Wideband Code-division Multiple-access Applications Research Articles

A Quadratic-Interpolated LUT-Based Digital Predistortion Technique for Cellular Power Amplifiers

Baseband digital predistortion (DPD) is an efficient and low-cost method for linearizing a power amplifier (PA) in a wireless system using a modulation scheme with nonconstant envelope. The polynomial and the lookup table (LUT) predistortion schemes are two commonly used approaches. Both approaches require time to find the inverse characteristics of the PA to be predistorted. However, for DPD to be actually implemented in real-world scenarios, fast convergence is highly desirable. A low-complexity joint-polynomial/LUT predistortion PA linearizer is proposed to obtain fast linearization. The algorithm utilizes quadratic interpolation of the LUT, which reduces the required LUT size and hence reduces convergence time without degradation of linearity. Simulation result shows that the proposed method can achieve up to 500% improvement in convergence speed compared with the conventional linear interpolation approach for the wideband code-division multiple access application.

A Multimode/Multiband Envelope Tracking Transmitter With Broadband Saturated Amplifier

A multimode/multiband envelope tracking (ET) transmitter consisting of a hybrid switching amplifier (HSA) and a broadband saturated power amplifier (PA) is developed for operation across 1.3 to 2.7 GHz. For the various standard signals with different bandwidth (BW) and peak-to-average power ratio, the HSA efficiently provides supply signals to the PA by changing the reference value of the hysteresis comparator. The saturated amplifier employs the nonlinear output capacitor to shape the voltage waveform, resulting in the half-sinusoidal or rectangular waveform. Since the nonlinear capacitor generates large out-of-phased second harmonic component with small higher order harmonics, the voltage shaping is mainly carried out by the capacitor and slightly supported by the harmonic loading circuit. Thus, with the harmonic load higher than that of output capacitor, the saturated amplifier can operate with high efficiency. This characteristic enables the saturated PA to operate with broadband characteristic and high efficiency because the design is mainly focused on the fundamental matching problem while the harmonics can be easily kept out of a low efficiency region through the subsequent optimization of the matching circuit. The broadband saturated PA is implemented based on load/source-pull methodology. The broadband matching networks for the high efficiency are synthesized using the simplified real frequency technique. For the BW from 1.3 to 2.7 GHz (70% fractional BW), the measured output power, drain efficiency, and power-added efficiency (PAE) performances are between 39.8-42.0 dBm, 55.8-69.7%, and 51.2-65.3%, respectively. The multimode/multiband ET transmitter with the designed broadband saturated PA is demonstrated at 1.8425-GHz long-term evolution (LTE), 2.14-GHz wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA), and 2.6-GHz mobile world wide interoperability for microwave access (m-WiMAX) applications. This transmitter delivers a PAE of 32.16, 37.24, and 28.75% for LTE, WCDMA, and m-WiMAX applications.

Highly Efficient Doherty Amplifier Based on Class-E Topology for WCDMA Applications

This letter reports a high-efficiency gallium nitride (GaN) high-electron mobility transistor (HEMT) Doherty power amplifier (DPA) based on the class-E topology for wideband code-division multiple-access (WCDMA) applications. The class-E topology is employed as the carrier and peaking cells of the Doherty configuration. For validations, the proposed DPA is designed and implemented with 25-W GaN HEMTs at 2.14 GHz. For the proposed DPA, the power-added efficiency (PAE) and drain efficiency of 56.1% and 61.2% are achieved at 40 dBm (6-dB backoff power from Psat) for a continuous wave. For a 1-carrier WCDMA signal, the PAE of 44.8% is obtained with an adjacent channel leakage ratio (ACLR) of -31 dBc at 37 dBm, which is an 8.9% improvement over the conventional DPA with an ACLR of -36.4 dBc.

Linearity‐optimized GaN HEMT Doherty amplifiers using derivative superposition technique for WCDMA applications

AbstractGallium nitride (GaN) high‐electron mobility transistor (HEMT) Doherty amplifiers with the optimized linearity for wide‐band code division multiple access (WCDMA) applications are represented. At a 7‐dB back‐off output power, the measured single‐carrier WCDMA results show two‐way and three‐way GaN HEMT Doherty amplifiers with an adjacent channel leakage ratio (ACLR) of −43.2 and −48.2 dBc at ±2.5 MHz offset frequency with a drain efficiency of 43.1% and 30.9%, respectively. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 50: 701–705, 2008; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.23181

Highly Linear Predistortion Power Amplifiers With Phase-Controlled Error Generator

A simple predistortion technique to cancel the fifth-order intermodulation (IM5) as well as third-order intermodulation (IM3) components using a third-order predistorter (PD) is represented. The IM3 and IM5 components are cancelled out simultaneously by their same magnitude and phase difference in the PD and power amplifier (PA). Moreover, this phase difference is controlled by using the phase-controlled error generator in the PD. For experimental verification, a third-order PD has been implemented and tested in a 30-W class-AB PA at the wide-band code division multiple access (WCDMA) band of 2.11-2.17GHz. Two-tone test results show that significant cancellation of the IM3 and IM5 components can be obtained. For a four-carrier WCDMA application, significant adjacent channel leakage ratio improvement is achieved over a wide range of output power levels

Low ACPR Characteristics for WCDMA Applications of SiGe:C HBT Devices with Small Emitter Capacitance

We present C-doped SiGe (SiGe:C) heterojunction bipolar transistor (HBT) devices that exhibit highly efficient and linear power characteristics comparable to those of GaAs HBTs under wide-band code-division multiple-access (WCDMA) modulation. Our devices have a novel resistor inserted in their base bias current pass, which is designed to short-circuits DC components of the base current and conducts only envelope frequency signals. The impurity concentration at their emitter-base junctions is reduced by the effect of C doping suppressing B diffusion, and the emitter capacitance is decreased to half that of conventional SiGe HBTs as the result. The combination of these two modifications has significantly reduced the adjacent channel power leakage ratio (ACPR), and the idle current, without degrading power-added-efficiency (PAE). An optimized device with a total emitter area of 3390 μm 2 exhibited 48% PAE and 27.4-dBm output power with an ACPR of less than -40 dBc at an idle current of 20 mA under WCDMA modulation at 1.95 GHz and 3.4-V bias voltage.

Analysis and design of a high-efficiency multistage Doherty power amplifier for wireless communications

A comprehensive analysis of a multistage Doherty amplifier, which can be used to achieve higher efficiency at a lower output power level compared to the classical Doherty amplifier, is presented. Generalized design equations that explain the operation of a three-stage Doherty amplifier, which can be easily extended to an N-stage Doherty amplifier, are derived. In addition, the optimum device periphery, which minimizes AM-AM distortion for perfect Doherty amplifier operation, is analyzed. For the first time, a multistage Doherty power amplifier that meets wide-band code-division multiple-access (WCDMA) requirements is demonstrated. The designed power amplifier exhibits a power-added efficiency (PAE) of 42% at 6-dB output power backoff and 27% at 12-dB output power backoff. These PAEs are more than 2/spl times/ and 7/spl times/ better, respectively, than that of a single-stage linear power amplifier at the same output power backoff levels. The power amplifier is capable of delivering up to 33 dBm of output power, and has a maximum adjacent channel power leakage ratio of -35 and -47 dBc at 5- and 10-MHz offset, respectively. To the best of the authors' knowledge, these represent the best reported results of a Doherty amplifier for WCDMA application in the 1.95-GHz band to date.

An adaptive predistortion RF power amplifier with a spectrum monitor for multicarrier WCDMA applications

This paper presents an adaptive predistortion RF power amplifier for repeater systems with a spectrum monitor. For adaptive control of cancellation, we implement a spectrum monitor that improves the adjacent channel leakage ratio (ACLR) characteristics of the power amplifier by analyzing the output spectrums of RF power amplifiers directly and simultaneously. For experimental validation, we also implement a class-AB RF power amplifier that adopts a predistortion linearizer with the spectrum monitor and measure the characteristics for the wide-band code division multiple access (WCDMA) band. With an optimum gate bias voltage of the power amplifier, ACLRs of 22 and 20.5 dB are improved for the cases of one- and four-carrier WCDMA applications, respectively. The predistortion power amplifier with the spectrum monitor delivers a P <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">out</sub> of 37.5 dBm with an ACLR of -45 dBc for four-carrier WCDMA applications. Furthermore, excellent ACLR characteristics are consistently maintained with the minimization algorithm by adaptively controlling the vector modulator in the predistorter under various environments that include varying input power levels, temperatures, and operating frequencies

Linearised InGaP/GaAs HBT MMIC power amplifierwith active bias circuit for W-CDMA application

A high linearity InGaP/GaAs heterojunction bipolar transistor (HBT) monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) power amplifier is demonstrated using a new structure for a bias circuit for wideband-code division multiple access (W-CDMA) application. A one shunt capacitor is added to a novel active bias circuit and acts as a lineariser improving input P1dB of 16 dB and phase distortion of 5.1° for the hybrid phase shift keying (HPSK) modulated signal at the 28 dBm output power; the lineariser showing no significant increase of signal loss and chip area. The two-stage HBT MMIC amplifier exhibits a power-added efficiency (PAE) of 37%, a linear power gain of 24.5 dB, and an output power of 28 dBm with an adjacent channel power ratio (ACPR) of –45 dBc, under a 3 V operation voltage.