A 2.4-GHz 24-dBm SOI CMOS power amplifier with on-chip tunable matching network for enhanced efficiency in back-off

Abstract

In this work, the potential of load adaptation for enhanced back-off efficiency in RF power amplifiers (PAs) is investigated through a 0.13-µm silicon-on-insulator (SOI) CMOS fabrication technology. To this aim, the first CMOS PA with fully integrated reconfigurable output matching network is presented. The PA delivers a 24-dBm maximum output power while operating at 2.4 GHz and 2-V supply voltage. A significant efficiency improvement of up to 34% is achieved through load adaptation, peak efficiency being as high as 65%. Linear operation is also demonstrated under two-tone excitation, since a 16-dBm output power is attained while complying with a −40-dBc IM3 specification.