Novel Continuous Inverse Class F Power Amplifier for High Power 5G Macro Base Station Application

This paper explores the design space and implementation of a Class F-1 PA using an in-package solution for sub-6 GHz macro base station applications. Special care is taken to select a second harmonic source termination that simultaneously provides high power density, high efficiency and smooth AM/AM linearity properties. A compact, pre-matched gallium-nitride (GaN) Class F-1 amplifier is manufactured, as proof-of-concept, using integrated passive devices (IPDs) and bond wires to demonstrate its application to high power broadband cellular infrastructure. The prototype demonstrated 14W/mm at 48V supply, 55.43 dBm (350 W) total peak power with the highest efficiency of 75 % and a large signal gain of 19 dB across 20% fractional RF bandwidth from 1.805 - 2.2 GHz.