2021 IEEE 4th International Conference on Electronics Technology

A V-Band Diode-Based Analog Predistortion

Linearizer for Traveling Wave Tube Amplifiers
2021 IEEE 4th International Conference on Electronics Technology (ICET) | 978-1-7281-7673-4/20/$31.00 ©2021 IEEE | DOI: 10.1109/ICET51757.2021.9451154

Ying Jing Lei Xia Shengyang Lv Yupeng Liu

School of Electronic Science and
Engineering
University of Electronic Science
and Technology of China
Chengdu, China
406397362@qq.com
School of Electronic Science and
Engineering
University of Electronic Science
and Technology of China
Chengdu, China
xialei@uestc.edu.cn
School of Electronic Science and
Engineering
University of Electronic Science
and Technology of China
Chengdu, China
lvshengyang@std.uestc.edu.cn
School of Information and
Communication Engineering
University of Electronic Science
and Technology of China
Chengdu, China
liuyupeng@uestc.edu.cn

Jinye
Shanghai Aerospace Electronic
Technology Institute
Shanghai, China
jyisrobin@126.com

Abstract—This paper presents an analog predistortion (APD)
linearizer suitable for V-band traveling wave tube power
amplifier. A new "field-circuit combination" design method
based on the Schottky barrier diode (SBD) three-dimensional
electromagnetic simulation model (3D EM Model) is used. A
reflection type APD linearizer consisting of a 90° waveguide 3dB
hybrid and two SBDs is developed and tested. The actual
measurement results show that within the input power range of -
25~10dBm, the gain expansion is more than 7.8dB and the phase
expansion is over 28° in the frequency band 59.1~61.1GHz.
Keywords—linearizer, analog predistortion, Schottky barrier
diode, V-band, TWTA
I. INTRODUCTION
Travelling wave tube amplifier (TWTA) as a kind of
vacuum electronic devices has the advantages of high gain,
large output power, and strong anti-jamming capability.
Therefore, it is often used as the final-stage power amplifier of
communication systems and is widely used in radar and
satellites [1]. However, when the output power is closer to the
saturation point, the TWTA is more likely to produce severe
nonlinear distortion, which may cause gain compression and
phase shift, resulting in deterioration of communication system
II. DESIGN OF PREDISTORTION LINEARIZER
A. Principles of Pre-distortion Technology
The principle of APD technology is relatively simple. It is
to put a predistortion module at the input port of the power
amplifier. This module has a pre-distortion characteristic that is
opposite to the nonlinear characteristic of the power amplifier,
so that the actual input signal to the power amplifier is
processed in advance. These two kinds of nonlinear distortions
will be output together and cancel each other out to achieve
complementarity, and finally make the output signal of the
power amplifier present a linear characteristic and improve the
nonlinear characteristics of the power amplifier[5]. The
cascade module is shown in Figure 1.
Predistortion
PA
linearizer
Fig. 1. Block diagram of pre-distortion technology.
̮6̮ ̮6̮ ̮6̮

performance [2]. The research on amplifier linearization

technology has become the focus of researchers.
Analog predistortion is an effective linearization method.
Due to its relatively simple principle, wideband operation, high
stability and it is easy to implement, widely used in microwave, ğ6 ğ6 ğ6

millimeter wave and Radio-Over-Fiber (RoF) systems [3-4]. In TWTA LTWTA

APD
this paper, an analog predistortion linearizer based on SBD is
Fig. 2. Analyze the basic principles of predistortion technology from the
proposed to improve the nonlinear characteristics of the V-
amplitude phase distortion.
band traveling wave tube amplifier (TWTA). Simulation and
test results show that significant amplitude expansion and
phase expansion characteristics can be achieved. Generally speaking, the analog predistorter can be analyzed
from the perspectives of amplitude phase distortion and third-
This work was supported by Sichuan Science and Technology Program order intermodulation distortion. Amplitude phase distortion is
(Grant No. 2020YJ0219).

978-1-7281-7673-4/21/$31.00 ©2021 IEEE 63

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the AM-AM/AM-PM characteristic of the amplifier, and it is
the most essential description of the nonlinear characteristic of
the PA. The distortion of the PA is compensated through the
predistorter and the basic schematic diagram is shown in
Figure 2.
A SBD is a diode formed by forming a Schottky barrier
using metal-semiconductor contacts. Compared with PN
junction diodes, Schottky barrier junctions are similar to PN
junctions, and both have unidirectional conduction rectification
characteristics, but PN junction diodes are minority-child
devices, and SBDs are multi-child devices. The carriers of the
SBDs, whether forward biased or reverse biased, do not
accumulate significantly, and the diffusion capacitance of the
device is small, with good switching characteristics and
excellent high-frequency performance. Figure 3 shows the
equivalent circuit diagram of a Schottky diode.
Ls
Cp
Rj Cj
Rs
Fig. 3. Equivalent circuit of SBD.
 ୨ is the equivalent resistance of the diode, which is the
core equivalent element of the SBD, and  ୨ changes with the
change of the bias voltage on the diode. ୨ is the nonlinear
junction capacitance of the diode, which also varies with the
bias state of the diode.  ୱ is called the bulk resistance of the
semiconductor, and its resistance is relatively small, generally
ten to tens of ohms. ୱ is the lead inductance, and ୮ is the
case capacitance.
The I-V characteristic of Schottky diode can be expressed
as
୯୚ౚ
ୢ ሺୢ ǡ ሻ ൌ ୱ ൬‡୬୩୘ െ ͳ൰
ି୯Ïౘ
ൌ ‫  כ‬ଶ ‡ ୩୘
ୱ
where ୱ is the reverse saturation current, A is the contact area,
‫ כ‬is Richardson's constant, q is the electron charge, ୢ is the
bias voltage of the Schottky barrier junction, n is the ideality
factor, and k is the Boltz Mann's constant, 1.37×10-23J/K, T is
the absolute temperature. Figure 4 is a sketch diagram, which
shows the difference between the I-V curve of a Schottky
junction and a PN junction diode. The SBD has a lower turn-on
voltage and a smaller on-resistance than a PN junction diode.
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I
SBD PN
V
Fig. 4. I-V curve of Schottky junction and PN junction diode.
In fact, the I-V characteristic curve of the Schottky diode
will gradually deviate from its DC I-V characteristic as the
signal input power increases [6]. The change of its RF
resistance not only depends on the power of the input signal,
but is also restricted by the bias load line. It is precisely
because the RF resistance changes with the input power of the
signal, and the characteristics of the change rule can be
controlled by biasing the load line, the Schottky diode is
widely used in the design of analog predistortion linearizers.
B. Structure and Principle
In order to improve the nonlinear characteristics of the V-
band traveling wave tube amplifier, this paper proposes an
analog predistortion linearizer based on Schottky barrier diode.
The schematic circuit diagram is shown in Figure 5. The
structure is mainly composed of a 90° waveguide 3dB hybrid,
waveguide microstrip transition probe, Schottky diode, DC
bias filter circuit and RF and DC grounding circuit. The input
signal is divided into two channels through the pass-through
port and the coupling port of the electric bridge, then, the two
reflected signals are combined and output at the isolated port of
the electric bridge. The reflected signal is generated by the
different input impedance of Schottky diodes at different input
powers. Adjust the matching circuit and DC bias of the diode
to make the output signal meet the requirements.
Vin Vout
3dB
90°Hybrid
b1 b2
Ƭ1 a1 a2 Ƭ2
Rb1 Rb2
(1)
VCC1 VCC2
(2)
Ƭi
Gi jBi
Fig. 5. The schematic circuit diagram of the APD linearizer.
The circuit of a single branch can be equivalent to a parallel
structure composed of equivalent conductance ୧ and
equivalent susceptance ୧ . As shown in Figure 5, the reflection
coefficientʒ୧ of the entire equivalent circuit can be expressed
as (3),
64
 ଴െ ୧ െ Œ୧
ʒ୧ = ‹ ൌ ͳǡʹ (3)
଴൅ ୧ ൅ Œ୧ Port1
and the magnitude and phase of the reflection coefficient can
be expressed as (4) and (5) respectively.

ሺ ଴ െ ୧ሻ
ଶ ൅ ୧ ଶ Gap width
Magሾʒ୧ ሿ ൌ ඨ ‹ ൌ ͳǡʹ (4) 0.39mm
Port4
ଶ ଶ
ሺ ଴ ൅ ୧ሻ ൅ ୧
െ୧ Gap spacing
Angሾʒ୧ ሿ ൌ –ƒିଵ ൤ ൨ 0.9mm
଴െ ୧
୧ (5)
െ –ƒିଵ ൤ ൨
଴൅
Port2
୧

‹ ൌ ͳǡʹ
Port3
Define the input and output ports of the linearizer under
study as port 1 and port 2 respectively, then ଶଵ can be
Fig. 7. Overall structure of V-band 3dB 90° hybrid.
expressed by
୭୳୲ ͳ ͳ
ଶଵ ൌ ൌെ ƒଵ ൌ െ Œƒ ଶ
୧୬ ξʹ ξʹ
ͳ
ൌെ ሺʒଵ „ଵ ൅ Œʒଶ „ଶ ሻ (6)
ξʹ
Œ
ൌ ሺʒଵ ൅ ʒଶ ሻ
ʹ
where ƒଵ ,ƒ ଶ and „ଵ ,„ଶ are the incident voltage and reflected
voltage wave at the through end and coupling end of the hybrid,
respectively.
It can be seen from the above formula that by adjusting the
(a)
bias conditions of the SBD, that is, adjusting ୧ and ୧ can
change the value of ʒ୧ , and the gain and phase change with the
input power depends on ʒ୧ . Therefore, the gain and phase
expansion of the APD can be obtained by adjusting the bias
conditions of two SBDs.
C. Model and Simulation
According to the above theory, a predistortion linearizer
suitable for V-band traveling wave tube power amplifier is
designed. The overall structure of the passive part is shown in
Figure 6.

(b)
Fig. 8. Simulation results of the overall structure of the hybird (a) amplitude (b)
phase.

The 3dB 90° hybird is a four-port element. Its main

function is to divide the signal into two equal-amplitude
orthogonal signals. In the microwave frequency band, the
microstrip branch bridge is mainly used. However, due to the
short wavelength in the V-band, the spacing of the microstrip
lines becomes smaller, causing the coupling effect to become
serious. Moreover, the processing difficulty becomes greater,
so the form of the microstrip branch bridge is no longer
applicable. This article uses a waveguide branch bridge, which
uses seven waveguide branches for coupling to broaden the
working bandwidth. The 3dB 90° hybird designed in this paper
is shown in Figure 7, and the simulation results are shown in
Fig. 6. The structure of the passive part. Figure 8.

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 grounding. The grounding structure designed in this paper is
shown in Figure 11. Harmonic balance simulation of the
overall circuit, and its joint simulation schematic diagram is
shown in Figure 12.

Fig. 9. V-band waveguide-microstrip probe transition.

Fig. 12. Simulation circuit schematic of the APD linearizer.

Fig. 10. DC low-pass filter circuit. 

*DLQ>G%@











 *+]
*+]
*+]
 *+]

     

3RZHU>G%P@

(a)

Fig. 11. The grounding circuit. 

3KDVH>GHJ@

The waveguide-microstrip probe transition is used for the 

transition between WR15 waveguide and microstrip. Figure 9 

shows the waveguide-microstrip probe designed in this article, 

which facilitates impedance matching by reducing the height of 
the WR15 standard waveguide. Since SBDs work in an active
bias state, it is necessary to design a bias circuit for them. At 

the same time, in order to prevent radio frequency signals from 
*+]
leaking through the bias circuit, the bias circuit can be in the  *+]
*+]
form of a low-pass filter. The structure diagram of the DC bias 
*+]

circuit is shown in Figure 10, and the circuit is implemented by      
3RZHU>G%P@
using a low-pass filter with a blocking bandwidth to avoid RF
signal leakage. The grounding circuit realizes the radio (b)
frequency grounding through the λ/4 wavelength open route, Fig. 13. The compensation curves in 58.5‫׽‬61.5 GHz (a) The gain (b) The
reducing the parasitic effect caused by the through-hole phase.

66

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 The predistorter joint simulation results are shown in
Figure 13. It can be seen from the figure that in the
58.5~61.5GHz frequency band, when the input power is -
25~10dBm, the bias state makes Rb1=10kΩ, Vcc1=0.5V,
Rb2=8kΩ, Vcc2=4V, the maximum gain expansion can be
achieved by 11.5dB, and the maximum phase expansion can
reach 90°.
III. MEASUREMENT RESULTS
The processed object is shown in Figure 14, the size is
about 46mm×25mm×24mm. The actual test result is shown in
Figure 15. In the 59.1~61.1GHz frequency band, the test
results show that the linearizer can achieve greater than 7.8dB
Fig. 14. Photograph of APD linearizer. amplitude expansion and 28° phase expansion.
IV. CONCLUSION
*DLQ>G%@

 This paper adopts the method of field-circuit co-simulation

 for simulation, and designs an analog predistortion linearizer
 suitable for V-band traveling wave tube power

amplifier(TWTA). It can be seen from the test results that the
designed analog predistortion linearizer has a gain expansion

greater than 7.8dB and a phase expansion greater than 28°.

*+]
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3RZHU>G%P@

(b)
Fig. 15. The compensation curves in 59.1‫׽‬61.1 GHz (a) The gain (b) The
phase.

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