A Broadband and High-Efficiency Push-Pull Power Amplifier with Dual-Input and Planar Output Balun

A broadband push-pull RF power amplifier (PA) is designed and implemented. The PA yields high efficiency from 0.8 to 3.7 GHz with a peak drain efficiency of 68 % at 1.6 GHz. The output power is greater or equal to 40 dBm over the entire band with a minimum power gain of 10 dB. Two 6 W packaged GaN devices are used to design the PA. The PA features individual RF inputs to optimize peak and backoff efficiency; phase shift between the inputs and its influence on the overall performance is investigated through simulation and measurement. A planar balun is used at the output. No additional output matching is utilized.