Dre sia Design Feature Practical Approach Yields Class C PA Astraightf output matching networ! practical C forward method of developing input and ks can simplify the design of a ‘lass C power amplifier for communications applications from 225 to’ 400 MHz. ES EES FIRAS MOHAMMED AL! The oleic Hibernate ere Liye -Deprinestof ecosiFrjeerio, e-mail: fisengeyahoacom, fiers (PAs) are useful in certain communications bands. Although now integrated into the Advanced Design System (ADS) simalation software from Agilent-FFsof (www.agilent.com), the Touchstone simala- ton software atone time was a powerful ool for developing and optimizing impedance ‘matching networks for such amplifiers. What follows isa design approach to show how to exact the optimum input and ouput large- signal impedances fora selected RE transistor, ‘model their behavior with one-port networks, and then develop matching networks over the desired frequency band for operation atthe 50- ‘ohm system impedance. To confirm the effee tiveness of the approach, a 10-W amplifier was designed and built for 10-dB power gain from 225 to 400 MHz, Designing wideband microwave PAS is challenging. RF power device parameters change with signal level aswell a wit frequency, rr roadband Class € power ampli- | making optimam impedance matching diff cult, There isa broad range of techniques used to represent the behavior ofthe power device. “The more complete the representation, the nore complicated the model usually becomes. “The large-signal charge-control transistor model!” and the modified Ebers-Moll model” ‘were used earlier for modeling RE power tran- sistors, Large-signal S-parameters were also employed with an approximate PA design.* However, because of the difficulty in mea- suring these large-signal S-parameters, the technique was of limited use. Computer sim- ulations were also used to predict the opera- tion of Class C power amplifiers through ‘numerical analysis.° Although chis method can give accurate cesults, the design of Class amplifies using this approach is telious. For- tunately, the development of harmonic balance design approacis in the mid-19705 greatly sim plified the design of nonlinear circuits and large-signal amplifiers.’ The basi limitation ‘of this technique isis complexity and thelarge amount of mathematics needed with the pro- fessional numerical methods required o resolre the circuit, 1. This simple diagram represents an eftecivelmpedance device mode. Because ofthe nonlinear narure of an RF power transistor, full two-part deviee model is not an optimum choice for designing input and output matching net svorks. In this article, one-port ‘impedance models have been ised tocharacterize the optimum load and source terminations of the power device. Optimum load and source large signal impedances 55Save time and money with “ 2s Conres Quick Connect Adapters “= mms oar ceticiency and save ume ‘ent applications by alowing a complete ‘connection fr appro -atoly one tof the (Al s@yahan nas) ; i) : F tale cone a te ane ‘aon Arbor Micigon Cal 724-206-5553 06 (\EROFLEX Mens DTCC Rea REE Pees Scag ee TCs . Tear eautees Ber eh meric Corp m LCR ey Wide temperature range: -55 10 +70°C cb CAP Wireless wen capurirtes.com/KS1216 161 105-499.1808 56 SE! SDesign Feature cc usually specified by RF device data books at several frequencies in the oper ating band of the RF powertransisor, ‘The effective inpuc and ourpur impedances of the RF device ean be represented the complex conjugates ofthese opximum terminations. RF power teansistor el tion can be performed by measuring the device's optimum load and source impedances with the aid of load-pull tuners over the frequency band of inter est” This requires one-port represen: tations to predict the complex conju ‘of these impedances from the lower brand edge (Fy) to the upper band edge (jy) asshown in Fig. 7. this C282, Zr 22" and p=Z"y where Zo isthe ‘optimum load impedance and Z, is the source impedance. Figure 2 shows two possible topologies for the modeled impedance neeworks.” All loses were Jumped ino single resistor, which ter minates an induetive-capacitive (LC) tworport network. ‘An analytic synthesis procedure can te used to realize the one-port nerworks that fr the measured impedance data at both band edges. But instead of per forming this tedious task, simulation sofeware such as Touchstone (now ADS) can be used to optimize the circuit ee ‘ments of the modeling networks to pre dict performance across the full fre- y band of interest ximam available gain will roll offara negativeslopeot 6 dBvoctave ‘with increasing frequency if a transistor is conjugately matched over a broad frequency range. One of the techniques tused to compensate the transistor's power gain variation with frequency is by selectively reflecting some of the powerat lowerfrequencies ofthe band | 2 where the power gain is relatively high. The controlled mismatch imposed in this rechnique will however degradethe input VSWR at lower-band freque ies. The approximate power gain of the RF transistors given by! ® oy OCTOBER 2006 = Microwaves 2B MC"wher fo oscillation and constant related with the slope sof the gain roll-off. is given by: = the maximum frequency of bi _ ls) TOlog? Y= “ he slope in dB/octave. The transmission loss of the match. sag network due tothe input reflection azi-[f, — @) 1e reflection coefficient ar the put To obyain a constant Ga product cross the band of interest, 2.Thela)and b) ___ topologies show two ossibie modeling A networks. cs Gg Bk Gye | SEE EQ. BIN BOX ABOVE “The inpat-matching network can be designed to model Eo. 3 using Touch- ' optimization capabilities. The proposed computer design approach for breadhand Css C PAscan narized by the following sys- tematic procedre: 1. Use thelarge impedances (Zand Zo.) from the device data sheet over the required fre {queney band and fortbedesiredoutpat | power gain, and supply wokage and outps 2. Theuse of mode!- ing software sch 25. Touchstone (now ADS) allows staaightforward approach tothe “vmaves &RF « OCTOBER 2006 development of Impedance match ing natworks.. —! RADIALL COAXIAL SWITCHES atime ig gs dada Beeeseees oon: eee Gs eau Peete riven eae aoe erie LIVE WEB INVENTORY — E-COMMERCE $F 2x Depot.com Inc. T0101 F Bacon Drive Beltsville, MD 20703 Phone 301-595-5395 Fax 301-698-0080 ‘Toll Free 677-RF Depot 37@Design Feature 2. Use numerical interpolation and AvThis chart shows extrapolation techniques to extend the ‘raphicaldesign impedance data sample points. This is opproach tothe useful in determining the device termi- inputmatchingnet: rnal impedances at fy. f,.and fy. Store ‘work for he class these data in an external datafile. amplifier 3, Select the appropriate one-portn work topologies to model the above terminal impedances over the entire band and optimize their element v tes with Touchstone. 4, With che modeling reuts just designe, insert the input and output matching networks between the modeling circuits and the source and load 50-ohm ter ‘minations, respectively Fig.3) Theele ments of the matching networks can have initial estimates from a rough graphical design proved 5, Optimize ing networks to achieve the desired ‘matching at inpucand cuput. Theout putmatching network is designed to spac and output match Dual High Power High Power Combiners Directional Couplers PEC Resulted Freq. Coupling Ine. VSWR Input Freq, loolation insertion Total Input VSWR Range (dB) Loca In/Out Powor PIN Range (08) Leas Power max anne, ebmax mex max Cr max max. gaz OF] GID 101 100w Cuostne aa Bway Fe eT Ok Lo) zeoow cenaexacian fm aon.tcno 25-03 1901204. prensa 2S, SE] G8 LIRA Soom cso-eoasinn MM scozz0 4@ = 05 Ow 1.401 Prz-oasa Oe tO tas] zo0m caosezani” MM i7oozze0 20 04 00m 1.901 PPS AL sino 402i 620 1451 200m Can.te3.asti2® Moo 2 0S —200w 1.201 PRAT ASNIEON Oo et Gao 115) coow Geoseeaavian PIN 250500 20 «03 Wow 1304 ran te eenaaet 20 $031 02) ast ‘oow cyoturaen fmm c00-1000 200.3 10bw 1.301 PRSzets-aomanl $0800 4021 02) 1451 SOW GA0-t05-45114N Away soo100) 5021 020 1181500 20400 29 “ode 1.901 pP4s0.4520N cv reterthan 2.8 tno7o0 25 ‘on 1401 PAPO6-44D ‘alan A sa Comes 2.10020 2501501 Pe-po94ao 1900 2018 Dov 1501 PePtD4AD A 5) o ~ Sy Wa ele Core rmicrowa etek OCP EST Rn 58 0cF 0822006 « Microwaves 2Design Feature achieve conjugate matching and pre- sent impedance Z., to the transiscor’s ‘ouput across the entire frequency hand. ‘Ontheocher hand, the input-matchi network is designed to achieve gai flamess from fy to f.,, Thiscan be done by selective mismatching at lower fre ‘quencies. The input reflection coeffi- cient is evaluated from Eq. 3 at differ- ‘enc sample frequencies and stored at an external data file. The input-matching network is then optimized to model the calculated input reflection coefficient across the entire band. SATCOM & Cellular/PCS RF Test Equipment ea Peete Pree ene independent ch eee err pet cates erento een aM Son TOM Teo NT = TOCO TINE SOM SOT 200M mom 700M Braye fexcsscn SKE fcNGSTODAON [ent 170072300 [eNo-220075700 [eNcanoaTOn Ne Tat Equipment for Wreles Comments 6 Highpoint Drive @ W “Tel (973) 709-0020 © Fax (973) 109-1346 ne, NJO7470 www.dbmeorp.com 6, The elements of the matching net- ‘works are then tuned, for practical pur- poses, with Touchstone’s tuner win- dow while maintaining the desired frequency response. To validate the effectiveness of this procedure, a PA circuit was designed and buik. The Class C PA was designed for 10 W output power from 225 (0 400 MHz with minimum power gain of 10 dB. Class C operation with zero: biased emitter basejunction was adopt- ced since it combines high efficiency and simple construction. A model MRE321 UHP power transistor from Motorola/Eree scale was chosen for good reliability and ruggedness. This transistor can deliver 10 W RE power ‘at 400 MHz and operates from a 28- V power supply. The design of the input and output matching networks begins by caking the large signal input and output impedances (Zj.and Z"ox)from device data shect, and then interpolating these data across the frequency band of ine test (which can he done with Touch stone). The table presents the interpo- lated sample values of these impedances across the hand from 225 MHz to 400 MHz. Figure 4 shows the graphical sign of the inpat-matching network. ‘The input impedance at the center fre ‘quency (312.5 ME) is located at point A. The goal is tomove from point Ato the center of the chart without exceed ing the constant Q circle where -180 Safi Figure 4 shows thatlow quality tor (Q) broadband matching circuits fan be implemented with multiple L Sections. This matching circuit consists of thre lowpass L-type sections anda Shun capacitor (C4) rocompensatethe inductive reactance of inpucimpedance Zz "igure shows the graphical design ofthe output matching network. How ver, this nezwork bas bandpass opel Consiting of two lowpass sections {L5—CS and 1.6 Co) anda bighposs element (C7). The shunt inductor (L4) (cTOBER 2005» Microwaves RF } 60@Design Feature is used to tune out the ouput capacitance of the transistor. “The gain-bandwidth restrictions of the output matching circuit aresimper than tatof the inpur matching circuit because the ‘output impedance leelis high ‘ec in thiscase. The ladder form of thisnetwork is useful in har monic suppression. ‘The computer modeling peo- ‘cedure begins by designing the modeling networks that pre- ict Zn and Zag from f,t0 fy These nerworks are designed and optimized with Touchstone. Figure shows the final “optimized circuit-element values for these networks. ‘The inpat matching network was ‘optimized to presentthe reflection coef- ficient given by Eg. 3 at the input in ‘order to compensate the ~6 dB/octave gain-frequency slope of the MRF321 transistor. The Touchstone circuit file used for optimizing the inputmacching circuit is available upon request from the author. The values of the required input Bretton) input and output large-signal impedances for the MRF321 Ema 0706-j0413 073240046 0,758340505 o.7844}0965 o7g74i1.195 osioyiaza ogs7sjtae4 0.5633i2344 09901)2805 reflection coefficient were saved as an external file (GMRF321.S1P). Two ‘compensating, networks consisting of 17, C8, and RI and L8, C9, and R2 ‘were added in ordes to control the input VSWR across the entire band. On the ‘ther hand, the output matching nework was optimized to present the optimum oad impedance, Zoy, to the transis: tor'scollector over the full band of oper- ation. A compensating network was added in series with L4 to improve the matching requirements Figure shows the final optimized amplifier circuit, This chr shows 2 ¢ TPES | gaphicaldesion eth 2opreachto meout Lie putmaichingnet Ey trovkfr the Case PA. Ea yasorjinisa 12992-)20181 12419419228 nsreie217 11608-17803 113495317328 10819-j16381 10360)15835, 9.910-j18492 Proper construction of the amplif- cer begins by accurately selecting com- ponents forthe matching networks. All ‘components were measured and tuned using an HP 85108 vector network ana- Iyzerfrom Agilent Technologies (wwwaai- lent.com). Trimmer capacitors were vised for tuning purposes, as well as ceramic fxedalue capacitors, All indvc- tors were hand wound using 20 and 22 ‘AWG cnameled wires, The RF chokes used for isolating the DC circuit are of low-Q molded type. “The circat was built on a 10.8 8 «em double-sided printed-circuit board (PCB). The PCB material is epoxy-lass ‘with a thickness of 1.2 mm. Epoxy- lass was selected due to its availabili- tyand low cost. Circuitry wasetched and mounted on the topside, whike the cop- per-cid boom side served asthe ground plane. For good circuit stability, a fer- rite bead was added in series with the base choke t0 prevent low-frequcney oscillations. The circuit was then cased inan 11 %9 ¥ 3-em box to isolate the amplifier from external spurious sig- nals, This box was mounted on a s abl heatsink. BNC connectors were fas- tened at input and output for signal feeding. A feedthrough capacitor was ‘mounted on the box body for DC bias ing, The RE transistor’ stud was tight- ‘ened with the heat sink using 2 suitable nut. Figure 8 shows measured output power as a function of frequency from 225 0 400 MHz The power painis9.5-+ 1 dB. How= ‘ever no empirical attempt was made to adjust this characteristic. Better broadband operation can be accom- OCTOBER 2006 » Microwaves™Design Feature ampliferinputto protectthe driving mplifir from possible reflected power that may result from VSWR degra dation through this process. Within the plished by tuning for equal peaks ac the band edges using the trimmer capacitors. If doing this, a three-port circulator should be placed at the tenth som 15258 Bart L 1 [ " jem Shh [ sant 31 iy o Mout Oh 6. These creat diagrams represent he optimized input and outputmodeling networks. ane asm 04st cant Bsmt OSM OTR Guy lasek tere Mca eae {s20nh eat ose (eaanh ea 22H ros {7 -Thisschematic diagram shows the optimized 25-t0-100-MH4z amplifier circuitry. 8. The output power ota aur S098 arenas ibd ofthe less Campl- ‘ne TASuNcA,| | Mer wes measures | + function offre quency from 22510 beet ‘400m. susie stow i ‘Bid sour Sara SOW oN 30K swr2iomee operating band, it was found thar the second the harmonic level is between 16 and 20 dB below the fundamental signal power. nthe te ape oftokr se bra NSCS 2 Ri Jahren, apd AB. Retvor Mor-tequnoy Ieeiomelo a hoe Cant rho Feb ‘artes ~~ 1 ac Heron “A nonin then of Cap Cane {nape tnveny lie EE our okt Scr, Valse Res Septenibe 167, pp932 “Lira Ligier Chin and 6 Med. Eoin Sgn tog coer re ‘vl, “h computed ofthe Gass Cad ie poe anger et aft Stow Cress SSE Spt fora ppt 0 aki A erg toe ope Sandton CN a8, ho BA 98h op 30 ie VF es nd ste aie Mtptoxh: Ele TarsactonrorEoucaton ve. 3.803, Ragu 963 pp 181 ‘mas ds ak Youn. oo Wtormoreptom Non Spienber 904 pp 15138 TWvTemApet ‘One paring nee roe uel Goenoeeieumenien | 11 GrogeD Windle Detgangteanctacitoun phe S Bomar etaa Wy hoo aves RF = OCTOBER 2006