Design of a C Band High Efficiency Doherty Power Amplifier for 5G Applications

In the context of emerging 5G technology, there has been a notable development of specific power amplifiers capable of operating at high frequencies. Among the various amplifier architectures utilized, the Doherty power amplifier (DPA) stands out as a prominent choice. Through the use of parallel Class-AB and Class-C amplifiers, the DPA achieves improved performance, especially during back-off operation condition. Specifically designed for digitally modulated signals with a high peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR), a feature relevant to 5G systems, this study presents a highly efficient symmetrical DPA. The DPA configuration comprises two GaN devices of equal size, designated for the principal Class-AB and ancillary Class-C amplifiers, respectively. According to simulation results, the designed DPA shows a saturated output power (P
sat
) of 25 W within the frequency range of 4.8-5.2 GHz, accompanied by a drain efficiency spanning from 58.8% to 61.2% at peak operation and 39% to 40.7% at a 6 dB back-off.