Design and implementation of an inverse class-F power amplifier with 79 % efficiency by using a switch-based active device model

Abstract

This paper presents the design and implementation of an inverse class-F power amplifier using a commercially available GaN 2 W power transistor. A switch-based model for this transistor was implemented in ADS and used to design this high efficiency amplifier. Simulation results with the developed model show drain efficiency of 79%, more than 19 dB of large-signal gain for an output power of greater than 5 W at 1 GHz. These values are confirmed by measurements, showing the usefulness of the switch-based active device model for this type of switching-mode power amplifiers.