The 16th High Efficiency Power Amplifier (HEPA) Student Design Competition (SDC), organized by the IEEE Microwave Theory and Techniques Society, was held virtually in collaboration with Keysight Microwave Laboratory for the live measurement. This contest focuses on the PAs that have both high efficiency and high linearity over a relatively broad bandwidth. The participants are required to design and fabricate a highly efficient, linear power amplifier (PA) at a frequency of their choice between 1 and 10 GHz. The winning team is determined by the designed PA’s highest linear power added efficiency (PAE) at the lowest output power level while maintaining a carrier-to-intermodulation (C/I) ratio of greater than 30 dB through a two-tone input signal measurement. To have a competitive entry in the contest, it is necessary to start with the statement of the competition’s rules. The specific design requirements are as follows [1]:
For a single-carrier drive, the PA should generate at least 4 W (36 dBm) but no more than 40 W (46 dBm) of output power, where the required input power should be no less than 24 dBm to reach the minimum 4 W of output power.
All of the linearity testing will be conducted using two equal-amplitude carriers spaced 20-MHz apart, and the C/I ratio must be greater than 30 dB when sweeping from 0 dBm for each tone input.
The PA should require a maximum of two dc supply voltages for operation.
The winner will be based on the amplifier’s PAE measured during official testing at the lowest power level for which the C/I ratio equals 30 dB. If the C/I ratio is greater than 30 dB over the entire testing range, the measurement at 21-dBm input power per tone will be used.
All of the PAs will be judged via the following figure of merit (FOM): FOM = PAE × [operating frequency (GHz)]0.25.