DOI: https://doi.org/10.15368/theses.2010.109
Available at: https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/theses/342
Date of Award
6-2010
Degree Name
MS in Electrical Engineering
Department/Program
Electrical Engineering
Advisor
Vladimir Prodanov
Abstract
Class C power amplifiers offer higher efficiency than class B power amplifiers, but suffer from poor linearity. A feedback based biasing system to improve the linearity of a class C power amplifier is designed. A class B amplifier with a gain of 20 dB and 20 MHz bandwidth at 900 MHz acts as the launching point for the design. The biasing and output network of the class B power amplifier is modified to produce a class C amplifier at conduction angles of 180°, 162°, 126°, 90°, and 54°. A feedback based biasing system, which uses two matched and scaled down transistors, compares the DC current of a class B and a class C biased transistor. This comparison is used to control the biasing voltage of the amplifier. The performance for each class C amplifier is simulated with the proposed constant conduction angle biasing (CCAB) system. The conduction angle, transducer gain, operational gain, VSWR, and drain efficiency are measured from simulation for each of the 5 normally biased and 5 CCAB amplifiers. Dynamic ranges of over 8 dB are demonstrated for the CCAB amplifiers. The effects of loop gain, temperature, and operating frequency for the 126° amplifier are simulated. The 3rd order intermodulation products of a 10 MHz AM modulated 900 MHz signal are compared for the 126° normally biased and CCAB biased amplifier as well as the class B amplifier. The difference between the fundamental and the 3rd order intermodulation products is shown to improve from 9.9 dB for the normal class C to 28.7 dB for the CCAB amplifier.