A compact broadband mixed-signal power amplifier in bulk CMOS with hybrid Class-G and dynamic load trajectory manipulation operations

We present a mixed-signal PA with real-time Class-G and dynamic load trajectory manipulation (DLTM) hybrid operations to achieve PA efficiency enhancement up to the deep power back-off (PBO) region. Moreover, the PA load trajectory is dynamically manipulated to achieve PA efficiency peaking during the PBO operation, and the PA load modulation network is realized by only one on-chip transformer balun for an ultra-compact layout. A prototype PA fully integrated in a standard 65nm bulk CMOS process achieves +24.6dBm peak output power (Pout) and 45.6% maximum drain efficiency (DE) at 2.4GHz. By combining the real-time Class-G and DLTM hybrid operations with mixed-signal AM and PM linearization, the PA delivers a +18.5dBm 10MSym/s 64-QAM signal with 32.6% DE and -27.8dB EVM. The DLTM operation also extends the PA Pout 1dB bandwidth by 40%. The total chip area is only 1.9mm2.