A Sub-Nanosecond Gate Bias-Switching Circuit for GaN RF Power Amplifiers

Jiteng Ma; Gavin T Watkins; Mark A Beach; Tommaso Cappello

doi:10.1109/LMWT.2023.3344807

A Sub-Nanosecond Gate Bias-Switching Circuit for GaN RF Power Amplifiers

Jiteng Ma^*, Gavin T Watkins, Mark A Beach, Tommaso Cappello

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Letter (Academic Journal) › peer-review

3 Citations (Scopus)

168 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

In this letter, we present a design of a fast gate-switching power amplifier (GSPA) aimed at reducing its power consumption. This GSPA features a dedicated fast gate-switching circuit that commutates the gallium nitride (GaN) transistor between a nominal gate bias voltage (GSPA ON) and a strong negative voltage (GSPA OFF), thereby generating two discrete output power levels in an RF-pulsewidth modulation (PWM) fashion. A fast gate-switching circuit, including a commercial digital voltage isolator, is designed to switch between two gate bias voltages. The gate stability resistor and transmission line (TL) are carefully placed and designed to reduce the GSPA parasitic bias line and enable fast switching. Measured results provided a rise and fall time of 750 and 950 ps, respectively, and achieved RF pulsewidths as narrow as 5.88 ns, thus corresponding to a 170-MHz bandwidth.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	207-210
Number of pages	4
Journal	IEEE Microwave and Wireless Components Letters
Volume	34
Issue number	2
Early online date	1 Jan 2024
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1109/LMWT.2023.3344807
Publication status	Published - 13 Feb 2024

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 IEEE.

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This is the accepted author manuscript (AAM) of the article which has been made Open Access under the University of Bristol's Scholarly Works Policy. The final published version (Version of Record) can be found on the publisher's website. The copyright of any third-party content, such as images, remains with the copyright holder.
Accepted author manuscript, 1.09 MBLicence: CC BY

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SWAN (Secure Wireless Agile Networks) EPSRC Prosperity Partnership
Beach, M. A. (Principal Investigator), Sandell, M. (Co-Principal Investigator), Hilton, G. (Co-Investigator), Austin, A. C. M. (Co-Investigator), Armour, S. M. D. (Co-Investigator), Haine, J. L. (Collaborator), Wales, S. W. (Collaborator), Luke, J. (Collaborator), Rogoyski, A. (Collaborator), Zhu, Z. (Collaborator), Watkins, G. T. (Collaborator), Kalokidou, V. (Researcher), Cappello, T. (Co-Investigator), Arabi, E. (Researcher), Nair, M. (Researcher), Ma, J. (Student), Wilson, S. (Student), Ozan, S. H. O. (Student), Prior, R. E. (Administrator), Xenos, E. (Student), Kayal, S. (Student), Chin, W. H. (Co-Principal Investigator) & Morris, K. A. (Co-Investigator)
1/02/20 → 31/01/25
Project: Research, Parent

Efficient Digital Power Amplifier and Learning-Based Microwave Structure Design for Future Wireless Communication Systems
Ma, J. (Author), Beach, M. (Supervisor) & Morris, K. (Supervisor), 18 Jun 2024
Student thesis: Doctoral Thesis › Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

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abstract = "In this letter, we present a design of a fast gate-switching power amplifier (GSPA) aimed at reducing its power consumption. This GSPA features a dedicated fast gate-switching circuit that commutates the gallium nitride (GaN) transistor between a nominal gate bias voltage (GSPA ON) and a strong negative voltage (GSPA OFF), thereby generating two discrete output power levels in an RF-pulsewidth modulation (PWM) fashion. A fast gate-switching circuit, including a commercial digital voltage isolator, is designed to switch between two gate bias voltages. The gate stability resistor and transmission line (TL) are carefully placed and designed to reduce the GSPA parasitic bias line and enable fast switching. Measured results provided a rise and fall time of 750 and 950 ps, respectively, and achieved RF pulsewidths as narrow as 5.88 ns, thus corresponding to a 170-MHz bandwidth.",

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PY - 2024/2/13

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N2 - In this letter, we present a design of a fast gate-switching power amplifier (GSPA) aimed at reducing its power consumption. This GSPA features a dedicated fast gate-switching circuit that commutates the gallium nitride (GaN) transistor between a nominal gate bias voltage (GSPA ON) and a strong negative voltage (GSPA OFF), thereby generating two discrete output power levels in an RF-pulsewidth modulation (PWM) fashion. A fast gate-switching circuit, including a commercial digital voltage isolator, is designed to switch between two gate bias voltages. The gate stability resistor and transmission line (TL) are carefully placed and designed to reduce the GSPA parasitic bias line and enable fast switching. Measured results provided a rise and fall time of 750 and 950 ps, respectively, and achieved RF pulsewidths as narrow as 5.88 ns, thus corresponding to a 170-MHz bandwidth.

AB - In this letter, we present a design of a fast gate-switching power amplifier (GSPA) aimed at reducing its power consumption. This GSPA features a dedicated fast gate-switching circuit that commutates the gallium nitride (GaN) transistor between a nominal gate bias voltage (GSPA ON) and a strong negative voltage (GSPA OFF), thereby generating two discrete output power levels in an RF-pulsewidth modulation (PWM) fashion. A fast gate-switching circuit, including a commercial digital voltage isolator, is designed to switch between two gate bias voltages. The gate stability resistor and transmission line (TL) are carefully placed and designed to reduce the GSPA parasitic bias line and enable fast switching. Measured results provided a rise and fall time of 750 and 950 ps, respectively, and achieved RF pulsewidths as narrow as 5.88 ns, thus corresponding to a 170-MHz bandwidth.

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DO - 10.1109/LMWT.2023.3344807

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JF - IEEE Microwave and Wireless Components Letters

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ER -

A Sub-Nanosecond Gate Bias-Switching Circuit for GaN RF Power Amplifiers

Abstract

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Projects

SWAN (Secure Wireless Agile Networks) EPSRC Prosperity Partnership

Student theses

Efficient Digital Power Amplifier and Learning-Based Microwave Structure Design for Future Wireless Communication Systems

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