A 3-Stage 22.5W GaN High Power Amplifier at 10 GHz for Satellite and Radar Applications

With the advent of GaN technology in the field wireless communication systems, the demand for high-performance GaN based Solid State Power Amplifiers (SSPA) has increase manifolds. But designing a high power and high frequency (i.e. 10GHz and above) SSPA still remains a daunting task. Considerations such as an accurate device model, parasitic effects, device selection, load and source Pull analysis, circuit topology, biasing techniques, input and output matching networks, and thermal management make SSPA design a perplexing endeavor. This study presents the design and characterization of a three-stage Class-AB High Power Amplifier (HPA) using GaN technology for satellite and radar applications. The TGF2977, TGF2978, and TGF2979 transistors from Qorvo are employed as the building blocks of the power amplifier. Modelithics' non-linear transistor model library is utilized for efficiently and accurately simulating the transistor amplifier performance at each stage. This work explores the advantages of GaN technology for satellite and radar applications, discusses the design considerations, presents the simulation results, and concludes with the performance evaluation of the power amplifier using Keysight's Advanced Design System (ADS).