Advanced Power Amplifier Design with AWR Software

This webinar showcases the advanced load-pull based design flows for high power amplifiers (HPAs) within the Cadence® AWR Design Environment® platform. Load pull has become an integral tool for PA designers needing to meet aggressive performance targets in short design cycle windows. Measurement techniques that involve not only fundamental load-pull but also source pull, harmonic load-pull, and baseband load-pull will be discussed. In addition, new features in the V15 release of AWR software that directly support PA design flows will be highlighted, including data management enhancements and other ease-of-use improvements that simplify the handling of complex design projects. The webinar also examines automated matching network synthesis, which integrates seamlessly with load-pull measurements to ensure that the best possible PA performance is achieved across the frequency band of interest.

RF Amplifier Design
When working with and designing RF amplifiers, typically RF power amplifiers, we are looking at designs that attempt to augment and improve the capability of the communication system. Power amplifiers can work with transmitting antennas to provide gain to the signal prior to transmission and really optimize transmission quality throughout the RF frequency bands. Additionally, there are low noise amplifiers (LNA) which will affect the signal shortly after the reception in order to minimize noise but still amplify a potentially distorted signal. 

Some things to keep in mind when designing RF amplifiers would be:

• Ensure you have input & output matching networks designed alongside the amplifier.
• Have your biasing network parameters in place for device power. 
• Optimize the signal network in place for the reliability of the communications network using other vital components like inverters and transceivers. 

Power Amplifier Software Demonstration

This RF amplifier design webinar will go into the specifics of how AWR can optimize the design process for power amplifiers. Some potential specifics to consider for RF amplifiers include gain compression points, power gain, ripple, and the factor of the amplifier's voltage standing wave ratio (VSWR). Keeping any and all of these factors in mind will help move you and your designers forward to the more nuanced and complicated factors of your amplifier design as mentioned above as harmonics and load-pull specifically.