Research Projects

The 5G wireless communication system aims to provide gigabit data rates with low latency and improved battery life. To handle high speed rates, spectral efficient schemes are adopted, generating complex modulated signals that increase the peak to average power ratio (PAPR). These modulated signals are amplified using power amplifiers (PA), which are key components of wireless transmitters. However, high PAPR signal application to RF power amplifiers results in low power efficiency, impacting battery life, power supply weight, electricity expenses, cooling requirements, and overall system cost. To address this issue, the upcoming 5G wireless standards will co-exist with older standards (2G/3G/4G), which are typically handled by narrowband PAs operating at different frequencies. To mitigate redundancy in hardware, PAs must be deployed capable of handling multiple standards simultaneously, posing the demand for a broadband system. Carrier Aggregation (CA) is proposed to cater to high bandwidth requirements in sub-6 GHz band, necessitating new bandwidth enhancement techniques of PA. The advent of GaN technology has made it possible to design GaN MMIC RF power amplifiers with increased power efficiency and optimal output power level. The proposal aims to develop GaN MMIC RF power amplifiers in the sub-6 GHz range, meeting the requirements of upcoming wireless technology in terms of integrability, high output power, gain, back-off efficiency, peak efficiency, linearity, and bandwidth. Different methodologies will be proposed to improve PA efficiency at average power for a wide range of frequencies.