A fully integrated CMOS RF power amplifier with tunable matching network for GSM/EDGE dual-mode application

A fully integrated power amplifier operating at switching and linear mode is implemented using 0.18-µm CMOS technology. To maximize performance for both operation modes, the fundamental load impedances are optimized with a variable capacitor for GSM and EDGE application. For GSM application, 32 dBm of the output power with 45 % of the drain efficiency is achieved at 1.76 GHz. With EDGE modulation signal at 1.76 GHz, error vector magnitude (EVM) has an RMS value of less than 5 % up to 27.5 dBm of the output power, and 28.1 % of modulated PAE is achieved at this power. The output spectrum is confined within the inside of mask up to 27.5 dBm of the output power.