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Concurrent dual-band SiGe HBT power amplifier for Wireless applications

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 March 2009

Vittorio Camarchia ,
Rocco Giofrè ,
Iacopo Magrini ,
Luca Piazzon ,
Alessandro Cidronali ,
Paolo Colantonio ,
Simona Donati Guerrieri ,
Giovanni Ghione ,
Franco Giannini  and
Marco Pirola
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Vittorio Camarchia*
Affiliation:
Electronic Engineering Department – Politecnico di Torino, C.so Duca degli Abruzzi 24 Torino, 10129Italy.
Rocco Giofrè
Affiliation:
Electronic Engineering Department of theUniversity of Roma Tor Vergata, via del Politecnico n. 1, 00133 Roma, Italy.
Iacopo Magrini
Affiliation:
Department of Electronics and Telecommunications, University of Florence, V. S. Marta, 3, 50139 FlorenceItaly.
Luca Piazzon
Affiliation:
Electronic Engineering Department of theUniversity of Roma Tor Vergata, via del Politecnico n. 1, 00133 Roma, Italy.
Alessandro Cidronali
Affiliation:
Department of Electronics and Telecommunications, University of Florence, V. S. Marta, 3, 50139 FlorenceItaly.
Paolo Colantonio
Affiliation:
Electronic Engineering Department of theUniversity of Roma Tor Vergata, via del Politecnico n. 1, 00133 Roma, Italy.
Simona Donati Guerrieri
Affiliation:
Electronic Engineering Department – Politecnico di Torino, C.so Duca degli Abruzzi 24 Torino, 10129Italy.
Giovanni Ghione
Affiliation:
Electronic Engineering Department – Politecnico di Torino, C.so Duca degli Abruzzi 24 Torino, 10129Italy.
Franco Giannini
Affiliation:
Electronic Engineering Department of theUniversity of Roma Tor Vergata, via del Politecnico n. 1, 00133 Roma, Italy.
Marco Pirola
Affiliation:
Electronic Engineering Department – Politecnico di Torino, C.so Duca degli Abruzzi 24 Torino, 10129Italy.
Gianfranco Manes
Affiliation:
Department of Electronics and Telecommunications, University of Florence, V. S. Marta, 3, 50139 FlorenceItaly.
*
Corresponding author: V. Camarchia Email: vittorio.camarchia@polito.it
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Abstract

This paper presents an investigation of a concurrent low-cost dual-band power amplifier (PA) fabricated in SiGe technology, able to simultaneously operate at two frequencies of 2.45 and 3.5-GHz, including an evaluation of its system level performance potentiality. Taking into account the technology novelty and the lack of device characterization and modeling, a hybrid (MIC) approach has been adopted both for a fast prototyping of the PA and for the evaluation of the device potentiality based on an extensive linear and nonlinear characterization. The comparison of PA performance in single-band or concurrent mode operation will be presented. In particular, the measured PA prototype shows an output power of 17.2 and 17-dBm at a 1-dB compression point, at 2.45 and 3.5-GHz, respectively, for CW single-mode operation, with a power added efficiency around 20%. System-level analysis predicts that, when the PA is operated under the 20-MHz Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing (OFDM) concurrent signals, the maximum output power levels to maintain the Error Vector Magnitude (EVM) within 5% are 11 and 3.5-dBm at 2.45 and 3.5-GHz, respectively. Moreover, new concepts and possible new system architectures for the development of the next generation of the multi-band transceiver front-end will be provided with an extensive system-level evaluation of the amplifier.

Keywords

HBTSiGeDual bandSystem analysisConcurrent mode operation
Type
Original Article
Information
International Journal of Microwave and Wireless Technologies , Volume 1 , Special Issue 2: TARGET , April 2009 , pp. 117 - 126
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press and the European Microwave Association 2009

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References

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