Network synthesis of power amplifier matching circuits - Standing on the shoulders of giants

Emerging technologies are creating new opportunities for innovative power amplifier design. New materials and new IC process are providing designers with the ability to provide solutions that could not be accomplished in the past. This opens up new avenues in power amplifier (PA) design. The goal of every PA designer in any era is to achieve the maximum performance from the transistor at hand and that is as true today as ever. Multistandard requirements for wireless infrastructure are driving the need for broadband PAs capable of achieving performance across several bands. Additionally, radar and satellite communications are requiring broadband performance with devices that can be deployed in a wide range of applications. The requirement for power at ever increasing frequencies is driving the development of n-dimensional power combiners and multi-input multi-output systems (MIMO). This paper discusses early RLC circuit theory and the development into network synthesis and then into multi-dimensional circuit design and how we build on the early work in these areas. The network synthesis techniques will be described from the early greats such as Cauer, Brune and Foster to current MIMO network synthesis. The application of the early work to contemporary designs is discussed.