Simultaneous match antenna tuning for GaN RF power amplifiers

Imec; Vlaams-Brabant; Sur place; EUR 13 000 - 17 000; Plein temps

Résumé du poste

imec is offering a Master internship to design, tape out and measure a tunable output matching network for a GaN RF power amplifier, exploring high-voltage GaN switching for improved resilience.

The project includes simulation of linearity under external supply and load modulation, under supervision by Piet Wambacq (VUB) and Tim Canning. Duration is 12 months, open to self-supported students.

Qualifications

• Master internship in Electrical Engineering or related field.
• Strong background in RF, GaN or impedance matching preferred.
• Ability to design, simulate and measure RF circuits within a team.

Responsabilités

• Design, tape out and measure a tunable output matching network for a GaN RF power amplifier.
• Simulate linearity under external supply and load modulation.
• Collaborate with supervisor and research team on project milestones.

Connaissances

RF design

Circuit design

Research skills

Formation

Master's degree in Electrotechnics/Electrical Engineering

Description du poste

/ Simultaneous match antenna tuning for GaN RF power amplifiers

Simultaneous match antenna tuning for GaN RF power amplifiers

This applicaiton is for the [NNFC Korea Internship Program 2027]Design of a Gallium Nitride (GaN) amplifier with in built switched capacitive impedance tuner in the output matching network to show increased resilience to output impedance and supply voltage changes

GaN RF poweramplifiers can be especially sensitive to variations in load impedance andsupply variation.High voltage operatingconditions lead to increased sensitivity to capacitive loading effects, andmismatch effects from the output load impedance can lead to large dynamicvoltage and temperature swings inside the device, which in the worst case canlead to transistor reliability problems, and as a minimum, degrade outputpower, efficiency and linearity.

High voltage GaNswitch based tuneable matching networks are a potential solution to thisproblem [1] .These networks can operate like tuneablefilters to mitigate the mismatch between antenna and the system matchingimpedance.These devices are typical inmobile applications, where the antenna is subject to large amounts ofcapacitive coupling (hand effect), resulting in a large VSWR presented to theanalog circuit.These circuits are notcommonly used in higher power applications due to the linearity degradationfrom the switches.GaN switches have thepotential to mitigate some of these issues, due to their inherently highvoltage operating range [2] .Furthermore the antenna tuner could be usedto replace other backoff efficiency enhancement methods such as Doherty or highbandwidth envelope tracking, which can both introduce excess nonlinearity.

This project aims todesign, tape out and measure, a tuneable output matching network for a GaNpower amplifier, and simulate the effect on linearity under both externalsupply and load modulation.

Type of internship: Master internship

Duration: 12 month

Required educational background: Electrotechnics/Electrical Engineering

University promotor: Piet Wambacq (VUB)

Supervising scientist(s): For further information or for application, please contact Tim Canning ( [e-mail] )

The reference code for this position is 2026-INT-323. Mention this reference code in your application.

Only for self-supporting students.

[1] [1] K. Entesari and G.M. Rebeiz, “RF MEMS, BST, and GaAs varactor system-level response in complexmodulation systems,” International Journal of RF and MicrowaveComputer-Aided Engineering, vol. 18, no. 1, pp. 86–98, 2008, doi: 10.1002/mmce.20275 .

[2] C. F.Campbell and D. C. Dumka, "Wideband high power GaN on SiC SPDT switchMMICs," 2010 IEEE MTT-S International Microwave Symposium, Anaheim,CA, USA, 2010, pp. 145-148, doi: 10.1109/MWSYM.2010.5517940

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