A ROBUST DIGITAL WIRELESS LINK FOR TACTICAL UAV’S

Abstract

A conventionally designed radio frequency amplifier operated in its linear region exhibits low DC to RF conversion efficiency. Typically, for a power amplifier designed for digital modulation applications, the amplifier is operated “backed-off” from its P1dB point by a factor of 10 or -10 dB. The typical linear amplifier is biased for either Class A or Class A/B operation depending on the acceptable design trade-offs between efficiency and linearity between these two methods. A novel design approach to increasing the efficiency of a linear RF power amplifier using a modified Odd-Way Doherty technique is presented in this paper. The design was simulated, built and then tested. The design yields improvements in efficiency and linearity.