Power amplifiers and transmitters for RF and microwave

TLDR

RF and microwave power generation is essential for diverse applications—from communications to jamming and imaging—and requires tailored frequency, bandwidth, load, power, efficiency, linearity, and cost specifications across many techniques and amplifier architectures. The authors enhance amplifier linearity using feedback, feedforward, and predistortion techniques.

Abstract

The generation of RF/microwave power is required not only in wireless communications, but also in applications such as jamming, imaging, RF heating, and miniature dc/dc converters. Each application has its own unique requirements for frequency, bandwidth, load, power, efficiency, linearity, and cost. RF power is generated by a wide variety of techniques, implementations, and active devices. Power amplifiers are incorporated into transmitters in a similarly wide variety of architectures, including linear, Kalm, envelope tracking, outphasing, and Doherty. Linearity can be improved through techniques such as feedback, feedforward, and predistortion.