IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON MICROWAVE THEORY AND TECHNIQUES

High-Power 20100-MHz Linear and

Efficient Power-Amplifier Design
Necip Sahan, Mehmet Erim Inal, Simsek Demir, Member, IEEE, and Canan Toker

AbstractThis paper presents modeling and analysis of the

realization of high-power broadband RF power amplifiers (PAs)
and power combiners. In the scope of the study, a model is proposed for a transmission line with a ferrite core, which is the basic
building block for the transmission line transformers (TLTs) used
in broadband high-power amplifiers and power combiner/divider networks as a building block. Simulated performances of
the designed networks using the proposed model possess high
conformity with the empirical performance of the corresponding
realized networks. Therefore, broadband TLT networks with low
insertion loss, high power-handling capability, and low return
loss are realized. RF power combiner/divider networks with wide
frequency bandwidth and high isolation are also implemented.
By using class-B biased pushpull network topology, a linear and
wideband RF PA is realized with high drain efficiency at high
output power levels. In order to broaden the operating frequency
range of the indicated amplifier, a novel technique for TLT utilization that matches the output impedance of the RF power transistor
in wideband is proposed and realized. Measurement results satisfy
the design specifications.
Index TermsMagnetic materials, power amplifiers (PAs),
power combiners, transmission line transformers (TLTs).

I. INTRODUCTION
ROADBAND and high-power amplifiers are essential
in certain applications such as jamming and long-range
wireless communications. Characteristic parameters such as
linearity, efficiency, and bandwidth are crucial in most of the
cases.
Due to the lack of adequate large-signal models of the transistors used in the designs, very rigorous experimental study is required. In addition, high-power wideband impedance matching
and combining structures are challenging factors. Even if the
source and load impedance are purely resistive, inductorcapacitor (LC) networks cannot be designed for wideband reliable matching circuits. On the contrary, in practice, the source

and load impedances of active elements have reactive components as well. Thus, the aim of network is twofold. It should
remove the reactive part, while transforming the real part. This
type of impedance transformation can only be done with transformers, when the bandwidth-transformation ratio product becomes large. The high-frequency response of a conventional
magnetically coupled transformer is limited by the leakage inductance and the parasitic capacitance between the windings.
Instead, transmission line transformers (TLTs) are utilized by
using the outer and center conductor of a coaxial cable as the
primary and the secondary windings of a 1 : 1 transformer, respectively. With this 1 : 1 transformer, different impedance ratio
transformers can be realized with different connections. Moreover, wideband RF power combiners that can handle high power
levels can also be realized using this 1 : 1 transformer with different connection topologies [1][3].
In the scope of this study, 20100-MHz linear power amplifiers (PAs) with 150-W output power, a 500-W four-way RF
power combiner, and a 1-kW two-way RF power combiner were
designed and implemented. Eight of the 150-W linear RF PA
modules were combined via the two four-way RF power combiners and the two-way power combiner to realize 1-kW output
power.
This paper is organized as follows. Section II reviews the
principles behind the TLT concept, which are the superior
matching networks for broadband applications under high
power. Also in Section II, a model for TLTs that can be used
in linear/nonlinear circuit simulators such as Agilent Technologies Advanced Design System (ADS) is introduced. Section III
describes the design, implementation, and performances of the
RF power combiners and 150-W linear RF PA module, respectively. Section IV describes a 1-kW linear RF PA including
eight 150-W PA modules and power combiners.
II. TLTs
A. Conventional Magnetically Coupled Transformers

Manuscript received December 5, 2007; revised June 2, 2008. This work was
supported by Aselsan Inc.
N. Sahan is with the Power Amplifier Technologies Department, Aselsan Inc.,
06172 Ankara, Turkey (e-mail: nsahan@aselsan.com.tr).
M. E. Inal is with the Antenna Technologies Department, Aselsan Inc., 06172
Ankara, Turkey (e-mail: inal@aselsan.com.tr).
S. Demir is with the Electrical and Electronics Engineering Department, Middle East Technical University, Ankara 06531, Turkey (e-mail:
simsek@metu.edu.tr).
C. Toker, retired, was with the Electrical and Electronics Engineering Department, Middle East Technical University, Ankara 06531, Turkey (e-mail:
ctoker@metu.edu.tr).
Color versions of one or more of the figures in this paper are available online
at http://ieeexplore.ieee.org.
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/TMTT.2008.2002238

Although the conventional transformer is simple in construction and it is possible to obtain any impedance ratio, this structure is narrowband and power limited. The conventional transformers work properly in the high-frequency region; however,
parasitic coupling capacitances (inter-winding capacitance and
capacitance between input and output windings) and the leakage
inductances degrade performance in the higher frequencies of
the operational bandwidth. Since these types of transformers use
the magnetic core as the coupling medium, their insertion loss
are affected by the ferrite material used and worse insertion loss
values are achieved compared to TLTs [4]. Moreover, magnetic
cores have certain magnetic flux saturation values. Therefore,

0018-9480/$25.00 2008 IEEE

IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON MICROWAVE THEORY AND TECHNIQUES

Fig. 1. Schematic of equivalent model of coaxial cable.

the power ratings of conventional transformers totally depend

on the magnetic materials used under the windings.
B. TLTs
For applications requiring higher frequency operations,
wider bandwidths, higher power levels, and small impedance
values, TLTs give better performance. TLTs can be realized
using coaxial cables or twisted pair transmission lines. Twisted
pair transmission lines are not as appropriate as the coaxial
cables. On the other hand, twisted pair transmission lines have
the advantage of obtaining the different desired characteristic
values.
impedance
In the TLTs, power is carried throughout the lines in the transverse transmission line mode. Therefore, the power-handling
capability does not depend on the core, but totally depends on
the transmission line. The higher operating frequency property
of the TLT is the result of the inherent absorption of the parasitic
by . Thus, the highest operating frequency level is upgraded
[5][8].
Two basic properties of the TLT, considering the equivalent
model of the coaxial cable shown in Fig. 1, are: 1) equal potentials (same flux linkage) form on the tightly coupled lines
(twisted or coaxial lines) and 2) the currents on the tightly coupled wires flow in the opposite direction with equal magnitudes.
There should be one-to-one coupling between the inner conductor and the inner surface of the outer conductor of the coaxial
cables in TLTs. To achieve that, current flow on the outer surface of the outer conductor must be negligible. This can be satisfied by showing large impedance to the outer conductor of the
coaxial cable. Ferrites or iron powders can be used for this purpose for the lower frequency region of the operating bandwidth
[9]. Winding the coaxial line around a magnetic core is a usual
method for this purpose.
One of the most important points in using TLTs in a PA design is modeling the wound coaxial cables around the magnetic cores. The accuracy of the model is directly related to
the success of the PA design [10][12]. A model is proposed
in this paper and its schematic is given in Fig. 2. In this model,
and
represent the inner and outer conductors core
loss due to leakage fields in the magnetic materials.
and
represent finite magnetizing self-inductance due to
leakage fields in the magnetic materials. These parameters can
be measured using impedance analyzers or network analyzers.
The rest of the parameters are parasitic and become effective in
the upper VHF. Their values can be found by curve fitting.
The shunt impedance decreases with decreasing frequency, which results in increased attenuation level. The
shunt impedance is mainly a function of magnetic inductance
with the negligible contribution of core

Fig. 2. Coaxial cable on the magnetic material.

Fig. 3. 4 : 1 Guanellas 4 : 1 unbalanceunbalance TLT.

loss resistance
. These values can be increased by loading
the transmission line with the suitable magnetic core. The
can be taken as a
inequality
rule-of-thumb for the minimum shunt impedance requirement.
This value can be adjusted using a sufficient number of turns
on a suitable magnetic core. The upper frequency characteristic
is mainly a function of the cable length. The physical length
should be chosen considering the wavelength at the maximum
operating frequency. In practice, it is advised that the line physical length should be smaller than one-eighth of the wavelength
at the maximum operating frequency [13].
To see the conformity between the simulated and measured
results using the model presented, Guanellas 4 : 1 transformer,
shown in Fig. 3, from a 50- to 12.5- impedance level in the
20500-MHz operation frequency band is designed. The insertion loss of the TLT cannot be measured directly because the
network analyzers ports are referenced to a 50- impedance
level. In order to measure the insertion loss, two 4 : 1 TLTs must
be connected symmetrically, and then total insertion loss
(dB) from 50 to 50 can be easily read from the network analyzer. If two TLTs are completely the same, the insertion loss
(dB) that was measured
for a TLT can be defined as half of
from the symmetrical back-to-back connected case. The measured and simulated data can be found in Fig. 4. The simulation
results are in close conformity with the measured ones, therefore, it is concluded that the model of the coaxial cable on the
magnetic core is highly satisfactory and can be used in the designs of high-power amplifiers.

SAHAN et al.: HIGH-POWER 20100-MHz LINEAR AND EFFICIENT PA DESIGN

Fig. 4. Measured/simulated return loss and insertion loss characteristics for the
Guanellas 4 : 1 TLT.

III. HIGH-POWER WIDEBAND RF POWER COMBINERS

When the required output power level exceeds the capabilities of a single PA stage, multiple stages or modules can be combined to produce the required power levels. In the presented application, eight identical power modules are combined by using
two four-way combiners feeding one two-way combiner. This
technique, called the three stages of combining, is applied under
the scope of this study in the 20100-MHz frequency band. For
the modularity of the system, high-power combiner modules
should better operate with 50- impedance ports. Moreover,
50- ports facilitate testing of the designs with common test
equipments. Combiners are closely related to wideband TLTs in
design and construction. The main difference is in the manner of
how the lines or windings are connected. Since the combiners
are reciprocal devices, a power combiner connected in the reverse direction can be used as a power splitter [14].
A wideband power combiner must perform basic functions,
which are: 1) provide low insertion loss over the required bandwidth; 2) provide a low return loss at the input ports over the
required bandwidth; 3) provide a low amplitude imbalance between input ports; 4) provide a low phase imbalance between
input ports; and 5) provide high isolation (minimum coupling)
between the input ports. The purpose of the isolation is to keep
the system operative, even at a reduced power level during a
possible failure in one power module. The isolation is especially
important in output combining of linear amplifiers, where constant load impedance must be maintained [15].
In wideband high power-combiner design, the physical
length of the transmission lines should be negligible compared
to the highest operating frequency in order to minimize the resistive losses, and to avoid possible resonances. To increase the
bandwidth and improve the isolation characteristics of the line,
it is necessary to increase the impedance for nontransmission
line currents (even-mode currents on the outer surface of the
outer conductor) without affecting its physical length. This can
be done by loading the line with magnetic material. Ideally, the
suitable magnetic material should have a linear B-H curve, high
permeability, and low losses over a wide frequency range. For
high-frequency applications, some ferrites offer satisfactory
characteristics, making bandwidths of four or more octaves
possible [16], [17].

Fig. 5. In-phase two way combiners. (a) Type 1. (b) Type 2.

There are several different types of power combiners each

having its advantages over others regarding the frequency spectrum, bandwidth, and other required characteristics. Zero degree
high-power (1 kW) combiners (in-phase combiner) with high
isolation is designed and realized under the scope of this study.
These combiners are the most common ones used at RF frequencies up to 500 MHz because of their straightforward design and
simplicity in construction [18].
There are two basic topologies for in-phase two-way combiners (Type-1 and Type-2), schematics of which are shown in
Fig. 5. Type 1 is superior in terms of its lower voltage standingwave ratio (VSWR), whereas Type 2 provides higher isolation
than Type 1. One primary function of a high-power RF power
combiner is to provide port-to-port isolation. Due to this requirement, a Type-2 in-phase combiner was preferred in this study.
By the sufficient amount of isolation between input ports, the
output of one of the amplifier will be isolated from the others.
If a failure in one occurs, the remaining amplifiers will not be
affected and the amplifier will still be operating into the original
load impedance [19], [20].
A. 20100-MHz 500-W Four-Way Combiner Design
The circuit topology shown in Fig. 6 consists of three
two-way combiners, shown in Fig. 5(b), and a 4 : 1 TLT, shown
in Fig. 4, for impedance-matching purposes. As the magnetic material, the squaroid type ferrites, which have a larger
cross-sectional area and lower peak flux density with respect
to other alternatives, were used both in the construction of
combiners and transformers. The maximum allowable physical
lengths and the minimum required magnetizing inductance
outlined in Section II are satisfied with the following configurations. Two-way combiners A and B, shown in Fig. 6, were
realized with a 50- semirigid coaxial cable, wrapped one
. The two-way
turn around the squaroid cores with
combiner C was realized with a 25- semirigid coaxial cable
wrapped on a similar core. Finally, 4 : 1 TLTs were realized
with a 50- flexible coaxial cable wrapped three turns around
. A squaroid with
was
the squaroid core with
used, which has smaller permeability, and therefore, lower
peak flux density and lower loss causing less heat dissipation
under 500 W of output power. As expected, the temperature
rise in the ferrite material relative to ambient was as low as

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Fig. 6. Block schematic of 20100-MHz 500-W four-way combiner.

Fig. 8. Measured/simulated return loss, insertion loss, and isolation characteristics for 20100-MHz 1-kW two-way combiner.

B. 20100-MHz 1-kW Two-Way Combiner Design

Fig. 7. Measured/simulated return loss, insertion loss, and isolation characteristics for 20100-MHz 500-W four-way combiner.

C. Moreover, simulation by ADS2005A using the

same modeling used for TLTs is applied for this combiner
as well. The simulation and the measurement results given
in Fig. 7 have enough conformity to utilize the model in the
pre-design process. The acceptable discrepancies between the
simulation and measurement results actually arise from the
high- and low-frequency behavior deviation of the realized
three-stage circuit in the three-octave frequency band. Namely,
by examining the return-loss characteristics in Fig. 7, one can
deduce that coupling capacitances between the two conductors (Cw) and the inter-winding capacitances (Ciwi, Ciwo)
should be decreased for lower frequencies. On the other hand,
decreased capacitance values will influence lower return-loss
values for higher frequencies, resulting in higher discrepancies.
By examining the insertion-loss characteristics in Fig. 7(b),
one can also deduce that coupling capacitances between the
two conductors (Cw) and the inter-winding capacitances (Ciwi,
Ciwo) should be decreased for higher frequencies as well. In
this case, for lower frequencies, the predicted insertion-loss
value lowers, resulting in a discrepancy for insertion loss at low
frequencies that will mislead the designer for realizing lossy circuits. Therefore, a higher order model or a frequency-dependant
capacitance should be utilized in the model. However, rather
than conducting a rigorous study on modeling, an optimization
for the prediction of the capacitances in the proposed model is
preferred. The results were found to be quite impressive such
as 0.3-dB insertion loss, 20-dB return loss, and 23-dB isolation
between the input ports in the worst cases. Moreover, the phase
and amplitude imbalances are smaller than 1 and 0.02 dB,
respectively.

The realized circuit consists of a two-way combiner cascaded

with a impedance-matching section. Again, the topology given
in Fig. 5(b) was used as two-way combiner stage and 2.25 : 1
un-un TLT was used for the impedance matching purpose. The
2.25 : 1 TLT was preferred over the ideal 2 : 1 TLT because of
the simplicity in its implementation. Since the power level is excessively high, maximum possible isolation should be achieved
between input ports considering that they carry approximately
500 W. Moreover, the 1-kW power level requires great attention
against the temperature rise of the magnetic materials and the
flux density saturation. For the two-way combiner, a 50- semirigid coaxial cable wrapped one turn on the squaroid core with
and for 2.25 : 1 un-un TLT 35 flexible coaxial cable
wrapped two turns on the two stacked squaroid core with
were used. In the realization of the 2.25 : 1 un-un TLT, squaroidtype ferrites were stacked together to increase the cross section
of the magnetic material, i.e., to decrease the peak flux density
level. The measured and simulated results are given in Fig. 8.
As seen from the graphs, insertion loss is less than 0.2 dB, return loss is less than 22 dB, and isolation between input ports is
better than 24 dB in the operational bandwidth.
It was observed that the temperature rise in one branch of the
C
2.25 : 1 TLT is higher than that of the other, namely,
C in the other. The reason
in one of the cores, whereas
behind this phenomenon is that on one of the branches of the
2.25 : 1 TLT, there forms two times higher voltage to current
ratio, and thus, higher leakage flux with respect to the other one.
IV. HIGH-POWER BROADBAND LINEAR RF PA DESIGN
To have a safe operation for RF power transistors, thermal
considerations of the design should also be investigated in detail.
Since RF power transistors dissipate very high power on themselves, associated to the output power level, a low overall (junction to heat sink) thermal resistance is essential in order to keep
the junction temperature at an allowable value. Although most
of the power transistors have 200 C maximum permissible
junction temperature, for reliable operation, it is recommended
to keep the junction temperature at 130 C150 C. Since the
junction to case temperature
C/W for transistors are
given at room temperature, this parameter tends to increase with
increasing case temperature. Moreover, lower impedance levels

SAHAN et al.: HIGH-POWER 20100-MHz LINEAR AND EFFICIENT PA DESIGN

in the input and output sides of the transistors produce high

current flow on the lumped elements in the matching RLC sections. The best capacitors for high current flow are the porcelain
dielectric types, which have effective series resistance (ESR)
values so they are capable of operating at high RF currents dissipating less power. The air core inductors are usually the preferred types due to their higher values. The flux linkage path
permeability of the inductor can be increased by winding the inductor on a magnetic material such as ferrite and iron powder
to obtain more inductance. However, higher permeability of the
core brings more sensitivity on the temperature variation. The
other key element of an RF amplifier is the resistors used for
stability and matching purposes. Since the well-known carbon
composition resistors have poor insertion loss characteristics at
the RF frequencies, the metal film resistors, which have the best
characteristics over frequency, are used. Especially at the final
output stages where the resistors experience high current levels,
the flange mount resistors on beryllium substrates should be the
choice [21][24].
In the design of the PA module, pushpull topology in a
lightly biased class-AB configuration has been used due to the
advantages it offers over other topologies, such as suppression
of the even-order harmonics, wider bandwidths due to higher
input and output impedances, and higher output power levels.
For the broadband high-power amplifiers, impedance matching
and stabilization are the two most challenging and rigorous
stages in the design and realization processes. Some special
techniques are examined and applied within the scope of this
study to make the resulting amplifier well matched and stable
over the operating frequencies [25].
Vertical diffused metaloxidesemiconductor (VDMOS)type power field-effect transistors (FETs) are the best candidates for high-power application in VHF frequencies. The
chosen transistor was D1030UK by Semelab Inc., Lutterworth,
Leicestershire, U.K. In this choice, the power dissipation
amount, thermal resistance of the transistors, and parasitic
capacitance such as input capacitance, output capacitance, and
feedback capacitance (isolation capacitance) of the device were
the crucial parameters.
RF pushpull PAs require balance-to-unbalance transformation for operation in the input and output sections. TLTs are
used in 1 : 1 balun structures both for power combination and for
balanced matching network in order to obtain maximum output
power with acceptable gain values [26], [27].
Lumped-element matching is not preferred since, in the
broadband and high power applications, input and output
impedances of the active devices are so low that the lumped-element matching alone cannot satisfy the requirements. For
this purpose, the 4 : 1 or 9 : 1 balun TLT (1 : 1 balun cascaded
with 4 : 1 or 9 : 1 balance-to-balance (balbal) transformers)
structures are used, as well in the matching sections, as shown
in Fig. 9.
However, the method mentioned above requires large dimension, which is one of the most important limits in the RF circuits.
Instead, as offered in [28], the TLT section and lumped-element
section can be used together in a unique topology, as shown in
Fig. 10. Moreover, by using a coaxial cable with lower characteristic impedance than the required one for an ideal TLT brings

Fig. 9. Practical pushpull PA matching topology using 4 : 1 or 9 : 1 balun TLT

and lumped-element matching network.

Fig. 10. Combined matching section used in the design of PA module.

a sharper load line characteristic against frequency, which satisfy better impedance matching over broadband, as explained in
detail in [29]. For this reason, in the 9 : 1 TLT section of output
matching in the PA module given below, the coaxial cable with
is used instead of
as the requirement of
an ideal 9 : 1 balbal TLT [30].
The design argument is to obtain 150-W linear output
power with acceptable efficiency and good stability over the
20100-MHz frequency band. The designed PA consists of
cascaded transistors. The driver transistor of the PA is Semelab
Inc.s D1013UK. Among the stabilization techniques, negative
feedback, gate-to-source feedback, and the resistive loading
between the gates of the pushpull D1030UK transistor are
applied. Using Cripps Law, for 200-W output power (in order
to have 150-W linear power backed off from 200 W), the required output impedance level was found as approximately 3 ,
which can be realized with a 9 : 1 balun [31]. The 9 : 1 balbal
section was constructed with a 10- 19-cm semirigid-type
coaxial cable, and a 1 : 1 balun section was constructed with a
50- 22-cm flex-type coaxial cable. All the coaxial cables are
taking the
wound on the toroidal magnetic materials
operating frequency and the power level into account. Further
matching was applied by an L-matching circuit, similar to
the one described in Fig. 10, using the effective inductance
on the outer conductor of the coaxial cable and extra inserted
capacitance into the TLT. For the input matching, a 4 : 1 balun
TLT was used. The 4 : 1 balun section was realized with a
and
14-cm 12- coaxial cable on suitable toroids
two capacitors inserted into the TLT as the shunt legs of the
pi network. The input of the main amplifier was not matched
to 50 . Since there is a driver transistor, the input impedance
was kept at nearly 30 . This value was considered to be the
best value to provide required 5-W input power to the main
amplifier from the driver amplifier. The input matching of the

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Fig. 11. Schematic of 20100-MHz 150-W linear PA module.

Fig. 12. Measured characteristics of 20100-MHz 150-W linear PA module;

output 1-dB compression power (OP1 dB), PAE @ P out = 150 W and
Gain @ P out = 150 W.

driver amplifier was achieved by a 4 : 1 unun TLT, which was

realized by a 15-cm 17- coaxial cable on a suitable magnetic
core
. The transmission path between the main
amplifier and the driver was constructed with a
microstrip transmission line.
In this design, simulations using the computer-aided design
(CAD) tool ADS2005A could not be very beneficial since the
models supplied by the vendors are generally P-Spice models
for those types of products, and those models do not characterize
the transistor nonlinearities under high output power levels accurately. Thus, simulations are used as the starting point in the
design. Some simulations are made to observe the small-signal
gain using the -parameters of the transistors. Some tunings are
then made on the constructed circuit to obtain the best performance under high output power.
The overall circuit schematic of the implemented circuit can
be found in Fig. 11. The measured 1-dB compression output
power levels over the frequency band, gain fluctuation, and

Fig. 13. Block diagram of 20100-MHz 1-kW linear RF PA.

power-added efficiency (PAE) at

W of the designed
amplifier are given in Fig. 12.
Stability consideration is one of the most difficult problems
that designers encounter, especially in broadband amplifiers. It
is relatively easy to reach stability in an amplifier operating
into a 50- load. However, there is always some type of a load
mismatch. Generally, the load is an antenna connected to the
amplifier output and the antennas never have a perfect VSWR
characteristic. Broadband high-power VHF antennas can especially have as much as 4 : 1 VSWR in the operating frequency
range. Instabilities most commonly occur at the lower frequencies where the power transistors have higher power gain as high
as 3040 dB. Some common methods, used in our designs,

SAHAN et al.: HIGH-POWER 20100-MHz LINEAR AND EFFICIENT PA DESIGN

H = 34 cm, L = 28 cm).

Fig. 14. 20100-MHz 1-kW linear RF PA (

The designed 1-kW PA is the combination of the previous designs that were realized in this paper. Module consists of eight
identical PA modules explained previously in this section, two
four-way 500-W combiner units given in Section III-A, and a
two-way 1000-W combiner unit, given in Section III-B. The
overall block diagram for this amplifier module is presented in
Fig. 13, and the related photograph is shown in Fig. 14.
The measurements taken on the module are given in Fig. 15.
As seen from the graph in Fig. 15(a), gain is nominally 32.5 dB
and the gain flatness over the operating frequency band is
1 dB. It also shows that overall PAE is greater than 32%
and the input return loss is greater than 15 dB. In Fig. 15(b),
AM distortion, as a measurement of linearity, and the harmonic
distortions in terms of dBc are given. The graph shows that
AM distortion lower than 3.5% has been achieved over the
operating frequency range. Third-order harmonics are 14 dBc,
whereas second-order harmonics are 25 dBc at the worst case
over the frequency band. This result is expected due to the nature of the pushpull topology exhibiting even-order harmonic
suppression.
V. CONCLUSION

Fig. 15. Measured characteristics of 20100-MHz 1-kW linear RF PA.

(a) Gain @ out = 1 kW, Power added efficiency @ out = 1 kW and
Input return loss @ out = 1 kW. (b) AM distortion @ PEP = 1 kW and
Harmonics distortion @ out = 1 kW.

stands for reducing the low-frequency gain of the PAs such as

dc feed, negative feedback (drain-to-gate feedback), and resistive loading of the gate in a series or shunt connections.
The implemented 20100-MHz 150-W linear RF PA was
tested under different VSWR cases such as VSWR 2 : 1, 3 : 1,
at all phases with the VSWR test setup
5 : 1, 10 : 1, and
including different valued attenuators and a phase shifter. Test
results show that the designed PA is stable at all VSWR cases.
The ultimate aim was to construct a 1-kW PA module. The
amplifier was planned to be used both for 1-kW average FM
signals and 1-kW peak envelope power (PEP) AM signals as
well, therefore, linearity is also a key parameter for the design.

A 1-kW linear amplifier in the 20100-MHz operating frequency band has been realized. Eight 150-W PA modules were
combined to obtain 1-kW linear output power with using two
four-way power combiners and a two-way power combiner. The
measurement results show that maximum 3.5% AM distortion at
1-kW output power with 1-dB gain flatness at minimum 32%
PAE over the 20100-MHz operating frequency band have been
achieved successfully.
To achieve high output power levels, linear and broadband
operation requirements in VHF/UHF bands, lightly biased class
AB (i.e. class B biased with very low quiescent current) in a
pushpull topology was concluded to be the most suitable circuit. Transformer topologies, namely, TLTs, were found to be
very suitable elements to use as the impedance-matching networks for the power transistors in broadband and high-power
applications.
In this study, a model for a transmission line with the ferrite core, which is the basic building block for the TLTs used in
broadband high-power amplifiers, was introduced. The model
derived for TLTs has also been used in the simulation of combiner networks. Simulated performances of the designed networks using the proposed model possess good enough conformity with the empirical performance of the corresponding realized networks. A 20100-MHz 500-W four-way combiner and
20100-MHz 1-kW two-way combiner with low insertion loss,
low return loss, wide frequency bandwidth, and high isolation
have been realized successfully with the aid of this model.
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[2] J. L. B. Walker, D. P. Myer, F. H. Raab, and C. Trask, Transmission
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MA: Artech House, 2006, ch. 4, pp. 153156.

IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON MICROWAVE THEORY AND TECHNIQUES

[3] O. Pitzalis, Practical design information for broadband transmission

line transformer, Proc. IEEE, vol. 56, no. 4, pp. 738739, Apr. 1968.
[4] M. Albulet, Broadband matching circuits, in RF Power Amplifiers.
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Necip Sahan was born in Denizli, Turkey, on February 2, 1981. He received the B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees in electrical and electronics engineering from
Middle East Technical University (METU), Ankara,
Turkey, in 2004 and 2007, respectively, and is currently working toward the Ph.D. degree at METU.
In July 2004, he joined the Microwave System
Technologies Division, Aselsan Inc., where he is
currently an RF Design Engineer with the Power
Amplifier Technologies Department. His research
interests include broadband, linear, and efficient
solid-state RF PA designs, as well as different types of passive RF circuit designs such as broadband couplers, high-power RF combiners, and high-power
filters.
Mr. Sahan was the recipient of 2007 METU Best Thesis Award.

Mehmet Erim Inal was born in Mardin, Turkey, on

June 8, 1971. He received the B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees in electrical and electronics engineering from
Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey, in
1993 and 1997, respectively.
In July 1993, he joined the Microwave System
Technologies Division, Aselsan Inc., Ankara,
Turkey, where he is currently the Head of the
Antenna Technologies Department. His research
interests include radar system design, solid-state
RF PA design, active/passive phased array antenna
system/subsystem design, slotted waveguide array antenna design, monolithic
microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) phase shifter design, as well as radar absorbing material design and radar cross-section reduction of various platforms.

Simsek Demir (S91M98) received the B.Sc.,

M.Sc., and Ph.D. degrees in electrical and electronics
engineering from Middle East Technical University
(METU), Ankara, Turkey, in 1991, 1993, and 1998,
respectively.
From 1991 to 1998, he was a Research Assistant
in METU. From 1998 to 1999, he contributed to
the atmospheric radar antenna design with the
International Research Center for TelecommunicationsTransmission and Radar (IRCTR), Technical
University of Delft, Delft, The Netherlands. Since
2000, he has been a Professor with the Electrical and Electronics Engineering Department, METU. His scientific interests include microwave and
millimeter-wave active and passive component and system design, analysis,
and modeling. Exploitation of RF microelectromechanical systems (MEMS)
technology toward industrial use, PA design, modeling and implementation,
and radar applications are also some of his research topics.
Dr. Demir was a recipient of several awards including the North American
Treaty Organization (NATO) A2 Fellowship, which supported him as a Visiting
Researcher with University of Massachusetts at Amherst, in 1995.

Canan Toker was born in Safranbolu, Turkey, on October 1, 1939. He received the B.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees from the University College of North Wales,
Bangor, U.K., in 1962 and 1965, respectively.
In 1965, he joined the Department of Electrical
and Electronics Engineering, Middle East Technical
University (METU), Ankara, Turkey, where he was
a Professor until his retirement in 2006. In addition
to his academic activities, he also held various administrative positions within industry. His research
interests included varactor diodes and parametric
amplifiers, tunnel diodes, nonuniform transmission lines, directional couplers,
MMICs, MESFET modeling, and wideband PAs.
Dr. Toker was the recipient of the 1974 Science Promotion Award of the
Turkish Scientific and Technical Research Council.