Design of a High Linearity 6-GHz Class-F Radio Frequency Power Amplifier

By Abdulkareem Mokif Obais
Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Babylon, Babylon, Iraq

Abstract:
In this study, a high linearity class-F RF power amplifier is introduced. It is designed to operate at a
frequency of 6 GHz with a bandwidth of 400MHz. The amplifier mixes between the characteristics of conventional
switch mode class-F and class B amplifiers. It is biased at very low quiescent power, thus it dissipates negligible DC
power in the absence of RF excitation. This makes it suitable for handset applications. The amplifier is designed and
tested on Microwave Office Environments. It showed linear input/output characteristics for an input RF power range
of -20 to 5d Bm. The amplifier collector efficiency is 80%, which is greater than that of ideal class-B power
amplifier. In addition, it is sensitive to amplify low level RF signals, therefore it needs no preamplifier.

Keywords: Amplifier linearization, class-F amplifier, RF Power amplifier, switching amplifier