Integrated S-Band transmitter with on-chip DC-DC converter and control loop

A highly integrated high-power transmitter has been designed in a high breakdown GaAs MMIC technology. The transmitter includes, on top of an S-Band 10 W class-F HPA, a DC/DC converter and its associated gate driver, the full voltage regulation control loop, which provides a significant step for phased array transmit chain miniaturization and transmit pulse flexibility. The complete transmitter chip is assembled in a standard QFN package. The DC/DC converter operates at a switching frequency around 100MHz with an efficiency of 82%, including the on-chip control circuits. The overall DC to RF efficiency of the integrated transmitter is 32%.