Solid state power amplifiers (SSPA) are a critical part of many microwave systems. Designing SSPAs with monolithic microwave integrated circuits (MMIC) has boosted device performance to much higher levels focused on PA modules. This cutting-edge book offers engineers practical guidance in selecting the best power amplifier module for a particular application and interfacing the selected module with other power amplifier modules in the system. It also explains how to identify and mitigate peripheral issues concerning the PA modules, SSPAs, and microwave systems. This authoritative volume presents the critical techniques and underpinnings of SSPA design, enabling professionals to optimize device and system performance. Engineers gain the knowledge they need to evaluate the optimum topologies for the design of a chain of microwave devices, including power amplifiers. Additionally, the book addresses the interface between the microwave subsystems and the primary DC power, the control and monitoring circuits, and the thermal and EMI paths. Packed with 240 illustrations and over 430 equations, this detailed book provides the practical tools engineers need for their challenging projects in the field.

This book gives you – in one comprehensive and practical resource -- everything you need to successfully design modern and sophisticated power amplifiers at mmWave frequencies. The book provides an in-depth treatment of the design methodology for MMIC power amplifiers, then brings you step by step through the various phases of design, from the selection of technology and preliminary architecture considerations, to the effective design of the matching circuits and conversion of electrical-to-electromagnetic models. Detailed figures and numerous practical applications are included to help you gain valuable insights into these technologies and learn to identify the best path to a successful design. You’ll be guided through a range of new mmWave power applications that show particular promise to support new 5G systems, while mastering the use of GaN technology that continues to dominate the power mmWave applications due to its high power, gain, and efficiency. This is a valuable resource for power amplifier design engineers, technicians, industry R&D staff, and anyone getting into the area of power MMICs who wants to learn how to design at mmWave frequencies.

This book is a practical engineering guide to microwave material measurements for both laboratory and manufacturing/field environments, including nondestructive inspection (NDI) and nondestructive evaluation (NDE). The book covers proven methods for characterizing materials at microwave frequencies, including both resonant and wide-bandwidth techniques, and gives you the necessary theory and equations for implementing these methods. You’ll understand how to invert dielectric and/or magnetic material properties from free space transmission and reflection, and how to measure traveling wave attenuation. You’ll also know how to measure dielectric and/or magnetic material properties from transmission line fixtures, and learn how to use computational electromagnetic modeling with a measurement fixture. The book shows you how to build and use microwave NDE equipment for radomes and/or structural dielectric materials. This is an excellent resource for Engineers/scientists conducting or analyzing RF/Microwave/MMW material measurements for applications in electromagnetic materials, as well as those who are developing or applying microwave non-destructive evaluation (NDE) methods to their manufacturing problems.

Despite its continuing popularity, the so-called standard circuit model of compound semiconductor field-effect transistors (FETs) and high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) is shown to have a limitation for nonlinear analysis and design: it is valid only in the static limit. When the voltages and currents are time-varying, as they must be for these devices to have any practical use, the model progressively fails for higher specification circuits. This book shows how to reform the standard model to render it fully compliant with the way FETs and HEMTs actually function, thus rendering it valid dynamically. Proof-of-principle is demonstrated for several practical circuits, including a frequency doubler and amplifiers with demanding performance criteria. Methods for extracting both the reformulated model and the standard model are described, including a scheme for re-constructing from S-parameters the bias-dependent dynamic (or RF) I(V) characteristics along which devices work in real-world applications, and as needed for the design of nonlinear circuits using harmonic-balance and time-domain simulators. The book includes a historical review of how variations on the standard model theme evolved, leading up to one of the most widely used—the Angelov (or Chalmers) model.

This is a rigorous tutorial on radio frequency and microwave power amplifier design, teaching the circuit design techniques that form the microelectronic backbones of modern wireless communications systems. Suitable for self-study, corporate training, or Senior/Graduate classroom use, the book combines analytical calculations and computer-aided design techniques to arm electronic engineers with every possible method to improve their designs and shorten their design time cycles.

This comprehensive resource explains the theory of RF circuits and systems and the practice of designing them. The fundamentals for linear and low noise amplifier designs, including the S and noise parameters and their applications in amplifier designs and matching network designs using the Smith chart are covered. Theories of RF power amplifiers and high efficiency power amplifiers are also explained. The underpinnings of wireless communications systems as well as passive components commonly used in RF circuits and measurements are discussed. RF measurement techniques and RF switches are also presented. The book explores stability criteria and the invariant property of lossless networks and includes detailed theoretical treatments. The basic concepts and techniques covered in this book are routinely used in today's engineering practice, especially from the perspective of printed circuit board (PCB) based RF circuit design and system integration. Intended for practicing engineers and circuit designers, this book focuses on practical topics in circuit design and measurement techniques. It bridges the gap between academic materials and real circuit designs using real circuit examples and practical tips. Readers develop a numerical feel for RF problems as well as awareness of the concepts of design for cost and design for manufacturing, which is a critical skill set for today's engineers working in an environment of commercial product development.

Wireless voice and data communications have made great improvements, with connectivity now virtually ubiquitous. Users are demanding essentially perfect transmission and reception of voice and data. The infrastructure that supports this wide connectivity and nearly error-free delivery of information is complex, costly, and continually being improved. This resource describes the mathematical methods and practical implementations of linearization techniques for RF power amplifiers for mobile communications. This includes a review of RF power amplifier design for high efficiency operation. Readers are also provided with mathematical approaches to modeling nonlinear dynamical systems, which can be applied in the context of modeling the PA for identification in a pre-distortion system. This book also describes typical approaches to linearization and digital pre-distortion that are used in practice.