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1. A Dual-Path Transformer-Based Multiband Power Amplifier for mm-Wave 5G Applications

   https://doi.org/10.1109/JSSC.2023.3344073  

   Mokri, Mohammad Ali; Miraslani, Soodeh; Hoque, Md Aminul; Heo, Deukhyoun (June 2024, IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits)

   This article presents a dual-band power amplifier for 28 and 39 GHz frequency bands based on a new dual-path transformer (DPT). This DPT can provide two optimum inductive values at two different frequency bands to optimally design the matching networks for each band without using any switch circuitries. It operates as the output and input matching networks in a parallel power combiner and divider, respectively. DPT-based PA breaks the trade-off between bandwidth and performance in conventional wideband PAs by separating one whole wideband into two narrow bands providing optimum input and output matchings for each band. The DPT-based PA has two input and two output ports. One set of input and output ports is dedicated to a lower frequency band and the other set of input and outport ports can be used for a higher frequency band. Each output port can drive a separate antenna in a phased array for each frequency band. The proposed PA prototype is fabricated in a 65 nm CMOS process achieving 15.3 and 14.0 dBm of saturated output power in 28 and 39 GHz. The peak efficiency of the PA is 34.1% and 30.2% at 28 and 39 GHz frequency bands. The PA has a measured EVM with 64-QAM modulated signal in both frequency bands showing −25.03 and −25.10 dB in the low and higher frequency bands, respectively. 

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2. A switched-capacitor controlled digital-current modulated class-E EER transmitter

   https://doi.org/10.1109/NEWCAS.2015.7182014  

   Yuan, Wen; Walling, Jeffrey S. (June 2015, New Circuits and Systems Conference (NEWCAS), 2015 IEEE 13th International)

   An envelope elimination and restoration (EER) transmitter that comprises a class-E power amplifier and a digitally controlled current DAC modulator is presented. A switched capacitor DAC is designed to control an open-loop transconductor that operates as a current modulator, modulating the amplitude of the current supplied to a class-E PA. Such a topology allows for increased filtering of the quantization noise that is problematic in most digital PAs (DPA). The system measurements yield a peak output power and power added efficiency (PAE) of 22.5 dBm and 23.6%, respectively. When applying a WCDMA signal, the measured EVM is 1.32% and the adjacent channel power ratio (ACPR) is -37.9 dBc, while outputting 19.9 dBm at 14.3% PAE. For an LTE signal, the measured EVM is 3.72% and the ACLR is -30.2 dBc, while outputting 18.1 dBm at 10.6% PAE. 

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3. Load-Modulating Loop Combiner for Linear Power Amplification

   https://doi.org/10.1109/LMWC.2022.3211162  

   Sear, William; Barton, Taylor W. (February 2023, IEEE Microwave and Wireless Components Letters)

   This work presents a novel power amplifier (PA) architecture employing a feedforward-like loop structure for the linearization of a load-modulated PA. The load-modulating loop combiner (LMLC) is related to a feedforward amplifier, but with the interaction between the main and auxiliary amplifiers to generate both distortion cancellation and load modulation. A brief overview of the underlying theory is presented, followed by a hardware demonstrator operating at 3.5 GHz with 42-dBm peak output power and 55% peak drain efficiency in CW. When excited by a 100-MHz LTE signal, it maintains a 3-ppt EVM improvement and a 2–5-ppt average drain efficiency improvement compared to its standalone main amplifier. 

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4. An inter-stage filter network for distortion reduction in concurrent dual-band power amplifier operation

   Sear, W.; Biesterfeld, N; Bayaskar, S.; Barton, T. (November 2022, IEEE Asia Pacific Microwave Conference)

   This work presents a novel approach for reducing the out-of-band distortion generated in a concurrent dualband power amplifier (PA) without penalty to output power or efficiency using a filter between a driver amplifier and final-stage PA that manipulates the driver amplifier out-of-band distortion such that the overall distortion of the cascade is minimized. The cascaded PA operates at 2.4-GHz and 3.5-GHz with peak output power and drain efficiency of 41.6/40.4 and 65.2/55.1 respectively. The filter reduces the out-of-band distortion of the cascade when excited by dual 10-MHz LTE-like signals by 10 dB while improving average drain efficiency by 5 percentage points. 

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5. A <5 dB NF, > 17 dBm OP _{1 dB} F-Band GaN-on-SiC HEMT LNA with a Monolithic Substrate-Integrated Waveguide Filter

   https://doi.org/10.1109/IMS40175.2024.10600353  

   Thome, Fabian; Schwantuschke, Dirk; Brückner, Peter; Wang, Xiaopeng; Hwang, James_C M; Quay, Rüdiger (June 2024, IEEE)

   This paper demonstrates the monolithic integration of a substrate-integrated waveguide bandpass filter (BPF) and a low-noise amplifier (LNA) at F-band, fabricated in a 70-nm GaN-on-SiC technology. The three-stage LNA alone achieves a state-of-the-art average noise figure of 3.6 dB over 87–115 GHz. The LNA + BPF exhibits a peak gain of 13.6 dB over a 3 dB bandwidth of 17 GHz from 104 to 121 GHz. The average noise figure is 4.9 dB over 87–115 GHz. The OP1 dB and saturated output power are 17.6dBm and >20 dBm, respectively. 

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