A high efficiency 3–7 GHz class AB CMOS power amplifier for WBAN applications

The design of 3-7 GHz class AB two stages power amplifier (PA) for wireless body area network (WBAN) applications in TSMC 0.18 μm is presented. Source and Load-pull contours are employed in order to maximize power added efficiency. The post-layout simulation results of the proposed UWB-PA indicated that the power gain (S21) is 12 dB ± 0.8; the input return loss (S11) and the output return loss (S22) are less than -10 dB and -11 dB respectively over the frequency range from 3 GHz to 7 GHz. In addition, The PA achieved maximum power added efficiency (PAE) of 38.5% at 5 GHz and an output 1-dB compression of 7.21 dBm at the same frequency. Moreover, a group delay variation of ± 32.5 ps was achieved through the frequency band of interest.