A InGaAs/AlGaAs power amplifier MMIC kit designed for GSM handset phone systems has been developed. It includes two power amplifiers (PA), one GSM 900MHz and one for 1800MHz. Both parts are manufactured using a 0.5µm gate length PHEMT process. Under a low single supply voltage of 3.5V the GSM PA provides 35dBm with 60% PAE and the DCS PA achieves 33dBm with 54% PAE, they are housed in small leadless packages

Denis, S.

Huin, F.

Leclerc, E.

Serru, V.

Thuret, J.

English

AMS Acta - Alm@DL - Università di Bologna

VERY HIGH POWER ADDED EFFICIENCY PHEMT AMPLIFIERS
FOR GSM AND DCS 1800 APPLICATIONS.
V. Serru1, E. Leclerc1, F. Huin2, J. Thuret1, S. Denis1
1
 UMS, route Departementale 128, BP 46, 91401 Orsay Cedex, France
2
 ACCO SA, 21 bis, rue d’Hennemont 78100 Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France
serru@ums-gaas.com leclerc@ums-gaas.com thuret@ums-gaas.com denis@ums-gaas.com
huin@acco-ic.com
ABSTRACT
A InGaAs/AlGaAs power amplifier MMIC kit designed for GSM handset phone systems has
been developed. It includes two power amplifiers (PA), one GSM 900MHz and one for 1800MHz.
Both parts are manufactured using a 0.5µm gate length PHEMT process. Under a low single
supply voltage of 3.5V the GSM PA provides 35dBm with 60% PAE and the DCS PA achieves
33dBm with 54% PAE, they are housed in small leadless packages.
INTRODUCTION
Competition for shares of the communication market leads manufacturers to offer customers more
attractive, smaller and longer talk time handsets.
In this paper we present two high performances PA developed for GSM/DCS1800 handsets.
The use of PHEMT process that provides high gain, power density and high power added efficiency
(PAE) at low drain supply voltage, is a key element to meet size and power consumption reduction.
Another key element for size reduction is packaging. Leadless packages allow the reduction of the area
allocated to the PA on the handset board.
PHEMT POWER BASE CELL PERFORMANCES
The 0.5µm pseudomorphic process, PPH50, has been developed by UMS for handset PA applications.
PPH50 is designed to achieve a very high power density and a maximum added efficiency for a gate to
source bias voltage of 0 Volts. This leads to further reduce the size and complexity of the power
amplifiers because no external or internal DC converters have to be added.
Power load pull measurements have been performed on different PHEMT topologies. Terminal
impedances have been tuned for power and PAE optimisation at Vgs=0 Volt and Vds=3.5Volts. The
typical Pout and PAE versus Pin obtained on a 8x300µm power cell is shown in figure 1. A PAE above
80% can be achieved with a power density higher than 350mW/mm. Load pull technique enables an
analysis of power performances versus terminal impedances.
The figure 2 shows PAE and power density for different matching loads (M1,M2,M3) at Vds=3.5
Volts. The knowledge of this intrinsic behaviour is very helpful during the design of the amplifiers, as
it allows the best compromise between PAE and power density which is a key feature for the die size
and cost issue.
GSM AND DCS1800 POWER AMPLIFIERS
The main critical parameters for GSM/DCS1800 power amplifiers are output power and efficiency.
Indeed the minimum output power required at the antenna is 33dBm for GSM and 30dBm for DCS.
Once the output power is achieved, the parameter that singles PA out is power added efficiency, thus
the higher the PAE is, the longer the talk time.
For accurate power and PAE optimisation UMS developed scaled large signal PHEMT models, and
also took into account package parasitic elements, epoxy board and SMD component influence in the
design.
The GSM power amplifier integrates two amplifier stages that operate in the 880MHz to 915MHz
frequency band. The on board last stage output network uses three standard SMD capacitors.
Typical performances under 3.5V and with an input power of 5dBm are 35dBm output power and 60%
PAE. The output versus input power is shown in figure 3 and the same parameters versus the frequency
band are presented figure 4.
 The output power can be controlled by lowering the Vd from 3.5V to 0V. Drain power control
achieves more than 45dB range and provides a smooth and reproducible characteristic. Furthermore,
the drain control exhibits a very interesting feature as the PAE remains high from Poutmax down to
Poutmax–10dBm (obtained at Vd=1.0 Volt). Figure 5 presents the output power and PAE versus drain
supply voltage. Table 1 presents the output power at the harmonic frequencies.
The DCS power amplifier operates in the DCS1800 frequency band. It consists of three amplifier
stages. As for the GSM part, the DCS measurements have been performed using standard epoxy board
and SMD components.
Typical performances under 3.5V and for an input power of 5dBm are 33dBm output power and 54%
PAE. The figure 6 shows the output versus input power. Table 1 presents the output power at the
harmonic frequencies.
As compatibility with standard assembly test and packing equipments is a key point for cost issue, the
PAs are housed in standard plastic leadless packages. Figure 7 presents a photography of the DCS
packaged amplifier.
Associated together these PAs can fit with dual band needs. One single chip solution is in development
CONCLUSION
Very attractive GaAs power amplifiers for GSM/DCS1800 handset systems using state-of-the-art and
low cost power PHEMT devices have been designed. With one single positive supply voltage they
achieve both high power and efficiency, 35dBm output power with 60% PAE for GSM and 33dBm
with 54% PAE for the DCS, in small and low cost packages. Those properties make the two power
amplifiers valuable products for GSM and DCS handsets.
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
9 11 13 15 17 19
Pin (dBm)
Po
ut
 (d
B
m
)
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
PA
E 
(%
)
M3
M2
M1
76
78
80
82
84
86
88
90
92
200 250 300 350 400 450
Power density (mW/mm)
PA
E 
(%
)
Figure 1 : Pout and PAE vs Pin under Vds=3.5V Figure 2 : PAE vs Power density under
for a 3x800µm transistor Vds=3.5V for different matching loads
20
22
24
26
28
30
32
34
36
38
40
-15 -10 -5 0 5 10
Pin (dBm)
Po
u
t (d
B
m
)
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
PA
E 
(%
)
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
0,88 0,89 0,89 0,9 0,9 0,91 0,91 0,92
Frequency (GHz)
Po
u
t (
dB
m)
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
PA
E 
(%
)
Figure 3 : Pout and PAE vs Pin under Vd=3.5V Figure 4 : Pout and PAE vs frequency
Freq=900MHz for Pin=8dBm under Vd=3.5V
-25
-15
-5
5
15
25
35
0 1 2 3 4
Vd (V)
Po
ut
 
(d
Bm
)
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
Pa
e 
(%
)
15
17
19
21
23
25
27
29
31
33
35
-20 -15 -10 -5 0 5 10
Pin (dBm)
Po
u
t (
dB
m)
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
PA
E 
(%
)
Figure 5 : Pout and PAE vs Vd for Pin=5dBm Figure 6 : Pout and PAE vs Pin
Freq=900MHz under Vd=3.5V freq=1750MHz
Pout (GSM) Pout (DCS)
F0 35dBm 33dBm
2F0 -38dBc -35dBc
3F0 -53dBc -60dBc
Table 1. Vd=3.5V Pin=5dBm
Figure 7 :Photography of the packaged DCS1800  amplifier  4mm*4mm


Very high power added efficiency PHEMT amplifiers for GSM and DCS 1800 applications

AMS Acta

VERY HIGH POWER ADDED EFFICIENCY PHEMT AMPLIFIERS
FOR GSM AND DCS 1800 APPLICATIONS.
V. Serru1, E. Leclerc1, F. Huin2, J. Thuret1, S. Denis1
1 UMS, route Departementale 128, BP 46, 91401 Orsay Cedex, France
2 ACCO SA, 21 bis, rue d’Hennemont 78100 Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France
serru@ums-gaas.com leclerc@ums-gaas.com thuret@ums-gaas.com denis@ums-gaas.com
huin@acco-ic.com
ABSTRACT
A InGaAs/AlGaAs power amplifier MMIC kit designed for GSM handset phone systems has
been developed. It includes two power amplifiers (PA), one GSM 900MHz and one for 1800MHz.
Both parts are manufactured using a 0.5µm gate length PHEMT process. Under a low single
supply voltage of 3.5V the GSM PA provides 35dBm with 60% PAE and the DCS PA achieves
33dBm with 54% PAE, they are housed in small leadless packages.
INTRODUCTION
Competition for shares of the communication market leads manufacturers to offer customers more
attractive, smaller and longer talk time handsets.
In this paper we present two high performances PA developed for GSM/DCS1800 handsets.
The use of PHEMT process that provides high gain, power density and high power added efficiency
(PAE) at low drain supply voltage, is a key element to meet size and power consumption reduction.
Another key element for size reduction is packaging. Leadless packages allow the reduction of the area
allocated to the PA on the handset board.
PHEMT POWER BASE CELL PERFORMANCES
The 0.5µm pseudomorphic process, PPH50, has been developed by UMS for handset PA applications.
PPH50 is designed to achieve a very high power density and a maximum added efficiency for a gate to
source bias voltage of 0 Volts. This leads to further reduce the size and complexity of the power
amplifiers because no external or internal DC converters have to be added.
Power load pull measurements have been performed on different PHEMT topologies. Terminal
impedances have been tuned for power and PAE optimisation at Vgs=0 Volt and Vds=3.5Volts. The
typical Pout and PAE versus Pin obtained on a 8x300µm power cell is shown in figure 1. A PAE above
80% can be achieved with a power density higher than 350mW/mm. Load pull technique enables an
analysis of power performances versus terminal impedances.
The figure 2 shows PAE and power density for different matching loads (M1,M2,M3) at Vds=3.5
Volts. The knowledge of this intrinsic behaviour is very helpful during the design of the amplifiers, as
it allows the best compromise between PAE and power density which is a key feature for the die size
and cost issue.
GSM AND DCS1800 POWER AMPLIFIERS
The main critical parameters for GSM/DCS1800 power amplifiers are output power and efficiency.
Indeed the minimum output power required at the antenna is 33dBm for GSM and 30dBm for DCS.
Once the output power is achieved, the parameter that singles PA out is power added efficiency, thus
the higher the PAE is, the longer the talk time.
For accurate power and PAE optimisation UMS developed scaled large signal PHEMT models, and
also took into account package parasitic elements, epoxy board and SMD component influence in the
design.
The GSM power amplifier integrates two amplifier stages that operate in the 880MHz to 915MHz
frequency band. The on board last stage output network uses three standard SMD capacitors.
Typical performances under 3.5V and with an input power of 5dBm are 35dBm output power and 60%
PAE. The output versus input power is shown in figure 3 and the same parameters versus the frequency
band are presented figure 4.
 The output power can be controlled by lowering the Vd from 3.5V to 0V. Drain power control
achieves more than 45dB range and provides a smooth and reproducible characteristic. Furthermore,
the drain control exhibits a very interesting feature as the PAE remains high from Poutmax down to
Poutmax–10dBm (obtained at Vd=1.0 Volt). Figure 5 presents the output power and PAE versus drain
supply voltage. Table 1 presents the output power at the harmonic frequencies.
The DCS power amplifier operates in the DCS1800 frequency band. It consists of three amplifier
stages. As for the GSM part, the DCS measurements have been performed using standard epoxy board
and SMD components.
Typical performances under 3.5V and for an input power of 5dBm are 33dBm output power and 54%
PAE. The figure 6 shows the output versus input power. Table 1 presents the output power at the
harmonic frequencies.
As compatibility with standard assembly test and packing equipments is a key point for cost issue, the
PAs are housed in standard plastic leadless packages. Figure 7 presents a photography of the DCS
packaged amplifier.
Associated together these PAs can fit with dual band needs. One single chip solution is in development
CONCLUSION
Very attractive GaAs power amplifiers for GSM/DCS1800 handset systems using state-of-the-art and
low cost power PHEMT devices have been designed. With one single positive supply voltage they
achieve both high power and efficiency, 35dBm output power with 60% PAE for GSM and 33dBm
with 54% PAE for the DCS, in small and low cost packages. Those properties make the two power
amplifiers valuable products for GSM and DCS handsets.
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
9 11 13 15 17 19
Pin (dBm)
P
o
u
t 
(d
B
m
)
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
P
A
E
 (
%
)
M3
M2
M1
76
78
80
82
84
86
88
90
92
200 250 300 350 400 450
Power density (mW/mm)
P
A
E
 (
%
)
Figure 1 : Pout and PAE vs Pin under Vds=3.5V Figure 2 : PAE vs Power density under
for a 3x800µm transistor Vds=3.5V for different matching loads
20
22
24
26
28
30
32
34
36
38
40
-15 -10 -5 0 5 10
Pin (dBm)
P
o
u
t 
(d
B
m
)
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
P
A
E
 (
%
)
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
0,88 0,89 0,89 0,9 0,9 0,91 0,91 0,92
Frequency (GHz)
P
o
u
t 
(d
B
m
)
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
P
A
E
 (
%
)
Figure 3 : Pout and PAE vs Pin under Vd=3.5V Figure 4 : Pout and PAE vs frequency
Freq=900MHz for Pin=8dBm under Vd=3.5V
-25
-15
-5
5
15
25
35
0 1 2 3 4
Vd (V)
P
o
u
t 
(d
B
m
)
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
P
ae
 (
%
)
15
17
19
21
23
25
27
29
31
33
35
-20 -15 -10 -5 0 5 10
Pin (dBm)
P
o
u
t 
(d
B
m
)
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
P
A
E
 (
%
)
Figure 5 : Pout and PAE vs Vd for Pin=5dBm Figure 6 : Pout and PAE vs Pin
Freq=900MHz under Vd=3.5V freq=1750MHz
Pout (GSM) Pout (DCS)
F0 35dBm 33dBm
2F0 -38dBc -35dBc
3F0 -53dBc -60dBc
Table 1. Vd=3.5V Pin=5dBm
Figure 7 :Photography of the packaged DCS1800  amplifier  4mm*4mm


VERY HIGH POWER ADDED EFFICIENCY PHEMT AMPLIFIERSFOR GSM AND DCS 1800 APPLICATIONS.V. Serru1, E. Leclerc1, F. Huin2, J. Thuret1, S. Denis11 UMS, route Departementale 128, BP 46, 91401 Orsay Cedex, France2 ACCO SA, 21 bis, rue d’Hennemont 78100 Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Franceserru@ums-gaas.com leclerc@ums-gaas.com thuret@ums-gaas.com denis@ums-gaas.comhuin@acco-ic.comABSTRACTA InGaAs/AlGaAs power amplifier MMIC kit designed for GSM handset phone systems hasbeen developed. It includes two power amplifiers (PA), one GSM 900MHz and one for 1800MHz.Both parts are manufactured using a 0.5µm gate length PHEMT process. Under a low singlesupply voltage of 3.5V the GSM PA provides 35dBm with 60% PAE and the DCS PA achieves33dBm with 54% PAE, they are housed in small leadless packages.INTRODUCTIONCompetition for shares of the communication market leads manufacturers to offer customers moreattractive, smaller and longer talk time handsets.In this paper we present two high performances PA developed for GSM/DCS1800 handsets.The use of PHEMT process that provides high gain, power density and high power added efficiency(PAE) at low drain supply voltage, is a key element to meet size and power consumption reduction.Another key element for size reduction is packaging. Leadless packages allow the reduction of the areaallocated to the PA on the handset board.PHEMT POWER BASE CELL PERFORMANCESThe 0.5µm pseudomorphic process, PPH50, has been developed by UMS for handset PA applications.PPH50 is designed to achieve a very high power density and a maximum added efficiency for a gate tosource bias voltage of 0 Volts. This leads to further reduce the size and complexity of the poweramplifiers because no external or internal DC converters have to be added.Power load pull measurements have been performed on different PHEMT topologies. Terminalimpedances have been tuned for power and PAE optimisation at Vgs=0 Volt and Vds=3.5Volts. Thetypical Pout and PAE versus Pin obtained on a 8x300µm power cell is shown in figure 1. A PAE above80% can be achieved with a power density higher than 350mW/mm. Load pull technique enables ananalysis of power performances versus terminal impedances.The figure 2 shows PAE and power density for different matching loads (M1,M2,M3) at Vds=3.5Volts. The knowledge of this intrinsic behaviour is very helpful during the design of the amplifiers, asit allows the best compromise between PAE and power density which is a key feature for the die sizeand cost issue.GSM AND DCS1800 POWER AMPLIFIERSThe main critical parameters for GSM/DCS1800 power amplifiers are output power and efficiency.Indeed the minimum output power required at the antenna is 33dBm for GSM and 30dBm for DCS.Once the output power is achieved, the parameter that singles PA out is power added efficiency, thusthe higher the PAE is, the longer the talk time.For accurate power and PAE optimisation UMS developed scaled large signal PHEMT models, andalso took into account package parasitic elements, epoxy board and SMD component influence in thedesign.The GSM power amplifier integrates two amplifier stages that operate in the 880MHz to 915MHzfrequency band. The on board last stage output network uses three standard SMD capacitors.Typical performances under 3.5V and with an input power of 5dBm are 35dBm output power and 60%PAE. The output versus input power is shown in figure 3 and the same parameters versus the frequencyband are presented figure 4. The output power can be controlled by lowering the Vd from 3.5V to 0V. Drain power controlachieves more than 45dB range and provides a smooth and reproducible characteristic. Furthermore,the drain control exhibits a very interesting feature as the PAE remains high from Poutmax down toPoutmax–10dBm (obtained at Vd=1.0 Volt). Figure 5 presents the output power and PAE versus drainsupply voltage. Table 1 presents the output power at the harmonic frequencies.The DCS power amplifier operates in the DCS1800 frequency band. It consists of three amplifierstages. As for the GSM part, the DCS measurements have been performed using standard epoxy boardand SMD components.Typical performances under 3.5V and for an input power of 5dBm are 33dBm output power and 54%PAE. The figure 6 shows the output versus input power. Table 1 presents the output power at theharmonic frequencies.As compatibility with standard assembly test and packing equipments is a key point for cost issue, thePAs are housed in standard plastic leadless packages. Figure 7 presents a photography of the DCSpackaged amplifier.Associated together these PAs can fit with dual band needs. One single chip solution is in developmentCONCLUSIONVery attractive GaAs power amplifiers for GSM/DCS1800 handset systems using state-of-the-art andlow cost power PHEMT devices have been designed. With one single positive supply voltage theyachieve both high power and efficiency, 35dBm output power with 60% PAE for GSM and 33dBmwith 54% PAE for the DCS, in small and low cost packages. Those properties make the two poweramplifiers valuable products for GSM and DCS handsets.22232425262728293031329 11 13 15 17 19Pin (dBm)Pout (dBm)0102030405060708090100PAE (%)M3M2M1767880828486889092200 250 300 350 400 450Power density (mW/mm)PAE (%)Figure 1 : Pout and PAE vs Pin under Vds=3.5V Figure 2 : PAE vs Power density underfor a 3x800µm transistor Vds=3.5V for different matching loads2022242628303234363840-15 -10 -5 0 5 10Pin (dBm)Pout (dBm)0102030405060708090100PAE (%)26272829303132333435360,88 0,89 0,89 0,9 0,9 0,91 0,91 0,92Frequency (GHz)Pout (dBm)0102030405060708090100PAE (%)Figure 3 : Pout and PAE vs Pin under Vd=3.5V Figure 4 : Pout and PAE vs frequencyFreq=900MHz for Pin=8dBm under Vd=3.5V-25-15-551525350 1 2 3 4Vd (V)Pout (dBm)020406080100120Pae (%)1517192123252729313335-20 -15 -10 -5 0 5 10Pin (dBm)Pout (dBm)0102030405060708090100PAE (%)Figure 5 : Pout and PAE vs Vd for Pin=5dBm Figure 6 : Pout and PAE vs PinFreq=900MHz under Vd=3.5V freq=1750MHzPout (GSM) Pout (DCS)F0 35dBm 33dBm2F0 -38dBc -35dBc3F0 -53dBc -60dBcTable 1. Vd=3.5V Pin=5dBmFigure 7 :Photography of the packaged DCS1800  amplifier  4mm*4mm

Very high power added efficiency PHEMT amplifiers for GSM and DCS 1800 applications

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