Ka波段增强型负载调制的超宽带高效率Doherty功率放大器研究

杨琳; 闫成宇; 王彦平; 张明; 王保柱; 韩琦; 何宇航; 侯卫民; 李康

doi:10.11999/JEIT260514

Ka波段增强型负载调制的超宽带高效率Doherty功率放大器研究

doi: 10.11999/JEIT260514 cstr: 32379.14.JEIT260514

1.
河北科技大学信息科学与工程学院石家庄 050018
2.
北方工业大学人工智能与计算机学院北京 100144
3.
西安电子科技大学集成电路学院西安 710003

基金项目: 国家自然科学基金(62441401)，国家重点研发计划(2022YFB4400400)，国家重点实验室基础科学研究创新基金(IFN20230113)，河北省重大科技支撑项目(24290201Z)，河北省自然科学基金(F2024208020)，河北省教育厅青年拔尖人才项目(BJK2024089)

详细信息

作者简介:
杨琳：女，副教授，博士，硕士生导师，研究方向为无线通信前端芯片技术，微波毫米波集成电路

闫成宇：男，硕士生，研究方向为微波毫米波功率放大器技术

王彦平：男，研究员，博士，博士生导师，研究方向为雷达成像安全监测技术、遥感智能信息处理及应用

张明：男，副教授，博士，硕士生导师，研究方向为电磁波调控，可重构超表面天线

王保柱：男，教授，博士，硕士生导师，研究方向为微电子与光电子技术、半导体材料与器件、电路与系统应用

韩琦：男，讲师，博士，硕士生导师，研究方向为光通信芯片和太赫兹探测器

何宇航：男，讲师，博士，硕士生导师，研究方向为新型半导体材料的太赫兹光子学、电磁超材料的设计与调控

侯卫民：男，教授，博士，硕士生导师，研究方向为阵列信号处理、无线通信

李康：男，副教授，博士，硕士生导师，研究方向为毫米波功率器件、太赫兹器件

通讯作者:
侯卫民　jerry.ioa.bj@hotmail.com

中图分类号: TN43
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出版历程
- 收稿日期: 2026-04-27
- 修回日期: 2026-06-21
- 录用日期: 2026-06-24
- 网络出版日期: 2026-07-02

Research on Ka-band Enhanced Active Load Modulation Ultra-wideband High-efficiency Doherty Power Amplifier

1.
School of Information Science and Engineering, Hebei University of Science and Technology, Shijiazhuang 050018, China
2.
School of Artificial Intelligence and Computer Science, North China University of Technology, Beijing 100144, China
3.
School of Integrated Circuit, Xidian University, Xi’an 710003, China

Funds: The National Natural Science Foundation of China (62441401), The National Key Research and Development Program of China (2022YFB4400400), The National Key Laboratory of Basic Scientific Research for Innovation Fund (IFN20230113), The Major Science and Technology Support Project of Hebei Province (24290201Z), Hebei Natural Science Foundation (F2024208020), The Science and Technology Project of Hebei Education Department (BJK2024089)

摘要

摘要: Ka波段是未来新一代高通量卫星的核心频段，卫星通信发射系统对功率放大器提出了高回退效率的严苛要求。Doherty功率放大器(DPA)通过有源负载调制显著提高了功率回退状态下的工作效率，但Doherty架构的固有阻抗变换网络严重限制了其工作带宽，同时，其在毫米波段的饱和与回退效率均大幅下降，这成为制约其在毫米波高通量卫星通信系统中应用的关键瓶颈。针对上述问题，该文提出一种超宽带增强型有源负载调制技术，有效突破Doherty功率放大器带宽和回退效率相互制约的瓶颈，实现毫米波Doherty架构的效率增强和带宽扩展。同时，创新地提出了一种超宽带相位补偿非等分功率分配网络，扩展了高效率带宽，同时缩小了芯片面积。为验证所提理论，基于0.15 μm GaN工艺，设计了一款毫米波超宽带高效率Doherty功率放大器芯片，最终在24～33 GHz(相对带宽达到31.6%)的超宽频带内，实现了21.8～23.8 dB的小信号增益，28.9～31.0 dBm的饱和输出功率，饱和功率附加效率(PAE)为25.2%～33.5%，6 dB回退PAE为15.5%～19.8%。在目前所报道的相近频带的毫米波GaN Doherty功放中，具有最高的小信号增益及饱和PAE，高的饱和输出功率和6 dB回退PAE等一系列优异性能，同时在目前所报道的2～3级DPA芯片中具有最小的芯片面积。
- 卫星通信 /
- 毫米波 /
- Doherty功率放大器 /
- 超宽带 /
- 高效率
Abstract: Objective The Ka-band has become a key frequency band for satellite communications, placing stringent requirements on the millimeter-wave power amplifier, a core component of the transmitter, to provide high efficiency, compact size, and broadband operation. To maximize spectral efficiency, millimeter-wave satellite communication signals typically exhibit a high Peak-to-Average Power Ratio (PAPR), making high back-off efficiency particularly important. Although the Doherty Power Amplifier (DPA) is widely adopted because of its high efficiency under power back-off conditions, its operating bandwidth is inherently limited. In addition, both saturated efficiency and back-off efficiency degrade substantially at millimeter-wave frequencies. Therefore, extending the operating bandwidth while maintaining high efficiency remains a major challenge for millimeter-wave DPAs used in satellite communication transmitters. Methods An ultra-wideband enhanced active load modulation technique is proposed to overcome the trade-off between bandwidth and back-off efficiency in DPAs. The proposed method achieves optimal load impedance modulation for both the carrier and peaking amplifiers over an ultra-wide frequency range by introducing an Impedance Tunable Bias Network (ITBN) and a dual-drive impedance control mechanism. These techniques improve load modulation while extending the load modulation bandwidth, thereby enhancing both efficiency and bandwidth in the millimeter-wave DPA architecture. Furthermore, a broadband phase-compensation technique is integrated into an unequal power division network to achieve sufficient load modulation across the entire operating band while accurately compensating for the phase difference between the carrier and peaking paths. The proposed ultra-wideband phase-compensated power division network further extends the high-efficiency operating bandwidth while reducing the chip area. Results and Discussions To validate the proposed method, a millimeter-wave ultra-wideband high-efficiency DPA was designed and fabricated using a 0.15-μm GaN process. Across the 24～33 GHz frequency band, corresponding to a relative bandwidth of 31.6%, the fabricated chip achieves a small-signal gain of 21.8～23.8 dB with a gain flatness of ±1 dB. The measured saturated output power is 28.9～31.0 dBm, with a Power-Added Efficiency (PAE) of 25.2%～33.5% at saturation and a 6 dB back-off PAE of 15.5%～19.8%. Compared with previously reported GaN DPAs operating over similar frequency bands, the proposed design achieves the highest reported small-signal gain and saturated PAE while maintaining high saturated output power and high 6 dB back-off PAE. Furthermore, it occupies the smallest chip area among reported three-stage DPA MMICs. Conclusions An ultra-wideband enhanced active load modulation method is proposed to achieve sufficient active load modulation through multi-frequency impedance tuning across the entire operating band. A novel ultra-wideband phase-compensated unequal power division network is also proposed to reduce the chip area while maintaining accurate phase compensation. To validate the proposed method, a millimeter-wave ultra-wideband high-efficiency DPA was fabricated using a 0.15-μm GaN process. Measurement results demonstrate that, over the 24～33 GHz frequency band, the fabricated chip achieves a small-signal gain of 21.8～23.8 dB, a saturated output power of 28.9～31.0 dBm, a saturated PAE of 25.2%～33.5%, and a 6 dB back-off PAE of 15.5%～19.8%. Compared with previously reported GaN DPAs operating in similar frequency bands, the proposed design achieves a maximum relative bandwidth of 31.6%, the highest reported small-signal gain and saturated PAE, high saturated output power, and high 6 dB back-off PAE, while occupying the smallest chip area among reported two- and three-stage DPA MMICs. These measurement results validate the proposed method and demonstrate its strong potential for millimeter-wave satellite communication transmitters.
- Satellite communications /
- Millimeter wave /
- Doherty Power Amplifier (DPA) /
- Ultra-wideband /
- High efficiency

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图 1 载波与峰值晶体管最佳负载阻抗空间

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图 2 本文所提新型超宽带增强型有源负载调制网络

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图 3 载波与峰值功放输入/输出功率仿真结果

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图 4 本文所提超宽带PCPDN与传统结构对比图

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图 5 本文所提新型超宽带PCPDN和传统的相位补偿传输线效果对比

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图 6 3级毫米波超宽带紧凑型高效率Doherty功率放大器简化结构图

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图 7 24～33 GHz超宽带高效率Doherty功率放大器芯片照片

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图 8 芯片S参数及PAE随输入功率变化测试结果

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图 9 芯片输出功率及功率增益随输入功率变化、饱和输出功率、饱和PAE及6 dB回退PAE测试结果

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表 1 与目前报道的毫米波GaN DPA MMIC性能对比表

参考文献	频率 (GHz)	相对带宽(%)	级数	Psat (dBm)	增益 (dB)	PAE(%) @Psat	PAE(%)@ 6 dB PBO	芯片面积(mm²)	年份	所采用工艺
[11]	24～28	15.4	2	36.8～38.1	16.4～20.0	29.7～36.8	18.6～32^a	7.44	2024	0.15 μm GaN
[15]	24～28	15.4	2	35.4～36.0	14.9～19.7	27.8～36.8	18.1～30.1	5.95	2022	0.15 μm GaN
[16]	24～30	22.2	2	31.6～32.7	9.8～14.9	20～27.6	18.2～22.4	6.30	2025	0.12 μm GaN
[17]	24～29	18.9	2	34.8～36.1	15.7～19.5	25～31.7	19.0～24.8	5.32	2024	0.15 μm GaN
[18]	28～29.5	5.2	3	34.6	13	24	21	11.78	2024	0.15 μm GaN
[19]	29.1	-	1	30.0	9	44	28	5.38	2021	0.15 μm GaN
本文	24～33	31.6	3	28.9～31.0	21.8～23.8	25.2～33.5	15.5～19.8	4.05	2026	0.15 μm GaN
注：a:8 dB回退效率

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