Design of a multi‐octave high‐efficiency power amplifier employing a modified continuous class‐GF mode

Abstract

This paper introduces a modified continuous mode class‐GF power amplifier (PA) incorporating a phase shift parameter to modify the drain voltage waveform. This modification significantly boosts the overlap area between the fundamental impedance and the second harmonic impedance, thereby providing increased flexibility in designing a broadband matching network. Additionally, a straightforward modified coupler network is proposed to effectively accommodate the expanded impedance design space. Experimental validation was conducted with a PA operating within the frequency range of 0.5–3.5 GHz. The results affirm the efficacy of the proposed approach, with the saturated output power ranging from 40.0 to 42.5 dBm, accompanied by a gain exceeding 10 dB. Furthermore, a remarkable drain efficiency ranging from 59% to 76.2% is achieved within the targeted frequency band.