High-efficiency DC-to-RF/RF-to-DC interconversion switching module at C-band

Both high-efficiency DC-to-RF and RF-to-DC conversions have been performed on a module with an impedance switching circuit connected at the gate side of a main GaN HEMT transistor. Here, two circuit configurations for an impedance switching circuit are proposed that use short/capacitance and open/short(inductance) switching circuits. These can be selected and utilised depending on the characteristics of the main transistor. At 5.36 GHz, the fabricated module delivered a maximum DC-to-RF efficiency (drain efficiency) of 76% and a maximum RF-to-DC efficiency of 66%.