LINEARIZATION:

REDUCING DISTORTION IN POWER AMPLIFIERS

BY: DR. ALLEN KATZ, MAY 2004 04.16.04

OUTLINE

• WHY LINEARIZE
• TYPES OF LINEARIZERS
• THEORY/IDEAL LIMITER
• PREDISTORTION LINEARIZERS
• PERFORMANCE EVALUATION
• RESULTS
• CONCLUSIONS

1
 IN PAST MOST AMPS USED FOR SC FM
MOD SIGNALS
CHANNEL AMP #1
INPUT OUTPUT

MUX MUX
CHANNEL AMP #2

- NL PRODUCTS ELIMINATED WITH LP FILTER

-OPERATER AT SATURATION (MAX PWR & EFF)
TODAY MULTI-CARRIER AND COMPLEX MODULATED SIGNALS COMMON
WHEN MORE THAN ONE CARRIER - DISTORTION PRODUCED (IM)

f1 f2
AMPLIFIER f1 f2

DISTORTION PRODUCTS

TO REDUCE DISTORTION TO AN
ACCEPTABLE LEVEL
-MUST OPERATE AMPLIFIER AT REDUCED POWER LEVEL
(BACKOFF FROM SATURATION)

2
 DISTORTION ALSO PRODUCED BY
CHANGE IN PHASE WITH POWER LEVEL
PHASE 5.0 deg/DIV

PHASE
TWTA PHASE

OUT
TWT POUT

Pin 2.5 dB/DIV

n=

8
Ac cos(ωct + M cos[ωmt]) = Ac ΣJn(M) cos([ωc+nωm]t)
n= -

FOR A DIGITALLY MODULATED CARRIER

DISTORTION PRODUCES SPECTRAL REGROWTH

10 dB/
2.5dB OPBO

FREQ 20 MHz/

3
 LINEARIZATION --
SYSTEMATIC PROCEDURE FOR REDUCING DISTORTIONS

USUALLY EXTRA COMPONENTS ADDED TO AN

AMPLIFIER

WHEN CONFIGURED IN A SUBASSMBLY OR BOX KNOWN

AS A LINEARIZER

THREE COMMON FORMS:

1) FEEDFORWARD
2) FEEDBACK
3) PREDISTORTION

+ TECHNIQUES TO IMPROVE EFFICIENCY USING NL PAs

CHOICE OF LINEARIZATION

• LEVEL OF LINEARITY (DISTORTION REDUCTION)

NEEDED.

• BANDWIDTH REQUIRED
(SIGNAL AND OPERATIONAL).

• COST/COMPLEXITY CONSTRAINTS.

4
LINEARIZERS HAVE BEEN USED WITH

•TWTAs and KLYSTRONS

• BIPOLAR SSPAs (CLASS A, AB, B)

•FET SSPAs (GaAs, MOS, LDMOS)

LINEARIZERS ALLOW HPAs TO OPERATE

CLOSER TO SAT
POWER OUT “SAME” Distortion

Greater Ouput Power

AMP LAMP AMP LAMP

Efficiency “SAME” Distortion

Greater Efficiency
AMP LAMP AMP LAMP

5
 FIRST RULE:

YOU CAN’T LINEARIZE AN AMPLIFIER

THAT IS ALREADY LINEAR!

WANT TO OPTIMIZE EFFICIENCY AND

SATURATED POWER, NOT LINEARITY

EXCELLENT RESULTS CAN BE OBTAINED WITH

CLASS A-B AND B AMPS BOTH FET AND BIPOLAR

IDEAL AMPLIFIER CHARACTERISTIC

Pout

Pin
WANT CONSTANT GAIN AND PHASE

6
IMPROVEMENT DEPENDS ON ACCEPTABLE DIST
LEVEL
SATELLITE --
•IMD PRODUCTS ADD TO THERMAL NOISE
IF C/I = CNR THEN CNR DEGRADES BY 3 dB

•WANT C/I > CNR + 10 dB FOR NEGLIGIBLE DEG. (< .5 dB)

IF CNR = 16 dB THEN C/I = 26 dB

•IF C/I = CNR + 6 THEN CNR = CNR DEG. BY 1 dB

CELLULAR --
•INTERFERENCE FROM TX TO ADJACENT RX A PROBLEM --
CAN NEED C/I > 35 ~ 70 dB.

•FOR DIGITAL MOD, 16QAM … 8PSK NEED HIGH C/I TO

KEEP BER DOWN.

FEEDFORWARD

Sin Sout 1 Sout 2

MAIN AMP

AUX AMP Scor

IMD

•RELATIVELY COMPLEX
•NOT WORKABLE AS STAND-ALONE UNIT
•NOT EFFECTIVE FOR OPBOs < 6 dB
•MOST USEFUL FOR VERY HIGH LINEARITY APPLICATIONS

7
 MINIMUM FEEDFORWARD OPBO FOR
IMD CANCELATION (20 dB)
9

Min. OPBO for IMD Cancellation in dB

8
K2 3 dB
K2 10 dB
7 K2 6dB

0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Aux Amp Size Relative to Main Amp in dB

DEPENDS ON: 1) AUX AMP SIZE,

2) OUTPUT COUPLER COEF.

FEEDBACK LINEARIZATION

NET-
WORK
*FEEDBACK (NETWORK)

- NARROW BAND
- STABILITY PROB AMP
- REDUCED GAIN
- DIFF TO ADJ

*INDIRECT FEEDBACK AMP

-OPERATES ON ENVELOPE
-VERY LIMITED BW < 1/(4∆tS) +

-CAN BE POLAR OR CARTESIAN

8
CARTESIAN FEEDBACK ELIMINATES THE NEED
FOR PHASE CORRECTION CIRCUITRY

PREDISTORTION

•RELATIVELY SIMPLE CIRCUITRY

•EASILY IMPLEMENTED AS A STAND-ALONE UNIT
•WIDE BAND (>20% BW)
•MOST POPULAR FOR MICRO/MILLIMETER WAVE

9
 LINEARIZER GAIN DEPENDS ON
INPUT TO HPA

• THE GAIN OF THE LINEARIZER (GL) MUST INCREASE BY THE SAME

AMOUNT THE HPA’s GAIN (GA) DECREASES.

• GL(PoutL) - GLss = - [GA(PinA) - GAss] PoutL = PinA

• ΦL(PoutL) - ΦLss = - [ΦA(PinA) - ΦAss] PoutL = PinA

• GL(PinL) = GLss+ GAss - GA(PinL + GL(PinL))

• ΦL(PinL) = ΦLss+ ΦAss - ΦA(PinL + GL(PinL))

• ΦL DEPENDS ON THE GL AND CANNOT BE SET IDENPENDENTLY

AN IDEAL LINEARIZER MUST PROVIDE A GAIN EXPANSION

THAT APPROACHES INFINITY NEAR SATURATION

45 0

40 -0.5
PHASE IN DEGREES

35 -1.0

30 -1.5
GAIN IN dB

25 -2.0
20 -2.5
LIN PHASE
15 -3.0

10 -3.5
LIN GAIN
5 -4.0

0 -4.5
-20 -18 -16 -14 -12 -10 -8 -6 -4 -2 0

PIN dB

dG/dP =>∞ as Pin => Sat

10
FORMS OF PREDISTORTION LINEARIZERS
1. TRANSMISSION Vin
LIN
F

Vout (HIGH)
Vnl
NL Vout (LOW)

2. REFLECTIVE
F

NL

3. IN LINE

TECHNIQUES TO IMPROVE EFFICIENCY USING

NL PAs

• MANY WAYS TO ACCOMPLISH.

• CLASSICAL “KHAN METHOD” DEMODS ENVELOPE

AND LIMITS SIGNAL. THEN REMODULATES AT
OUTPUT PA.

• LINC SYSTEMS USE OBTAIN LINEAR AMPLIFICATION

BY COMBINING TWO NON-LINEAR PAs.

• LOAD MODULATION AND OUTPHASING

(DOHERTY – ONE EXAMPLE)

11
 EER – ENVELOPE ELIMINATION AND
RESTORATION

IF ELIMINATE ENVELOPE, SIGNAL CAN BE AMPLIFIED

IN NL PA OPERATED AT OR NEAR SATURATION.

LINC – LINEAR AMPLIFICATION WITH NON-LINEAR

COMPONENTS

CAN OBTAIN ANY AMPLITUDE FROM THE SUM OF 2

CONSTANT AMPLITUDE SIGNALS OF VARIABLE PHASE

12
 DIGITAL PREDISTORTION

IF MIX DOWN TO BB MIX UP TO IF RF

• CAN PRODUCE CURVES OF ANY SHAPE

• NORMALLY PROCESS AT BASEBAND
• CAN USE EITHER G AND Φ OR I AND Q
• MUST SAMPLE AT > 2 X CORRECTION BW FOR G AND Φ
• BUT ONLY > CORRECTION BW FOR I AND Q
• CORRECTION BW (CBW) ≥ 3 x BW OF SIGNAL
• MUST USE MANY BITS FOR HIGH CANCELATION (<6 dB/)

DIGITAL ADAPTIVE PREDISTORTION

SPECTRUM
BW ~
I I IX-QY
I C cos 3 ω 0 t ω 1 +3 ω 0
N A
T X (R)
0 3 ω0 6 ω0 E L
LUT smoothing
cos 3 ω 0 t R C
SIGNAL (1, 0, -1, 0) P U
A/D R D/A FIL HPA
O Y (R) L
L LUT
~ A A
Q T Q T IY+QX
E E sin 3 ω 0 t

sin 3 ω 0 t UPDATE
(1, 0, -1, 0) X(R), Y(R)
~ω 1

LUT = Look Up Table

~
T= sampling period I
COMPUTE I
3w 0 (4 ∆ T) = 2 π N
UPDATED T
3f 0 (4 ∆ T) = 1 E cos 3 ω 0 t
R
VALUES R' P A/D
fs = 1/ ∆ T sin 3 ω 0 t
O
FOR L ~
fs = 12 f 0 = 6BW A Q
X(R), Y(R) T
E

ADAPTIVE SYSTEMS CORRECT AT << ENVELOPE RATE

13
 DIGITAL PREDISTORTION
• ADVANTAGES:
* ACCURATE CORRECTION OVER WIDE DYNAMIC
RANGE AND FOR IRREGULAR
NON MONOTONIC CHARACTERISTICS
* EASY TO MODIFY AND UPDATE
* SIMPLE TO IMPLEMENT AS ADAPTIVE SYSTEM

• DISADVANTAGES:
* CORRECTION BANDWIDTH LIMITED BY
SAMPLING RATE: SR = CBW = N X BW
* COST CAN BE HIGHER THAN ANALOG
* POWER CONSUMPTION CAN BE HIGH
* WIDE BW SYSTEMS DIFFICULT TO IMPLEMENT

PERFORMANCE EVALUATION
MAGNITUDE & PHASE IMPORTANT INDICATORS OF PERFORMANCE

** OBTAIN WITH POWER SWEEP

GAIN 0.5 dB/DIV Pout 2.5 dB/DIV PHASE 5.0 deg/DIV

LTWTA GAIN TWTA PHASE

LTWTA PHASE
TWTA GAIN
TW TA POUT

TWT POUT
LTWTA POUT

LTWTA POUT

Pin 2.5 dB/DIV Pin 2.5 dB/DIV

SEPARATION OF 1 dB COMPRESSION AND SATURATION

PROVIDES GAGE FOR COMPARISON

14
 C/I (CARRIER TO IMD) MEASUREMENT

• MANY DIFFERENT STANDARDS MAKE COMPARISON DIF.

• DATA USUALLY PRESENTED REL TO BACKOFF FROM SAT.

• SAT POINT SHOULD BE SINGLE CARRIER SAT.

2 CARRIER SAT ABT 1 dB LOWER, NOISE ABT 1.5 dB.

• CAN NOT USE COMPRESSION POINT FOR REFERENCE.

1 dB = SAT - D

• BOTH IPBO AND OPBO USED … IPBO CAN BE MISLEADING.

BEST TO REFER TO OPBO
- OUTPUT LEVEL IS WHAT’S IMPORTANT!

OFTEN RESULTS PRESENTED FOR C/I3 ONLY

With Linearizers, not uncommon

for 5th order terms to be greater
than 3rds or of same order 5th 5th

7th 3rd 3rd 7th

C/I total = C/ Σ Ι3 2 + Ι5 2 + Ι7 2 + ...

Total C/I preferred to
C/I3
C/Imin is a good
compromise

15
IMD TERMS CAN BE NON-SYMMETRICAL

DUE TO MEMORY EFFECTS (AM/AM AND AM/PM)

UPPER & LOW ODD ORDER UPPER & LOW ODD ORDER
AM/AM TERMS IN PHASE AM/PM TERMS OUT OF PHASE

A LINEARIZER IMPROVES LINEARITY OF A

CLASS A SSPA
B/DIV
d

SAT
Relative Power Output 0.5

AMP
L/AMP

L/AMP
GAIN SAT
0 dB/DIV

AMP
Gain Ghange .5

PHASE AMP
L/AMP

START -10.0 dBm CW 1.9500 GHz STOP 15.0 dBm

16
LINEARIZATION OF A CLASS A SSPA PROVIDES ONLY

A 0.5 dB POWER INCREASE FOR A C/I OF 26 dB,

BUT A 2.5 dB POWER INCREASE FOR A C/I OF 50 dB
70

65

60

55

50

45 L/SSPA
C/I IN dB

40

35 SSPA
30

25

20

15

10
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

OUTPUT BACKOFF IN dB

LINEARIZATION OF LESS LINEAR CLASS AB SSPA

PROVIDES > 1.5 dB POWER INCREASE FOR C/I OF 26 dB.

C/I (MIN) IN dB
45

40 L/SSPA

35

30 SSPA
26 dB
25

20

15

10
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
OUTPUT POWER BACKOFF IN dB

17
 WITH A TWTA A C/I = 26 dB CAN OBTAIN
> 3 dB POWER INCREASE

45 Mid Band

High Band
40

35 LTWTA
Low Band
C/I in dB

30 6dB

25 >3dB

20

15
TWTA
10
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
OUTPUT POWER BACKOFF IN dB

WITH MULTIPLE CARRIERS THE IMPROVEMENT IS EVEN GREATER!

MULTIPLE CARRIERS (N>2)

• EXERCISE OVER RANGE Ppk = 2NPav

• NO SIMPLE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN C/I FOR 2 AND N CARRIER CASE

• GREATER IMPROVEMENT
(REDUCTION IN OPBO) FOR A GIVEN C/I AS N INCREASES
OPBO IMPROVEMENT
7
OPBO REUCTION IN dB

6
NPR
4-TONE
5
2-TONE
4
3

1
0
14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32

C/I IN dB

18
 NPR - NOISE POWER RATIO

Noise
Pedestal

Noise BPF Notch

Notch

MEASURE OF N-CARRIER C/I

WANT DEPTH OF GENERATOR NOTCH > 10 dB BELOW NPR OF INTEREST

NPR PREDICTS AMPLIFIER PERFORMANCE

WITH MANY CARRIERS

35

30
LTWTA
25 4 dB
C/I in dB

20

15
TWTA
10

5
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
OUTPUT POWER BACKOFF IN dB

FOR C/I = 25 dB OBTAIN ALMOST 6 dB INCREASE IN POWER.

19
 NPR OF CLASS AB SSPA

35

30
NPR in dB

25

20

15

10
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
OPBO in dB

PROVIDES SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION IN

SPECTRUM
10 dB/

TWT
REF LEVEL ONLY
4.0 dB B.O.
0.5 dBm

4.0 dB B.O.
WITH LINEARIZER

VBW 1 kHZ

20
 EVEN NEAR SAT

> 2 dB POWER INCREASE

REDUCTION IN SPECTRAL REGROWTH PROVIDED

BY LINEARIZATION OF A TWTA

50
LTWTA
Carrier to Noise Ratio

45

40
15dB
35 TWTA

30

25

20
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
OPBO IN dB

21
IDEAL LINEARIZER PERFORMANCE IS LIMITED BY SIGNAL
PEAK-TO-AVERAGE CHARACTERISTICS (PAC)
PAC SETS MINIMUM BACKOFF OF PA!
CANNOT IMPROVE BY LINEARIZATION.
MUST USE PA WITH HIGHER POWER/EFFICIENCY

80
2-TONE
70

60
C/I IN dB

50
40

30
MANY-TONE (NPR)
20
10
0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
OUTPUT BACKOFF IN dB

DSP L/TWTA AT 3 dB OPBO – C/I > 50 dB

22
 TWO KINDS OF BANDWIDTH
1) STATIC BANDWIDTH - ABILITY OF LIN MAG/PHASE TRANSFER RESP TO
EQUALIZE AMP AT ALL FREQ OF INTEREST
- MEAS WITH 2 CLOSE SPACED TONES
AT ALL FREQ OF INTEREST

2) DYNAMIC BANDWIDTH - ABILITY OF LIN MAG/PHASE TRANSFER RESP

TO FOLLOW ENVELOPE OF SIGNALS
- MEAS WITH 2-TONE SIGNAL IN WHICH THE
SPACING OF THE TONES IS INCREASED

THE LINEARITY OF AMPLIFIERS DEGRADE WITH

INCREASING CARRIER SPACING
40
C/I3 LOWER

C/I3 UPPER
35

30 C/I5 LOWER
C/I (dB)

C/I5 UPPER
25

20

4 dB OPBO
15

10

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
CARRIER SPACING (MHz)

23
 MAJOR CAUSE OF DEGRADATION --
INABILITY OF AMPLIFIERS TO FOLLOW RAPIDLY CHANGING ENVELOPE

ENVELOPE FREQUENCY Fe = F∆/2

TRANSFER CHARACTERISTICS CHANGE WITH Fe

MEMORY EFFECTS

• Memory Effects are changes in a Power Amplifier’s (PA) non-linear

characteristics resulting from the past history of the input signal.

Vo = f(Vin, time)

• Primary cause drain/collector and gate/base bias change.

• Thermal, device and frequency are also factors.

• Standard predistortion linearizers depend on a stable non-linear

response, and can be particularly degraded by memory effects.

24
 IMPROVEMENT IN C/I RESULTING FROM ADDED LOW
INDUCTANCE DRAIN CAPACITORS (RESONATE AT 12 MHz)

40

35

30
C/I IN dB

25
Linearizer with Caps
20 Linearizer without Caps
No Linearizer with Caps
No Linearizer without Caps
15 Linearized (1MHz Average)
30 MHz CARRIER SPACING Non-Linearized (1 MHz Average)
10

OUTPUT BACKOFF IN dB

SUMMARY

LINEARIZERS INCREASE HPA POWER CAPACITY

AND EFFICIENCY FOR MULTI-CARRIER AND
COMPLEX DIGITAL SIGNALS

NEW LINEARIZER DESIGNS HAVE GREATLY

ENHANCED PERFORMANCE

SSPAs - BENEFIT GREATEST FOR CLASS B AND AB

2 X POWER INCREASE IN HIGH LIN APPLICATIONS

TWTAS - 4 X POWER INCREASE AND DOUBLE

EFFICIENCY

25
SUMMARY

FEEDFORWARD:

LINEARIZATION IS MOST VALUABLE

WHEN VERY HIGH LIN REQUIRED.

INDIRECT FEEDBACK:

WORKS WELL, BUT LIMITED

IN BANDWIDTH.

PREDISTORTION:

ADVANTAGES SIMPLICITY, WIDEBAND,

VIABLE BOTH LOW AND HIGH LIN.
DSP CAN PROVIDE VERY HIGH LIN.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

1. A. Katz, “Linearization: Reducing Distortion in Power Amplifiers,” IEEE

Microwave Magazine, pp. 37-49, December 2001.
2. Vuolevi and Rahkonen, “Distortion in RF Power Amplifiers”, Artech
House, 2003.
3. S. Cripps, “Advanced Techniques in RF Power Amplifier Design”,
Artech House, 2002.
4. A. Katz and R. Gray, “The Linearized Microwave Power Module,” MTT-S
International Microwave Symposium Digest, June, 2003.
5. A. Katz, “Performance Of Multi-carrier 16QAM Over a Linearized TWTA
Satellite Channel,” AIAA 20th International Communications Satellite
Systems Conference Proceedings, Montreal, May 2002.
6. P. Kenington, “Methods Linearize RF Transmitters and Power Amps,
Part 1, ”Microwaves & RF Magazine,” pp. 103-116, December 1998,
Part 2, pp. 79-89, January 1999.

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