A high-efficiency power amplifier using GaN HEMTs

This paper reports a high efficiency power amplifier using a gallium nitride high electron mobility transistor(GaN HEMT), which is designed at the L band of 1.5GHz. To improve output power and efficiency by suppressing harmonic powers, input and output matching network using transmission lines are designed. For the center frequency 1.5GHz, the added efficiency (PAE) of 67.43% with a power gain of 13.37dB is achieved at an output power of 46.17dBm. The broadband performance with a power gain over 12dB and PAE over 60% is maintained through 20MHz.