Broadband microwave amplifier

• US 7,345,539 B2
• Filed: 02/10/2005
• Issued: 03/18/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 02/10/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Packaging Dynamics Operating Company
• Original Assignee: Raytheon Company (Rtx Corporation)
• Inventors: Tayrani, Reza, Gordon, Jonathan D.
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, PATRICIA T
• Application Number:
  US11/054,968
• Publication Number:
  US 20060176114A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,132 Days
• Field of Search: 330/207.A, 330/251, 330/302
• US Class Current: 330/207.00A
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 2200/03 the amplifier being designed for audio applications
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 3/2176 Class E amplifiers

Abstract

A Class-E load circuit topology suitable for switching mode Power Amplifiers (PAs). The inventive load includes a shunt inductive element coupled to an output of said amplifier; a series inductive element coupled to said output of said amplifier; and a series capacitive element coupled to said series inductive element. In the illustrative embodiment, the inventive load is operable at frequencies in the range of 8-10 GHz and the shunt inductive element is an inductive bias line for said amplifier. The invention enables an advantageous Class-E amplifier design comprising an input matching network; an active device coupled to the input matching network and a load coupled to the active device and implemented in accordance with the present teachings. Also disclosed is a method for designing a load for use with a Class-E amplifier including the steps of: providing a lumped equivalent circuit representation of the load; optimizing the lumped equivalent circuit representation of the load to achieve near ideal current and voltage operational characteristics over a predetermined frequency range using a time domain simulation; transforming the optimized lumped equivalent circuit representation of the load to a distributed circuit representation; and optimizing the distributed circuit representation of the load to achieve near ideal current and voltage operational characteristics over a predetermined frequency range using a time domain simulation.

Claims

1. A method for designing a load for use with a Class-E amplifier including the steps of:

providing a lumped equivalent circuit representation of said load;

optimizing the lumped equivalent circuit representation of said load to achieve near ideal current and voltage operational characteristics over a predetermined frequency range using a time domain simulation;

transforming said optimized lumped equivalent circuit representation of said load to a distributed circuit representation; and

optimizing the distributed circuit representation of said load to achieve near ideal current and voltage operational characteristics over a predetermined frequency range using a time domain simulation.