A 33 dBm, >30% PAE GaN Power Amplifier Based on a Sub-Quarter-Wavelength Balun for 5G Applications
 
A 33 dBm, >30% PAE GaN Power Amplifier Based on a Sub-Quarter-Wavelength Balun for 5G Applications ■
 
Dongyang Yan, Dongyang Yan, Dongyang Yan, Yang Zhang, Yang Zhang, Yang Zhang, Dries Peumans, Dries Peumans, Dries Peumans, Mark Ingels, Mark Ingels, Mark Ingels, Piet Wambacq, Piet Wambacq, Piet Wambacq
 
Abstract ■

In this paper, a two-stage Ka-band power amplifier (PA) utilizing a sub-quarter-wavelength (SQWL) balun is presented for efficient and compact series power combining. The differential two-stage PA includes a high-order interstage matching network to suppress AM-PM distortion without the addition of additional active devices. The PA is fabricated using a 150nm GaN technology and produces over 32 dB m output power across a frequency range of 26–30 GHz. The differential pair plus SQWL balun occupies a small area of only 0.4mm 2 , resulting in a high power density of 5.725 W/mm 2 • The presented PA is among the highest in power \& efficiency achieved with a differential-end PA at Ka-band frequency range in G a N technologies.