The radio frequency power amplifier (RF PA) is the main part of the transmission system, and its importance is self-evident. In the front-end circuit of the transmitter, the power of the RF signal generated by the modulation oscillator circuit is very small, and it needs to go through a series of amplification (buffer stage, intermediate amplification stage, final power amplification stage) to obtain enough RF power before feeding. radiate to the antenna. In order to obtain a sufficiently large RF output power, a RF power amplifier must be used. After the modulator generates the RF signal, the RF modulated signal is amplified to a sufficient power by the RF PA, passed through the matching network, and then transmitted by the antenna.
RF PA example parts introduction
The function of the amplifier is to amplify the input content and output it. What is input and output, what we call "signals", is often expressed as voltage or power. For a "system" like an amplifier, its "contribution" is to raise what it "absorbs" to a certain level and "output" it to the outside world. If the amplifier can have good performance, then it can contribute more, which reflects its own "value". If there is a certain problem with the amplifier, then after starting to work or working for a period of time, not only can it not provide any "contribution", but there may be some unexpected "oscillation". This "oscillation" is still the amplifier to the outside world. itself, is catastrophic.
The main technical indicators of the RF power amplifier are output power and efficiency. How to improve the output power and efficiency is the core of the design goal of the RF power amplifier. Usually in the RF power amplifier, the fundamental frequency or a certain harmonic can be selected by the LC resonant circuit to achieve distortion-free amplification. In addition to this, the harmonic components in the output should be as small as possible to avoid interference with other channels.
Changes in semiconductor materials:
Ge (germanium), Si (silicon)→→→GaAs (gallium arsenide), InP (indium phosphide)→→→SiC (silicon carbide), GaN (gallium nitride), SiGe (silicon germanium), SOI ( Silicon on the insulating layer) →→→Carbon Nanotube (CNT) →→→Graphene.
At present, the mainstream technology of power amplifier is still GaAs technology. Also, GaAs HBT, GaAs Heterojunction Bipolar Transistor. Among them, HBT (heterojunction bipolar transistor, heterojunction bipolar transistor) is a bipolar transistor composed of a gallium arsenide (GaAs) layer and an aluminum gallium arsenide (AlGaAs) layer.
Although the CMOS process is relatively mature, the application of Si CMOS power amplifiers is not widespread. In terms of cost, although CMOS process silicon wafers are relatively cheap, the layout area of CMOS power amplifiers is relatively large. In addition, the complex design of CMOS PAs requires high research and development costs, so that the overall cost advantage of CMOS power amplifiers is not so obvious. In terms of performance, CMOS power amplifiers have poor performance in terms of linearity, output power, efficiency, etc., coupled with the inherent shortcomings of the CMOS process: higher knee voltage, lower breakdown voltage, resistance of the CMOS process substrate substrate rate is lower.
Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are considered to be ideal materials for nanoelectronic devices due to their small physical size, high electron mobility, high current density, and low intrinsic capacitance.
Graphene, a zero-bandgap semiconductor material, is bound to become a popular material for next-generation RF chips because of its high electron mobility, nanometer-scale physical size, excellent electrical and mechanical properties.
Market SnapshotRF power amplifiers continue to be a critical component in radio communications that transmit high-frequency signals.
They are a core part of all base stations in cellular and mobile wireless infrastructure.
In 2017, the global market for RF power amplifier surpassed a valuation of USD 11 Bn, and the figure is likely to grow more than twofold by the year 2023, exhibiting an impressive compound annual growth rate.
Countries such as China, India, Mexico, Brazil and some of the GCC and ASEAN members are likely to present significant market opportunities during the review period owing to the massive investments that are being made to improve the network infrastructure in these countries.
Growing importance of power efficiency and IoT boom are some of the other factors expected to support the growth of the RF Power Amplifier Market in the years to come.Segments:The global RF power amplifier market is segmented on the basis of frequency, raw material, packaging type, application, and region.
By frequency, the market is segmented into <10GHz, 10-20 GHz, 20-30 GHz, 30-60 GHz, and 60+GHz.
What is an RF Filter, Electromechanical filters duplexers, lowpass RFRadio frequency (RF) and microwave filters represent a class of electronic filter.
Such filters are commonly used as building blocks for duplexers and diplexers to combine or separate multiple bands
