y7wu
Newbie level 6
Why is Vth negative?
Hi there,
I'm a student working on power amplifiers designs who just started recently on master. I've had some background in analog IC in my undergraduate courses. but I have some question about the FETs used in RF PA that are puzzling to me
One of the question I have is why RF PA (such as GaAs or GaN) have negative Vth as stated in data sheet such as **broken link removed**. This really does not make sense to me since we're dealing with NMOS are we not?
also, do these transistor exhibit early effects like silicon cmos?
RF textbook such as Cripps' seem to focus on the "knee voltage". Is this voltage the same as Vds(sat) in analog IC? (i.e the voltage under which transistor enter saturation from linear region)?
also, why is it that its not possible to observe RF voltage and current waveforms in real life. I'm told we can only measure power, why is that?
Lastly, what is the difference between linear gain and power gain? Arent we always talking about power when we say dB or dBm? (i.e 20log(voltage) or 10log(power)). why make the distinction?
I realize i'm asking a lot of questions. but theses fundamentals are really bothering me
Thanks in advance to anyone who can answer these question
Hi there,
I'm a student working on power amplifiers designs who just started recently on master. I've had some background in analog IC in my undergraduate courses. but I have some question about the FETs used in RF PA that are puzzling to me
One of the question I have is why RF PA (such as GaAs or GaN) have negative Vth as stated in data sheet such as **broken link removed**. This really does not make sense to me since we're dealing with NMOS are we not?
also, do these transistor exhibit early effects like silicon cmos?
RF textbook such as Cripps' seem to focus on the "knee voltage". Is this voltage the same as Vds(sat) in analog IC? (i.e the voltage under which transistor enter saturation from linear region)?
also, why is it that its not possible to observe RF voltage and current waveforms in real life. I'm told we can only measure power, why is that?
Lastly, what is the difference between linear gain and power gain? Arent we always talking about power when we say dB or dBm? (i.e 20log(voltage) or 10log(power)). why make the distinction?
I realize i'm asking a lot of questions. but theses fundamentals are really bothering me
Thanks in advance to anyone who can answer these question