“The Auxiliary Envelope Tracking RF Power Amplifier System” by Zubaida Yusoff, PhD, Lecturer, Multimedia University.

Date:  October 18, 2012 (Thursday)
Time:  7:30 pm – 9:00 pm
Venue:  PSDC, ELC Foyer, 1 Jalan Sultan Azlan Shah, 11900 Bayan Lepas, Penang, Malaysia

Admission is free.  Refreshments will be served at 7:00 pm.  Network and interact with like-minded engineers and researchers before the seminar begins.

Abstract

The advancement of the mobile communication industry increases the need for RF power amplifier (RFPA) to be more efficient and linear. The communication network that is shifting towards smaller micro-cell or nano-cell network has also motivated the design of the RF power amplifier to be simple, compact and cost-efficient. A simplistic approach in the technique called “Auxiliary Envelope Tracking” (AET) system has promoted the design for small and straightforward AET tracking generator, a key component in the system. The use of low cost components in the AET tracking generator has made the technique commercially attractive.

The AET technique proposes a separation in generating the DC and AC components of the AET signal that biases the drain of the RFPA. This separation eases the generation of the signals, resulting in low power consumption that leads to improvement of efficiency. The investigation of the gain characteristic of gallium nitride (GaN) RFPA has shown an important RFPA attribute, whereby the gain varied substantially as the drain voltage increases.

In order to validate the technique, AET measurement systems for two-carrier and WCDMA signals were developed and experimented; and the measurement results for these signals have proven that the AET technique is a valid technique for efficiency and linearity improvement. The improvements were achieved with simple, compact and cost-effective implementation.

Speaker

Zubaida Yusoff received her B.Sc. in Electrical and Computer Engineering (cum laude with distinction) and M.Sc. in Electrical Engineering from The Ohio State University, USA in 2000 and 2002 respectively. She worked with Telekom Malaysia International Network Operation in 2002 before she joined Multimedia University, Malaysia as a Lecturer in 2004. She continued her studies at Cardiff University, Wales, UK in 2008 under the supervision of Professor Steve Cripps, a renowned PA guru and received Ph.D degree in 2012. She currently resumes her job as a Lecturer at Multimedia University. Her current research interest is in the area of Microwave Power Amplifier System.