experiments.

Class-E Power Amplifier with Improved PAE Bandwidth Using Double CRLH TL Stub for Harmonic Tuning

Class-E Power Amplifier with Improved PAE Bandwidth Using Double CRLH TL Stub for Harmonic Tuning

High-Efficiency Broadband Class-E PAs for More Than One Octave: Analysis and Design

This article presents a solution based on continuous mode for designing broadband class-E power amplifiers (PAs), which is realized by transmission of the second-harmonic current with appropriate phase to load network of a class-E PAs. This theory allows selecting appropriate second-harmonic impedance causing part of efficiency to be sacrificed to get a bandwidth over one octave. The mathematical formulation for optimum load impedance in main harmonic, second harmonic, output power, drain efficiency (DE), and load quality factor (QL) is developed in this case. Theoretical results are compared with conventional narrowband class-E counterparts. To check the authentication of mathematical analysis and simulation results, a proof-of-concept broadband continuous-mode class-E PAs is fabricated using the CGH40025F transistor. The manufactured PAs show 43-dBm output power, with average DE 70&#x0025; over the 0.6&#x2013;1.8-GHz frequency range. Also, a narrowband conventional class-E PA for frequency range 1.2&#x2013;1.8 GHz with the same transistor as broadband class-E PA is fabricated for better comparison. The output power and average DE of the conventional class-E PA are 42.5 dBm and 80&#x0025;, respectively.