A Simple and Universal Measurement Method for the Efficiency of Pulsed RF Power Amplifiers

Abstract

This paper presents a simple and universal measurement method for the average efficiency and instantaneous efficiency of pulsed RF power amplifiers. The average efficiency of the traditional definition varies with different duties and thus lacks universality, because of the DC power consumption outside the RF pulse. In our proposed method, the DC power consumption within a pulse period is divided into different parts. The parameters of each part can be extracted-from simple measurements of the average voltage and current under different duties. The average efficiency and instantaneous efficiency of different duties can be calculated with the extracted parameters. Since current clamps or oscilloscopes are not necessary to measure the instantaneous voltage and current, this solution can be easily implemented in a simple and cost-effective way, to expand the application into compact and sealed circuits. Measurement uncertainties under different duties were analyzed of the method. Experimental results of the proposed method are consistent with theoretical efficiencies, which help validate the method. INDEX TERMS Average efficiency, instantaneous efficiency, efficiency measurement, pulsed RF power amplifier, uncertainty analysis, various duties.

Experimental investigation on the performance degradations of the GaN class-F power amplifier under humidity conditions

“…According to (11), the PAE will decrease with the decrease of output current. Therefore, it can be known that the possible cause of PAE reduction under high humidity environments is the reduction of drain current.…”

“…With the rapid development of wireless communication, the increasing demands in the phased array radars [1][2][3][4], mobile communication systems [5][6][7], and satellite communication have motivated for GaN-based radio-frequency (RF) power amplifiers (PAs) [8,9]. GaN-based RF PAs are one of the key modules for a wireless communication system (WCS) comprised of the transmitting or receiving antennas [10,11], and usually preferred over GaAs and Si-based PAs due to the highpower capabilities, high breakdown voltage, and reliability in high temperature [12]. The antennas and WCS operating in outdoor environments, e.g.…”