Theory and Experimental Results of a Class F AB-C Doherty Power Amplifier

The aim of this paper is to present a closed-form formulation suitable for a direct computer-aided design synthesis of a Doherty amplifier employing a Class F design strategy for the Main (or Carrier) device. For this purpose, starting from a simplified model for the adopted active devices, the behavioral analysis of the Class F Doherty amplifier is carried out as a function of the input signal. A particular emphasis is dedicated to put into evidence the differences existing when a simple tuned load harmonic termination is considered. The theoretical aspects are deeply discussed and an experimental validation is also provided.