Simulation and measurement-based X-parameter models for power amplifiers with envelope tracking

Static X-parameter (XP) models for RF power amplifiers (PAs), derived from both simulations and nonlinear vector network analyzer (NVNA) measurements, are investigated for the prediction of PA performance under dynamic signal conditions such as in envelope tracking (ET). The instantaneous AM-AM, AM-PM and PAE predictions of XP models extracted from simulation are compared under ET dynamic signal conditions to two types of circuit models using envelope simulation. An XP PA model is extracted for a peak 8W GaN class-F^-1 ET PA from NVNA measurements with automated bias control. By applying a constant gain shaping table derived from the XP model to the drain supply voltage, the average PAE is improved from 40% to 57% for 3.84 MHz WCDMA signals at 2.14 GHz compared to fixed drain bias operation.