URSI 2012, XXVII Simposium Nacional de la Unión Científica Internacional de Radio, Elche
In this paper, advantage is taken from the particular characteristics of Enhancement-mode Pseudomorphic High Electron Mobility Transistor (E-pHEMT) devices for the design of synchronous rectifiers with an unbiased gate. Based on one of them, the design of a class E synchronous rectifier working in the 900 MHz frequency band, is proposed. A lumped-element multi-harmonic class E amplifier was first designed, exploiting the time-reversal dualily, to then introduce a drain-to-gate feedback and operate it in the desired synchronous rectifying mode. Competitive efficiency figures are demonstrated over a significant input power, frequency and load resistance range. An efficiency peak of 83% has been measured at 17 dBm, staying above 70% for a 14 dB input power range, a distinguishing characteristic when compared to Schottky diode based alternatives. The verified AM-AM conversion linearity would also allow using the rectifier for the efficient extraction of a time-varying excitation envelope without significant distortion.
