Vol. 5 No. 1 (2025): Journal of Millimeterwave Communication, Optimization and Modelling
Articles

A GaN-based Power Amplifier Module Design for 5G Base Stations

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  • Hüseyin Savcı,
  • Burak Berk Türk,
  • Furkan Hürcan,
  • Hakan Doğan
Hüseyin Savcı
Istanbul Medipol University

Published 28.02.2025

Keywords

  • Gallium nitride HEMT,
  • LTE band 42,
  • 5G n78,
  • power amplifier module

Copyright (c) 2025 Hüseyin Savcı, Burak Berk Türk; Furkan Hürcan, Hakan Doğan (Co-Author)

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Abstract

This paper presents a compact Power Amplifier Module (PAM) with class-AB topology designed for new-generation cellular base stations. The center frequency of 3.5GHz PAM is designed to target 5G New Radio (NR) and Long Term Evolution (LTE) bands. The module combines lumped element-based input, output matching networks, and a Gallium Nitride (GaN) High Mobility-Electron Transistor (HEMT) die, making it a hybrid design. The module was designed on a Rogers4003C laminate of 8.5 x 5.2 mm. Full-laminate layout electromagnetic analysis and vendor-supplied compact GaN device models are used in co-simulations to check the design's small signal and large signal behavior. The output power is tuned to 37.1 dBm with 39% power added efficiency(PAE). The transducer power gain is 12.4 dB, while the input and output return losses are -11.7 dB and -6.4 dB, respectively. Besides the small signal stability analysis, the large signal conditions are investigated to ensure unconditional stability up to the maximum oscillation frequency of the device.

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