Title :
A very high frequency step-down DC/DC converter for spaceborne envelope-tracking SSPA
Author :
Leroy, Fabien ; Le Gallou, Nicolas ; Delepaut, Christophe ; Deblecker, Olivier ; Dualibe, Fortunato
Author_Institution :
Fac. of Eng., Univ. of Mons, Mons, Belgium
Abstract :
An experimental VHF DC/DC converter aimed at envelope-tracking amplifiers for space applications is presented. Based on Gallium Nitride components, it is capable of operating in the range of tens of watts, as required by on-board transmitters. When driven by a 50-MHz PWM signal, it reaches a peak efficiency of 91.6%. A detailed breakdown of the associated losses is reported in order to identify the contributions. Additional measurements at 67 MHz show a peak efficiency of 89.8%.
Keywords :
DC-DC power convertors; gallium compounds; power amplifiers; wide band gap semiconductors; GaN; efficiency 89.8 percent; efficiency 91.6 percent; frequency 50 MHz; frequency 67 MHz; spaceborne envelope tracking SSPA; very high frequency step down DC DC converter; CMOS integrated circuits; Gallium nitride; HEMTs; MODFETs; Pulse width modulation; Radio frequency; Switches; DC/DC converter; GaN; SSPA; VHF switching; envelope-tracking;
Conference_Titel :
Microwave Symposium (IMS), 2014 IEEE MTT-S International
Conference_Location :
Tampa, FL
DOI :
10.1109/MWSYM.2014.6848472
