CLASS F

©James Buckwalter 1
 Class-F Amplifier
Harmonic tuning
• Add “harmonic tuning” to Vo
Class B amplifier
• Nominally open circuit at
odd harmonics match

• Short circuit at even RL

harmonics
• (In reality, need to Vo

optimize for given 3fo

transistor)
• Vds begins to look like a match
RL
fo
square wave
©James Buckwalter 2
 Class-F Amplifier
• With added 3rd Iout
Imax
harmonic V3,pk=1/9 Vpk,
• Vpk can reach the highest
value without causing Vmin Vo Vmax Vout
clipping Vds
• Iquiescent= 0 Vdd Vrf (?)

• Idc=Iave = Irf / p Id time

• Pdc= VDD Iave

Iave
9 p Vmax -Vmin time
h=
8 4 Vmax +Vmin
©James Buckwalter 3
 Class-F Strategy
• Adding 3rd harmonic to 1.5

voltage flattens its top and 0.5

bottom so it begins to 0

-0.5

approach a square wave -1

• With 3rd harmonic added, -1.5

0 2 4 6 8 10 12

the fundamental can be 1.5

increased at fixed signal 1

0.5

swing (before clipping) 0

• Get even better results

-0.5

-1

adding 5th harmonic -1.5

0 2 4 6 8 10 12

©James Buckwalter 4
 Fourier Series Example

2/p Vo=0.63 Vo

Vo/2

0
time
-Vo/2

• Vpk / (Vo/2) = 0.63/0.5 = 1.26: This is for perfect

square wave (includes all odd harmonics)
• Vpk / (Vo/2) ~ 9/8 = 1.125: This is just 3rd harmonic
©James Buckwalter 5
 Class-F Waveform Analysis
• Is there power delivered to load at 2fo? No, V2,pk=0
• Is there power delivered to load at 3fo? No, I3,pk=0
• PRF=1/2 VFUND IFUND= 1/4 VFUND IRF = 1/4 IRF*(Vmax-Vmin)/2* 9/8
• PDC= VDC IDC = IRF/p*(Vmax+Vmin)/2
• Efficiency =p/4 *9/8*(Vmax-Vmin)/(Vmax+Vmin)
IDC=IRF/p just as for Class B
IFUND = IRF /2 just as for Class B
Waveforms of Transistor Voltage(blue) and Current (black)
Vpk= RL(fo) Ipk
2

1.5
For Class F
V, I

1
Vmax=VDC+8/9 VFUND
0.5 Vmin=VDC- 8/9 VFUND
0
0 45 90 135 180 225 270 315 360 405 450 495 540 585 630 675 720 765
 VFUND=(Vmax-Vmin)/2*9/8
angle (degrees) Vmax= VDC+VFUND
©James Buckwalter Vmin=VDC-VFUND for class B 6
Class-F Amplifier Implementation:
Accounting for Output Capacitance

m2
freq=2.089GHz
m1 S(1,1)=1.000 / -179.915
freq=1.096GHz impedance = Z0 * (1.514E-7 - j7.444E-4)
S(1,1)=0.252 / -79.574
impedance = Z0 * (0.963 - j0.509)

m3
freq=2.951GHz
m2
S(1,1)

m3 S(1,1)=0.998 / -2.634
impedance = Z0 * (1.517 - j43.448)
m1

©James Buckwalter
freq (100.0MHz to 10.00GHz) 7
 Class-F Amplifier
• Alternative Implementation
Vdd Short at all harmonics here

Zo=RL
lo/4
match
RL
fo
Z=RL at fo
Z=0 at 2fo, 4fo
Z=inf. at 3fo, 5fo,...

©James Buckwalter 8
 Class-F Example
• David Schmelzer and Stephen
I. Long, CSICS 2006
• GaN FETs at 2GHz
• Class F amplifier

86% PAE, 17W

©James Buckwalter 9
 Harmonic Load Tuning
Class F
Class F
Class B
X2=Im(Znet) at 2fo
X3=Im(Znet) at 3fo

Znet

Cds RL

XL(f)

©James Buckwalter 10
 Other Approaches for High-Efficiency
• Control the voltage and current waveforms to
prevent conduction while the voltage
• Class D: Switch current and voltage
• Class F-1
• Class E: ZVS and ZVS derivative switching

©James Buckwalter 11
SWITCHING PAS

©James Buckwalter 12
 Switching-Mode Amplifiers
• We have severe constraints from bias-point amplifiers in
terms of gain and efficiency.
• Switching-mode minimizes power dissipation in transistor:
– when voltage is high, current is zero
– when current is high, voltage is minimum
• Examples: Class E, Class D amplifiers
• But they require special considerations to operate linearly.
Iout Vsw
Pdiss
driver
Vh
Isw time

13

Vout time
©James Buckwalter
 Transistor Model for PA
• Transistor acts like current source with Iout a linear replica of
vin except in cutoff when vin<vTH
• To operate at high efficiency, we want to operate where the
transistor DOES NOT want to behave like a current source.
• When Vout gets low enough, transistor acts like voltage
source (in triode).
Iout
Imax

Vout

©James Buckwalter 14
 Transistors in Triode
• Transistors are not perfect switches
– Finite rise/fall time CGD
– Finite on-resistance t = RON COFF CDS
– Finite output capacitance CGS
– Finite input capacitance
• Switch current is proportional to voltage across switch with
conductance that changes between 0 and 1 with control
voltage

©James Buckwalter 15
 Class-D Amplifier
• Supercharged “inverter” or push-pull
amplifier can operate as a class-D
amplifier.
• Output network is constructed to provide
a short at fundamental frequency
• Switches provide square wave voltage
source Vdd

• Choose load for the combined switches

to be nominally open circuit at odd driver
and even harmonics Vh
fo
• In reality, need to optimize for given
transistor.
©James Buckwalter 16
 Class-D Amplifier Waveforms
• Switches alternately Vh
provide half-wave sine Vdd
current
• Net output current is IL
time

purely sinusoidal
• Sometimes called voltage-
mode amplifier time
Isw1
Vdd
Iave Irf
Isw2 time
driver
IL Isw2
Vh
fo Iave Irf
Isw1 time
©James Buckwalter 17
 Class-D Amplifier Analysis
Vh v 2pk
Vdd PRF =
2RL
Since the voltage is a square wave at the
time
IL drain, the fundamental component that
gets through output node is
2 2Vdd2
v pk = Vdd PRF = 2
time p p RL
Isw1
PDC = I DCVDD
Iave Irf The average dc current is found from
time
Isw2 1 T /2 2VDD
sin (w ot ) dt £ 2DD
2V
I DC = ò
Iave Irf T 0 pR p R
time 2
2VDD
PDC = I DCVDD = 2
p R
If this seems too good to be PRF
true… h= = 100%!!
©James Buckwalter PDC 18
 Sources of Power Loss
1. On resistance of switches
Ton
von = ionron Pdiss = I r
2
DC on Assume the on current is constant
T
2. Capacitance charge and discharge
1
Pdiss = CV 2 f
2
3. Transient Power Loss (crowbar current)
T
Pdiss = ò i (t ) v (t ) dt
0

1
Pdiss = I DCVDD f
6
©James Buckwalter 19
 Charge Dissipation

• Energy is lost each transition

• Energy loss is independent of on resistance.
• Want small output capacitance or small voltage
swing!
©James Buckwalter 20
Class-D Amplifier Duty Cycle

©James Buckwalter 21
 Eliminating Crowbar Current
Non-overlapping clock generator

• Change duty cycle of

pull-up and pull-down
• Slow rise/fall times

©James Buckwalter 22
 Input Capacitance
Cgd
vin vout

Cin
Cgs

• As for most PAs, voltage gain is large.

• Power switch: Vin small, Vout large
• Input Capacitance Cin ~ Cgs + (1+Av) Cgd
• Cin is often dominated by Cgd
• This is different than in logic gates where Miller
effect is not assumed to be significant

©James Buckwalter 23
 Class-D Amplifier Implementation
• Inverter is “easy” to understand (NMOS and
PMOS).
• Other push-pull amplifiers are possible
NOTE: NFET ONLY

©James Buckwalter 24
Class-D Audio Amplifier

©James Buckwalter 25
 Switched Capacitor PA
• Segmented inverters can be used for digital
control
Yoo, Allstot et al.
U of Washington

©James Buckwalter 26
Current Mode Class-D Amplifier
VDD VDD
M2 M1 M2 M1
on on on on
[V]
pVdd
Vds1 Vds 2
Rload
0
time
[A] Voltage
I ds 2 I ds1 p 2 Vdd
2 Rload

0
M1 M2 Current time
Entire current gets routed through M1 then M2
Vload must be sinewave because harmonics are shorted
Waveforms are dual of VMCD
©James Buckwalter 27
Current Mode Class-D Amplifier

©James Buckwalter 28
 Zero Voltage Switching
• We recognize from the analysis of class-D amplifier
operation.
• Loss due to device capacitance Cds rapid discharge
when transistor switches, ½ C V 2.
• CMCD amplifier avoids this because V=0 when
transistor switches from open to short ! “ZVS”

©James Buckwalter 29
 Current-Mode Class-D Amplifier
• Achieves Zero Voltage Switching (ZVS)
• Potentially more efficient at high frequency
Pin vs. Pout and PAE
30 100

p p H. Kobayashi et al (Fuji Pout (dBm)

4 4 Electric & UCSD) 25 75

Pout [dBm]
C filter
Balun

PAE
20 50

L filter
Vin(-) Rload
Vin(+) 15 PAE 25

10 0
-5 0 5 10 15 20
Pin [dBm]
Device: Infineon CLY5 Drain Efficiency = 79%
Balun : 50ohm coaxial cable PAE = 72.5%
Rload = 50ohm (includes Balun Loss)
C out = 8 pF ©James Buckwalter
Pout= 730 mW
30
 Inverse Class-F Switching Amplifier
• With different harmonic matching can get different waveforms,
still with 100% efficiency. Class F-1 is dual of class F.
Iout Vdd Still must worry about Cds to get Z
correct

Imax Zo=RL
lo/4
match fo
Vmin Vdd Vmax Vout
Ic
Z=RL at fo
Z=0 at 3fo, 5fo,…
Iave
Z=inf. at 2fo, 4fo,...
time
Vce Output current waveform has
fundamental, 3rd harmonic, 5th, etc
Vdc => square wave
time Vdc=Vave =Vrf / p
©James Buckwalter 31
 Class F and Inverse Class-F
Vds
• Class F
Vo • Tends to minimize peak voltage excursion
time • Good for devices with limited BV
Id
• Requires open at 3rd harmonic, sometimes
difficult with high Cds
Iave • Can have CoutV2 losses
time
Class F
Id
• Class F-1
• Has high peak voltage excursion
Iave • Bad for devices with limited BV
• Requires open at 2nd harmonic, often easier
time
Vds for devices with high Cds
• Does not have CoutV2 losses
Vo
time
Class F-1 ©James Buckwalter 32
 Harmonic Load Tuning
Class F-1 Class F
Class F
Class F-1
X2=Im(Znet) at 2fo Class B
X3=Im(Znet) at 3fo

Znet

Cds RL

XL(f)

X1=0 ©James Buckwalter 33