Compact continuous class-F/class-F⁻¹ power amplifiers utilizing one-port CRLH transmission lines for broadband harmonic matching

Abstract We present continuous Class-F (CCF) and continuous Class-F −1 (CCF −1 ) power amplifiers (PAs) with compact circuit sizes. The output matching network (OMN) of a continuously harmonic-tuned PA must accommodate varying load impedance conditions across a wide frequency range, spanning from the fundamental frequency up to the 2 nd and 3 rd harmonic frequencies. This requirement typically leads to LPF-type OMNs with a significant circuit area overhead, thereby limiting the applicability of the broadband PAs. In this paper, we propose utilizing a one-port composite right-/left-handed transmission line to control the harmonic loads, while the fundamental loads are managed by a moderately sized LPF. This resulted in a notable reduction in PA size by nearly an order of magnitude. We demonstrate the effectiveness of this design approach through the fabrication of 2-GHz-band GaN HEMT PAs operating in CCF and CCF −1 modes. While both PAs exhibited high-efficiency (>70%) operational bandwidths at a state-of-the-art level, we also elucidate key design considerations specific to each PA operation mode.