Fully Integrated Reconfigurable MASMOS Power Amplifier for LTE Applications

In this paper, a fully integrated reconfigurable power amplifier (PA) intended for long-term evolution (LTE) applications is introduced. Its reconfigurable design provides versatility to comply with various applicative conditions. The proposed design is based on MASMOS transistor providing up to 32.7 dBm of saturated output power (PSAT) in LTE-band VII, while allowing a good tradeoff between linearity and power consumption. An analysis of the output combining transformer dimensioning is presented to optimize performances. Small signal and large signal post-layout results are reported for three operating modes: high performance (mode 1), low consumption (mode 2) and high linearity (mode 3). In its high linearity mode, providing the best tradeoff between output power and quiescent consumption, the PA achieves 31.6 dBm of 1-dB compression point (P1dB), at only 0.9 dB back-off from the PSAT. The PA is presently in fabrication. It is believed by the authors to be used in applications requiring high performance and adaptability to varying conditions, especially for the internet of things (IoT).