MMIC power amplifier in GaAs HBT technology for Wi-Fi 6 applications

This contribution presents a 3.5W MMIC power amplifier in GaAs HBT technology operating at 5 V supply conceived for Wi-Fi 6 applications in the 5-6 GHz frequency range. A 3-stage corporate architecture is selected to evaluate the technology capability in terms of power, linearity and efficiency. In simulation, the designed amplifier shows a saturated output power in excess of 35 dBm with associated gain and efficiency above 27 dB and 36 %, respectively. At -26 dB of EVM (Error Vector Magnitude, MCS0 standard) the best efficiency achievable, with simple bias tuning, is 17 % with an associated output power of 29 dBm. The small-signal characterization shows a very good agreement between measurements and simulations.