Design of a 70 W wideband GaN HEMT power amplifier with 60% efficiency over 100–1000 MHz bandwidth

This paper describes a single-ended wideband GaN HEMT space-saving power amplifier covering 100 MHz to 1000 MHz frequency range. The simulated, assembled and characterized amplifier delivers P3dB of 70W with Drain Efficiency of 60% across a decade, with fractional bandwidth of >160% in a 2.5 × 1.5 inch compact footprint. The design uses Qorvo's 0.25um GaN on SiC High-Voltage technology. The paper points at GaN's cutting-edge capability of simultaneously delivering high power into higher load impedances compared to other technologies. This capability results in an inherent Wideband design due to less stringent impedance transformation requirements placed on the output matching network across a given bandwidth.