Inverse Class-F Power Amplifier Using Dual-Band Composite Right/Left-Handed Transmission Lines as a Harmonic Trap

In this thesis, an inverse-class-F power amplifier at 2.4GHz using dual-band composite right/left handed (DB-CRLH) transmission line as a harmonic tuner is realized. The active device we used is TSMC 0.18μm CMOS with its passive components on chip and the dual-band composite right/left handed transmission line is implemented by LTCC (low temperature co-fired ceramics). Both parts are combined by using flip-chip interconnects.
The harmonic tuners use one series DB-CRLH-TL and one open DB-CRLH-TL to suppress 2nd, 3rd harmonics and to match at the fundamental frequency. The properties of the CRLH-TLs allow the size reduction of the harmonic trap also the simplification of the design. This technology can be expanded to tune out higher order harmonics with a simplified circuit structure. The proposed inverse class-F power amplifier with a maximum PAE of 52%, the gain of 13dBm and the output 1 dB compression of 16dBm.