A fully-integrated highly-efficient RF class E SiGe power amplifier with an envelope-tracking technique for EDGE applications

Abstract

Abstmct-This paper t'eports on the l'esults of a highly efficient monolithically Cully-integrated SiGe Class E power amplifi er using; em"elope tnlcki:ng; techniques for EDGE applications. The Enyelope-traddng; (EI) system inclndes a discrete linear op-amp and a cOIlYerter. The RF Class E amplifi er was fabIicated in a O.18jJm BiCMOS SiGe technollJl!Y. The RF Class E power amplifier achieved a collector efficiency (CE) of 62.7% and the oyerall power added efficiency (P AE) of the ET system is 44.4% at lilt ouipnt power of 20.4dBm (01' an 881MHz EDGE modnlated signal A discrete euyelope switching amplifier achieved 82.8% t'ffi deucy while driving tht' Class E PA voltage snpply. The linearized SiGe PA passed the stringl'u! EDGE transmit spt'etrnm mask

Linearity and Efficiency Strategies for Next‐Generation Wireless Communications

“…The use of wideband ET techniques can boost the RF PA drain-collector average efficiency, but the total system efficiency is determined by the product of the envelope amplifier efficiency and the RF transistor drain-collector efficiency [23][24][25]. Thus, a high-efficiency envelope amplifier design is critical to the EER/ET system.…”

Design of highly-efficient wideband RF polar transmitters using the Envelope-Tracking technique

“…The average PAE for class AB PA with high PAR signals, therefore, is quite poor and this is a major barrier for battery size reduction. It is possible, however, to achieve a significant improvement in wideband PAE using monolithic switch-mode PA by using envelope tracking (ET) [17][18]. For base station applications, this ET technique has proven to offer considerable reduction in heat dissipation for 3G, WiMAX and DVB transmitters [24,[34][35] Specifically, in ET-based large-signal polar transmitter, the voltage supplied to the final stage of the RF PA is changed dynamically, synchronized with the RF signal passing through the device to ensure that the PA remains saturated and efficient.…”

“…In the past, polar transmitters were mostly used for high-power base station applications to effectively reduce heat dissipation; however, they have recently become very successful for wireless handset TX design in volume production due to their significant better efficiency and lower cost [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13]. One latest development is to apply the Envelope-Tracking (ET) technique to implement monolithic large-signal polar transmitters for wireless applications, as excellent system efficiency and linearity has been demonstrated, which is the focus of this paper [14][15][16][17][18][19]. We will begin our discussions of ET-based polar transmitters by briefly reviewing some state-of-the-art monolithic RF polar transmitters for handset applications next.…”

Power Amplifier Principles and Modern Design Techniques

“…29 is integrated in 0.18 flm BiCMOS SiGe technology, has a single stage, and operates at 881 MHz. All necessary passive components except the choke coil are included on-chip.…”