INTERMODULATION NOISE I N SOLISSTATE
POWER AMPLIFIERS FOR WIDEBAND SIGNAL TRANSMISSION
J . Minkoff
Bell Laboratories
Holmdel, New J e r s e y 07733
Abstract
R e s u l t s o f an i n v e s t i g a t i o n o f t h e i n t e r -
modulation-noise performance o f a m u l t i s t a g e s o l i d -
s t a t e power a m p l i f i e r (SSPA) a r e p r e s e n t e d .
Computer c a l c u l a t i o n s o f i n t e r m o d u l a t i o n n o i s e a s
a f u n c t i o n o f o u t p u t power a r e found t o b e i n good
agreement w i t h l a b o r a t o r y measurements. Signifi-
c a n t d i f f e r e n c e s a r e found between c a l c u l a t e d and
measured v a l u e s o f i n t e r m o d u l a t i o n n o i s e a s a
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f u n c t i o n o f i n p u t power, and t h e n e t input-outout
power t r a n s f e r c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s f o r wideband
Gaussian n o i s e . On t h e b a s i s o f t h e s e measurements,
t h e r e s u l t s i n d i c a t e t h a t single-frequency ilrd/AM
and NVPM c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s do n o t f u l l y c h a r a c t e r i z e
t h e o p e r a t i o n o f t h e SSPA f o r t h e s i g n a l bandwidths
o f i n t e r e s t h e r e , p a r t i c u l a r l v w i t h r e g a r d t o input-
ouput power-transfer c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s f o r wideband
s i g n a l s . The computer s i m u l a t i o n i s an e x a c t
mathematical r e p r e s e n t a t i o n of an i n s t a n t a n e o u s
bandpass n o n l i n e a r i t y with no d i r e c t deuendence on
analytical results. The r o l e o f memory on t h e
system o p e r a t i o n i s d i s c u s s e d . S t r i c t l y memoryless
systems have no e f f e c t on t h e phase o f t h e o u t p u t .
I f t h e r e i s memory i n t h e system, which i s s m a l l
with respect t o t h e reciprocal of t h e input s i g n a l
bandwidth, t h i s can be accounted f o r by t h e
i n c l u s i o n o f a phase term (AM/PM c o n v e r s i o n ) , and
t h e system can t h e n be t r e a t e d a s e f f e c t i v e l y
memoryless w i t h r e s p e c t t o such s i g n a l s . A non-
l i n e a r c o n f i g u r a t i o n which has been c o n j e c t u r e d
elsewhere t o be o p t i m a l i s s t u d i e d . A l l r e s u l t s
a r e found t o be c o n s i s t e n t w i t h t h i s c o n j e c t u r e .
For 6 aB o u t p u t backoFf ( r e f e r r e d t o maximum o u t p u t
power), a nominal o p e r a t i n g p o i n t , t h e p r e d i c t e d
i d e a l performance i s found t o be s u p e r i o r t o t h a t
o f t h e s o l i d - s t a t e power a m p l i f i e r by d4 dB, and i s
".l0 dB b e t t e r t h a n t h a t o f a t y p i c a l TWT. For t h e
s o l i d - s t a t e power a m p l i f i e r , t h e d i f f e r e n c e from
i d e a l performance i s probably due t o AM/PM
conversion.
I . Introduction
Power a m p l i f i e r s c u r r e n t l y emoloyed i n
communications s a t e l l i t e s and t e r r e s t r i a l r a d i o
systems a r e h i y h l y n o n l i n e a r when o p e r a t i n g a t o r
n e a r peak o u t p u t power l e v e l s . This can r e s u l t i n
t h e p r o d u t i o n o f s e v e r e i n t e r m o d u l a t i o n n o i s e when
c h c i n p u t i n c l u d e s a l a r g e number o f c a r r i e r s .
To d a t e , traveling-wave t u b e s ( T W T S have ) been most
o f t e n used i n the-- 9yy7 ip a t i r m ~ . Recentlv. how-
e v e r , s o l i d - s t a t e power a m p l i f i e r s (SSPA) have been
developed f o r t h i s purpose which o f f e r a g r e a t e r
range of power l e v e l s o v e r which l i n e a r i t y can be
m a i n t d n e d . This memorandum i s concerned w i t h
developing methods f o r c a l c u l a t i n g t h e i n t e r -
modulation-noise performance o f SSPAs.
For TWTs, a n a l y t i c a l t e c h n i q u e s based on t h e
t r a n s f o r m methods o f Bennett and Rice [ l ] have been
found t o be q u i t e s u c c e s s f u l f o r p r e d i c t i n g i n t e r -
modulation n o i s e . [2,3] The fundamental assumptions
..
Comrieht-O American Institute of Aeronautics and
Astronautics. Inc.. 1982. All rights reserved.
i m p l i e d i n t h e s e a n a l y s e s a r e t h a t t h e devices a r e
memoryless, t h a t t h e y can b e s a t i s f a c t o r i l y
c h a r a c t e r i z e d by single-frequency AM/AM and AM/PM
measurements, and t h a t t h e n o n l i n e a r o p e r a t i o n can
be modeled a s a complex low-pass amplitude and
phase f u n c t i o n which i s dependent only on t h e
envelope o f t h e i n p u t s i g n a l . In t h e approach
t a k e n h e r e , a computer s i m u l a t i o n i s developed i n
which t h e mathematical c a l c u l a t i o n s a r e e x a c t
r e p r e s e n t a t i o n s o f t h e o p e r a t i o n o f an i n s t a n -
taneous n 3 n l i n e a r i t y , w i t h no dependence on
analytical results.
A c t u a l l v , i t i s i n c o r r e c t t o speak o f AM/PM
conversion i n a memorvless system, s i n c e i f t h e
system i s s t r i c t l y memomless it has no e f f e c t on
t h e phase of t h e o u t o u t s i g n a l . [ b ] As d i s c u s s e d
below, however, an e f f e c t i v e l y memoryless system
can b e d e f i n e d i n which t h e memom i s small w i t h
r e s p e c t t o t h e r e c i ~ r o c a lo f t h e i n p u t s i g n a l band-
width. In t h i s c a s e , i n c l u s i o n o f a a h a s e response
(AM/PM c o n v e r s i o n ) accounts f o r t h e memorv, a f t e r
which t h e system can be t r e a t e d a s memoryless
provided t h e bandwidths of t h e i n p u t s i g n a l s remain
s u f f i c i e n t l y small.
A m u l t i s t a g e SSPA i s s t u d i e d , f o r which
l a b o r a t o r y measurements of i n t e r m o d u l a t i o n n o i s e
p e r f o r m a ~ c eunder r.9 lse-loaded condition:; a r e
a v a i l a b l e . [5] The use o f Gaussian n o i s e w i t h a
f l a t spectrum i n t h i s c a s e i s a good approximation
t,o t h e a c t u a l s i g n a l s o f i n t e r e s t . In a l l cases,
t h e i n p u t s i g n a l bandwidths a r e 40 MHz, which i s
a nominal value o f i n t e r e s t f o r wideband s i g n a l
transmission. The computer s i m u l a t i o n i s con-
s t r u c t e d t o be as n e a r l y a s p o s s i b l e an e x a c t
r e p l i c a o f t h e experimental l a b o r a t o r y configu-
r a t i o n . Using t h e Chebyshev-Transform i n v e r s i o n
theorem [6], t h e i n s t a n t a n e o u s v o l t a g e - t r a n s f e r
c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s f o r t h e SSPA a r e determined, from
which t h e measured AWAMc h a r a c t e r i s t i c s a r e ,
e s s e n t i a l l y , e x a c t l y reproduced by comauter calcu-
l a t i o n . This e s t a b l i s h e s t h e s e l f - c o n s i s t e n c y o f
t h e s i m u l a t i o n procedure. The r e s u l t s o f t h e
computer s i m u l a t i o n experiments a r e f u r t h e r
v a l i d a t e d i n a number o f t e s t s i n which indeaendent
v e r i f i c a t i o n i s p o s s i b l e e i t h e r by means o f
a n a l y t i c a l c a l c u l a t i o n o r by comparison w i t h o t h e r
measurements.
R e s u l t s o f computer-simulation calcu; 7t.inns
of intermodulation noise a s a function of output
power a r e found t o b e i n good agreement with
l a b o r a t o r y measurements. S i g n i f i c a n t d i f f e r e n c e s
a r e found between c a l c u l a t e d and measured values o f
i n t e r m o d u l a t i o n n o i s e a s a f u n c t i o n o f i n p u t power,
and t h e n e t input-output power t r a n s f e r c h a r a c t e r -
i s t i c s f o r wideband Gaussian n o i s e . On t h e b a s i s
o f t h e s e measurements, t h e r e s u l t s i n d i c a t e t h a t
single-frequency AM/AM and AM/PM c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s
do not f u l l y c h a r a c t e r i z e t h e o p e r a t i o n o f t h e SSPA
f o r t h e s i g n a l bandwidths o f i n t e r e s t h e r e ,
304
 p a r t i c u l a r l y w i t h r e g a r d t o input-output power- t h e n t h e response can b e e x p r e s s e d i n a F o u r i e r
t r a n s f e r c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s f o r wideband s i g n a l s . The s e r i e s which we w r i t e i n t h e form:
e x t e n t t o which t h e s e r e s u l t s apply t o SSPAs i n
g e n e r a l w i l l r e q u i r e i n v e s t i g a t i o n s o f many more
such d e v i c e s .

One o f t h e major reasons f o r u n d e r t a k i n g t h i s

work has been t o develop a design t o o l t o a s s i s t
i n t h e f a b r i c a t i o n o f SSPAs w i t h s a t i s f a c t o r y
intermodulation-noise performance. The p o s s i b i l i t y
o f t h e e x i s t e n c e o f an optimum design i n t h i s
r e g a r d i s , t h e r e f o r e , a n important c o n s i d e r a t i o n
here. Kaye, George and E r i c (KCE, Ref. 3) have
c o n j e c t u r e d -- b u t not proved -- t h a t t h e optimum
n o n l i n e a r power a m p l i f i e r has AM/AM c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s
which e x h i b i t e x a c t l i n e a r i t y up t o t h e s a t u r a t i o n
l e v e l , with c o n s t a n t power o u t p u t t h e r e a f t e r , and
zero AM/PM conversion. These c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s a r e
r e f e r r e d t o a s t h o s e o f a n i d e a l envelope l i m i t e r .
Since t h e r e i s no AM/PM conversion, i t i s s e e n from
t h e above d i s c u s s i o n t h a t e i t h e r t h e t h e d e v i c e
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where t h e Cs a r e f u n c t i o n s o f a ( t ) and b ( t ) which
f u l l y s p e c i f y t h e n o n l i n e a r i t y . It i s a l s o
assumed t h a t t h e Cs a r e s u f f i c i e n t l y narrowband
w i t h r e s p e c t t o wo such t h a t any o v e r l a p p i n g o f
t h e s p e c t r a o f t h e Cs between s u c c e s s i v e harmonics
is negligible. Then i f v[. 1 i s followed by a
bandpass f i l t e r c e n t e r e d a t og which p a s s e s Cl and
C - 1 and e l i m i n a t e s a l l h i g h e r harmonic t e r m s , t h e
a c t i o n o f t h e combination o f V t o g e t h e r w i t h t h e
f i l t e r , which we denote a s V1, i s completely
s p e c i f i e d by Cl and C- 1. The s i g n a l o f i n t e r e s t
is therefore :

must b e s t r i c t l y memoryless o r some means f o r

e f f e c t i v e l y c a n c e l l i n g t h e AM/PM conversion must
be found. Considerable a t t e n t i o n t o t h e i d e a l
Re
rf1
envelope l i m i t e r i s given h e r e , and a l l r e s u l t s
a r e found t o b e c o n s i s t e n t w i t h KGE's c o n j e c t u r e .
The c o n s t a n t C l i s determined u s i n g t h e
It i s of i n t e r e s t t o note t h a t the inter- A

F o u r i e r i n v e r s i o n formula. This y i e l d s :
modulation n o i s e performance o f t h e SSPA under
c o n s i d e r a t ion h e r e approaches t h a t o f t h e i d e a l
envelope l i m i t e r t o w i t h i n 4 dB a t 6 dB o u t p u t
backoff ( r e f e r e n c e d t o maximum o u t p u t power),
which i s a nominal o n e r a t i n g p o i n t ; f o r a t y p i c a l
TWT, t h e i d e a l envelope l i m i t e r performance i s
found t o be s u p e r i o r by ~ 1 dB. 0 For t h e SSPA, t h e
d i f f e r e n c e from i d e a l performance i s probably due
t o AM/PM conversion.

The f o l l o w i n g s e c t i o n p r e s e n t s a d i s c u s s i o n
o f e f f e c t i v e l y memoryless systems. The d e t a i l s o f where r2 = a 2 + b2 and t a n a = b / a , and:
t h e simulation technique a r e presented i n Section
3. S e c t i o n s 4 and 5 p r e s e n t a comparison o f
measured and c a l c u l a t e d r e s u l t s , i n c l u d i n g t h o s e
f o r t h e i d e a l envelope l i m i t e r . Section 6
summarizes t h e r e s u l t s and c o n c l u s i o n s .

2. AM/PM Conversion and

E f f e c t i v e l y Memoryless Systems
A s noted i n t h e previous s e c t i o n , s t r i c t l y
i n s t a n t a n e o u s ( i . e . , memoryless) systems have no
e f f e c t on t h e phase o f t h e o u t p u t s i g n a l . On t h e
o t h e r hand, i n c a r r y i n g o u t a n a l y t i c a l calcu-
l a t i o n s o f i n t e r m o d u l a t i o n n o i s e i n TWTs, it h a s
been t h e p r a c t i c e ( 2 , 3 ) t o t r e a t devices
e x h i b i t i n g AM/PM conversion a s i n s t a n t a n e o u s . It
i s therefore of i n t e r e s t t o discuss b r i e f l y the
c o n d i t i o n s under which t h i s c o n t r a d i c t i o n can b e
resolved.
Consider a n o n l i n e a r system d e s c r i b e d by an
o p e r a t o r v [ - ] and a g e n e r a l i z e d i n p u t s i g n a l ,
n ( t ) c o s -9t + b ( t ) s i n w o t , w i t h t h e u s u a l con-
d i t i o n t h a t t h e bandwidth o f a ( t ) and b ( t ) , B , i s
small with r e s p e c t t o oo. L e t t i n g 0 = w o t , t h e
system o u t p u t , V [ a ( t ) c o s 0 + b ( t ) s i n 8 1 , i s a
p e r i o d i c f u n c t i o n o f 8 . Hence, i f t h e device i s
menoryless, s o t h a t t h e o u t p u t a t any i n s t a n t i s
a f u n c t i o n o n l y o f i n p u t a t t h e same i n s t a n t , "
Thus t h e assumption t h a t v[- ] i s memoryless i m p l i e s
t h a t t h e n o n l i n e a r i t y o p e r a t e s only on t h e
envelope o f t h e i n p u t s i g n a l and a l s o t h a t t h e r e
i s no change i n phase.
Now c o n s i d e r t h e e f f e c t o f adding memory t o t h e
system. As diagrammed i n F i g u r e 1, l e t t h e
response a t time t , S ( t ) , c o n s i s t o f a normalized
sum o f a number, N, o f i n s t a n t a n e o u s memoryless
r e s p o n s e s , v[.], delayed from one a n o t h e r by an
incremental amount, ~ ~ ( rwhich ) , i s a function of
t h e i n p u t envelope r and p o s s i b l y a l s o t h e
frequency f o . If t h e maximum d e l a y , N . r 0 ( r ) , i s
s m a l l i n comparison w i t h t h e r e c i p r o c a l o f t h e
i n p u t s i g n a l bandwidth, l / B , t h a n r ( t - N - r 0 ) z: r (t )
and w r i t i n g :
~ ~ (= lr i m) NT ( r )
0

* I g n c r i n g t h e f i n i t e d e l a y between i n p u t and
output.
 where T ( r) can be t a k e n t o be t h e memory i n t h e
system,Owe have:
For completeness, i f we wish t o i n c l u d e a
w e i g h t i n g , g ( n r 0 ) , n = 1 , 2 , ...,N, a t each d e l a y
element, Eq. ( 2 . 6 ) becomes :
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where T ( r ) i s now a n o r m a l i z a t i o n c o n s t a n t
0
d e f i n e d by:
Now, c o n s i d e r i n g h e r e o n l y t h e uniform time-
w e i g h t i n g c a s e ( g ( . r ) = 1 f o r 0 ( T ( To, and
zero o t h e r w i s e ) , t h e i n t e g r a n d i n Eq. (2.6),
s i n c e it r e p r e s e n t s an i n s t a n t a n e o u s response can,
a s b e f o r e , be expanded i n a F o u r i e r s e r i e s . The
o u t p u t o f a bandpass f i l t e r c e n t e r e d a t wo can
t h e n b e shown t o b e :
sin v(r)
s ( t ) = 2
1
v(r) u(r)cos[w t - v ( r )
0
- a]
(2.9)
where
v ( r ) = ~f T (
0 0
I f v(r),( 60 deg, s i n v ( r ) / v ( r, ) / v l and:
Comparison o f Eq. ( 2 . 1 1 ) and ( 2 . 4 ) shows
t h a t , provided t h e i n p u t s i g n a l bandwidth s a t i s -
f i e s B 4 1 / ~t h~ e e, f f e c t o f memory i n t h e system
i s t o add t h e phase term, v ( r ) , t h e o r i g i n a l
i n s t a n t a n e o u s response remaining o t h e r w i s e e f f e c -
t i v e l y unchanged. The d e v i c e can t h e r e f o r e be
c h a r a c t r ' z e d by t h e complex low-pass f u n c t i o n ,
U ( r ) e i J r f , where ~ ( r and ) v ( r ) a r e determined
by means o f AM/AM and AM/PM measurements, and
s i n c e t h e memory i s t h u s accounted f o r by i n c l u s i o n
o f t h e phase r e s p o n s e , it can b e t r e a t e d a s a
memoryless system f o r i n p u t s i g n a l s s a t i s f y i n g t h e
above bandwidth c o n d i t i o n . This example demon-
s t r a t e s t h a t it i s p o s s i b l e f o r systems w i t h
memory, e x h i b i t i n g AM/PM c o n v e r s i o n , t o be con-
s i d e r e d t o b e e f f e c t i v e l y memoryless w i t h r e s p e c t
t o s u f f i c i e n t l y narrow-band i n p u t s .
3. D e s c r i p t i o n o f t h e S i m u l a t i o n Technique
A t y p i c a l l a b o r a t o r y experimental system f o r
measuring I M n o i s e r e s u l t i n g from i n p u t n o i s e
l o a d i n g o f a n o n l i n e a r a m p l i f i e r i s diagrammed i n
Figure 2. A computer s i m u l a t i o n o f t h i s system
was c o n s t r u c t e d u s i n g t h e SYSTID s i m u l a t i o n
program. With t h e use o f SYSTID each element i n
t h e b l o c k diagram ( i . e . , n o i s e g e n e r a t o r s , ampli-
f i e r s e x h i b i t i n g a r b i t r a r y n o n l i n e a r amplitude
.
and phase c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s , f i l t e r s , e t c ) can b e
s y n t h e s i z e d mathematically f o r computer e x p e r i -
ments. A t each p o i n t i n t h e system t h e t i m e wave-
form can b e monitored and any number o f o p e r a t i o n s
performed i n o r d e r t o g e n e r a t e s p e c t r a , measure
average power, e t c .
The complex i n p u t t o t h e system c o n s i s t s o f
two independent Gaussian w h i t e n o i s e s i g n a l s ,
q t ) and n 2 ( t ) , which a r e p a s s e d through a
r e c t a n g u l a r low-pass f i l t e r w i t h a bandwidth o f
40 MHz and a 2 MHz notch c e n t e r e d a t z e r o . SYSTID
t r e a t s t h i s i n p u t a s a complex s i g n a l , ( n l ( t ) ,
n 2 ( t ) ) , by o p e r a t i n g on h l ( t ) and G 2 ( t ) i n two
independent channels, and performing a l l calcu-
l a t i o n s a c c o r d i n g t o t h e r u l e s o f complex a r i t h -
m e t i c . The amplitude o f a t y p i c a l spectrum o f t h e
f i l t e r o u t p u t i s shown i n Figure 3.
The f i l t e r o u t p u t , p o i n t a i n Figure 2 , i s
t h e n i n p u t i n t o t h e n o n l i n e a r system under con-
sideration. The n o n l i n e a r i t y i s s p e c i f i e d by
e n t e r i n g t a b l e s o f measured ( o r a r b i t r a r i l y
d e f i n e d ) AM/AM and AM/PMv a l u e s i n t o t h e program,
t o which SYSTID f i t s continuous c u r v e s . A t each
sampling i n s t a n t SYSTID c a l c u l a t e s t h e i n s t a n t -
2
aneous i n p u t power (,nl + n 2 \ / 2 = r 12 and
I 2,
determines f o r t h i s sample b o t h t h e r e s u l t a n t out-
p u t power, p O ( r 2 ) , and t h e phase s h i f t , v ( r ) ,
imposed by t h e n o n l i n e a r i t y f o r t h i s v a l u e o f r
from t h e s t o r e d AM/AM and AM/PM c u r v e s . W r i t i n g
(n1,n2) = ( r cos a , r s i n a ) , where t a n a =
F i g u r e 2 , i s , t h e r e f o r e , a n o t h e r complex number,
[ r G ( r ) c o s ( a - v ( r ) ) , r G ( r ) s i n ( a - v ( r ) ) ] , where
~ ( r= ) ( 2 P O ( r 2 ) / r 2 ) 1 / 2 ( a n d ~ ( r =) r ~ ( r ) ) . Thus,
SYSTID a c t u a l l y g e n e r a t e s on a sample-by-sample
b a s i s t h e e x a c t mathematical o p e r a t i o n o f an
i n s t a n t a n e o u s n o n l i n e a r i t y . There i s no ana-
l y t i c a l i n p u t , a s such, t o t h e program. A t y p i c a l
example o f t h e amplitude o f t h e spectrum o f t h e
o u t p u t o f t h e SSPA under c o n s i d e r a t i o n h e r e i s
p r e s e n t e d i n F i g u r e 4. The measured AM/AM and
AM/PM c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s on which t h i s computer
r e s u l t i s ,based a r e p r e s e n t e d i n F i g u r e s 5 and 6.
I n F i g u r e 4 it i s seen t h a t t h e broad spectrum
o f t h e i n t e r m o d u l a t i o n n o i s e g e n e r a t e d by t h e non-
l i n e a r i t y i s superimposed on t h e o r i g i n a l rec-
t a n g u l a r 40 MHz i n p u t spectrum. A t +60 MHz t h e
intermodulation-noise spectrum i s approximately
15 dB below i t s maximum v a l u e a t f = 0, and a t
?I00 MHz i s approximately 25 dB below maximum.
This s i g n i f i e s t h e presence of 5th-order i n t e r -
 modulation terms, w i t h 3rd-order terms b e i n g
dominant a s might be expected.
The q u a n t i t y we wish t o measure h e r e i s
IM/S+IM, which we denote a s p , where I M i s t h e
i n t e r m o d u l a t i o n n o i s e power measured i n a narrow-
band f i l t e r c e n t e r e d i n t h e notch a t zero frequency
and S+IM i s signal-plus-IM power measured o u t s i d e
t h e notch and w i t h i n t h e o r i g i n a l i n p u t s i g n a l
bandwidth. We wish t o compare t h i s q u a n t i t y w i t h
v a l u e s o f p a s measured w i t h t h e SSPA under consid-
e r a t i o n i n t h e l a b o r a t o r y . I n t h e computer simu-
l a t i o n , I M was determined by c e n t e r i n g a 1-MHz
wide f i l t e r w i t h i n t h e 2 MHz notch and u s i n g a
power meter a t t h e f i l t e r o u t p u t . For S+IM t h r e e
d i f f e r e n t methods were used. For t h e method shown
i n F i g u r e 2, t h e SSPA o u t p u t was passed through
a 1-MHz-wide f i l t e r c e n t e r e d j u s t o u t s i d e t h e
notch ( a t -3 M H Z ) . In t h e o t h e r methods not
shown i n Figure 2, a 1-MHz f i l t e r was p l a c e d j u s t
i n s i d e t h e s i g n a l band edge ( a t -18 MHz) and, i n
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a d d i t i o n , t h e SSPA o u t p u t was p a s s e d through a
r e c t a n g u l a r notched f i l t e r , i d e n t i c a l t o t h a t used
a t the input. I n t h i s c a s e t h e power meter a t t h e
f i l t e r o u t p u t measures t h e t o t a l signal-plus-IM
power i n t h e band B , from which t h e q u a n t i t y o f
i n t e r e s t i s o b t a i n e d by m u l t i p l y i n g t h e measured
power by 1 / ( 4 0 - 2 ) = 1 / 3 8 . This has t h e e f f e c t o f
determining a n average v a l u e o f S+IM o v e r t h e 40
MHz band. The d i f f e r e n c e s i n p between t h e t h r e e
methods was found t o b e minor (1. t e n t h s o f a d B ) .
With t h e use o f power meters it i s important
t h a t t h e i n t e g r a t i o n t i m e , T , b e chosen s u f -
f i c i e n t l y l o n g t o reduce t h e f l u c t u a t i o n s i n t h e
measurement s o t h a t t h e measured q u a n t i t y i s i n
f a c t c l o s e t o i t s expected v a l u e . For w h i t e n o i s e
passed through a low-pass f i l t e r o f bandwidth B
it can be shown t h a t t h e r a t i o o f t h e s t a n d a r d
d e v i g z i n t o t h e mean i n t h e measured o u t p u t power
i s J ~ / B T . In t h e s e experiments a v a l u e o f T = 200
usec was used which, f o r B = 40 MHz, g i v e s an
exnected maximum f l u c t u a t i o n o f $0.1 dB. This was
v e r i f i e d i n t h e experiments, i n which f l u c t u a t i o n s
o f t h e o r d e r o f o n l y t e n t h s o f a dB o v e r t h e
o b s e r v a t i o n times were found t o o c c u r . As a f i n a l
check, a s i n g l e run w i t h T = 10,000 usec was made,
i n which t h e d i f f e r e n c e between t h i s and t h e
r e s u l t f o r T = 200 usec was found t o be n e g l i g i b l e .
4 . Comparison o f R e s u l t s of Laboratory
Measurements and C o m ~ u t e r C a l c u l a t i o n s
In e v a l u a t i n g a m p l i f i e r l i n e a r i t y , t h e
q u a n t i t y o f d i r e c t i n t e r e s t i n most a p p l i c a t i o n s
i s t h e IN n o i s e produced a s a f u n c t i o n o f o u t p u t
r a t h e r t h a n i n p u t power. I n terms o f t h e measure-
,ments, t h e observed dependence i s a l s o most d i r e c t
i n t h e former c a s e , and t h e r e i s t h e added ad-
vantage t h a t b o t h q u a n t i t y e s - s i g n a l power and
p - a r e measured a t t h e same p o i n t . On t h e o t h e r
hand, i f t h e a m p l i f i ~ ro p e r a t i o n i s f u l l y under-
s t o o d i t should a l s o be p o s s i b l e t o d e a l w i t h I M
produced a s a f u n c t i o n o f i n p u t power. I n what
f o l l o w s , t h e r e f o r e , we c o n s i d e r both c a s e s . In
a l l calculations there i s a consistent error
because o f t h e p r e s e n c e o f "wraparound" a s s o c i a t e d
w i t h t h e use o f F a s t F o u r i e r Transform (FFT)
f i l t e r s i n t h e computer s i m u l a t i o n . This i n t r o -
duces d i s c o n t i n u i t i e s i n t h e i n p u t s i g n a l which
a r e e s t i m a t e d t o r e s u l t i n an e r r o r o f %0.5 dB.
For purposes o f comparison, it i s o f i n t e r e s t
t o a l s o c o n s i d e r t h e I M performance o f TWTs a s
w e l l a s SSPAs, f o r which a n example ( ~ u g h e sA i r -
c r a f t Company TWT 2 7 5 ~ )i s i n c l u d e d . For t h e TWT
l a b o r a t o r y measurements, ( 7 ) t h e i n p u t s i g n a l
c o n s i s t e d o f 23 T1 c a r r i e r s g e n e r a t e d by a 24-
channel t e s t s e t , w i t h t h e c e n t e r c a r r i e r removed
f o r purposes of measuring I M . We expect l i t t l e
d i f f e r e n c e between r e s u l t s o b t a i n e d w i t h such
m u l t i c h a n n e l i n p u t s and t h o s e o b t a i n e d w i t h n o i s e
loading. The l a b o r a t o r y measurements c o n s i s t e d o f
readings from a spectrum a n a l y z e r , which a r e
probably not a s a c c u r a t e a s power-meter
measurements.
P l o t s o f computer c a l c u l a t i o n s and l a b o r a t o r y
measurements o f p v e r s u s o u t p u t backoff a r e pre-
s e n t e d i n Figure 7. Measured and c a l c u l a t e d v a l u e s
f o r both t h e TWT and t h e SSPA a r e seen t o be i n
q u i t e good agreement. I n t h e l a t t e r c a s e t h e
d i f f e r e n c e a t 1 . 5 dB o u t p u t b a c k o f f i s %1dB which
i s within t h e net estimated error. Figure 7 a l s o
p r e s e n t s computer-simulation r e s u l t s f o r t h e i d e a l
envelope l i m i t e r ( I E L ) , f o r which t h e r e i s a
r o u t i n e i n t h e SYSTID l i b r a r y ; t h e c a l c u l a t e d
v a l u e s o f p a r e seen t o b e , e s s e n t i a l l y , lower
t h a n a l l o t h e r c a s e s , which i s c o n s i s t e n t w i t h t h e
c o n j e c t u r e o f KGE. For 6-dB o u t p u t b a c k o f f , which
i s a nominal o p e r a t i n g p o i n t , t h e SSPA i s seen t o
be w i t h i n $4 dB of t h e IEL; f o r t h e TWT t h e IEL
performance i s s u p e r i o r by 1.10 dB. For t h e SSPA,
t h e i n c r e a s e i n p from i d e a l i s probably due t o
AM/PM conversion.
P l o t s o f measurements and computer c a l c u l a t i o n s
o f p v e r s u s i n p u t backoff a r e p r e s e n t e d i n F i g u r e
8. For TWTs, maximum o u t p u t power g e n e r a l l y cor-
responds t o a s i n g l e v a l u e o f i n p u t power, and
0-dB i n p u t backoff is a w e l l d e f i n e d p o i n t . For
SSPAs t h i s i s not t h e c a s e . For c o n s i s t e n c y , we
have used h e r e as t h e r e f e r e n c e t h e f a m i l i a r "3-dB
above t h e 1-dB compression p o i n t " which, f o r t h e
SSPA c h a r a c t e r i z e d by F i g u r e s 5 and 6 , i s -17.6
dBm i n p u t power.
As b e f o r e , c a l c u l a t e d and measured v a l u e s f o r
t h e TWT a r e i n q u i t e good agreement. The d i f f e r -
ence i n t h i s c a s e seems t o r e p r e s e n t a uniform
b i a s o f 1 dB, t h e shapes o f t h e curves f o r t h e
measurements and t h e c a l c u l a t i o n s b e i n g n e a r l y
identical. For t h e SSPA, however, i n c o n t r a s t w i t h
t h e r e s u l t s i n Figure 7, t h e disagreement between
measured and c a l c u l a t e d values i s seen t o be
s i g n i f i c a n t , both q u a n t i t a t i v e l y ( i . e . , 1.4 dB a t
0-dB i n p u t b a c k o f f ) , as w e l l as w i t h r e g a r d t o t h e
shapes o f t h e curves
From F i g u r e 5 i t i s seen t h a t t h e SSPA h a s
AM/AM c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s almost i d e n t i c a l t o t h a t o f
an IEL. I n SYSTID it i s a simple m a t t e r t o s e t
t h e AM/PM conversion f o r t h e SSPA e q u a l t o z e r o ,
l e a v i n g t h e AM/AM c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s unchanged, and
a p l o t o f p f o r t h e SSPA w i t h zero AM/PM i s pre-
s e n t e d i n Figure 8 a l o n g w i t h c a l c u l a t e d v a l u e s f o r
t h e t h e IEL i n t h e SYSTID l i b r a r y . The r e s u l t s
f o r t h e s e two c a s e s a r e seen t o be i n very good
agreement down t o 1 3 dB b a c k o f f , where t h e calcu-
l a t e d v a l u e f o r t h e SSPA i s g r e a t e r . A p o s s i b l e
reason f o r t h i s is t h a t i n t h e l i n e a r region of
t h e IEL c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s t h e r e i s a dB-for-%3
change i n o u t p u t versus i n p u t power ( i . e . , u n i t y
s l o p e ) whereas, t h e l i n e a r p o r t i o n f o r t h e SSPA
i n F i g u r e 5 a c t u a l l y has a s l o p e o f 0.97. This
corresponds t o a s l i g h t degree o f n o n l i n e a r i t y i n
t h e v o l t a g e t r a n s f e r f u n c t i o n which c o u l d r e s u l t
i n a noticeable difference i n p a t l a r g e input
 backoff. We n o t e t h a t up t o 8-dB i n p u t backoff
t h e l a b o r a t o r y measurements o f p f o r t h e SSPA,
which i n c l u d e t h e e f f e c t s o f AM/PM conversion,
a r e s m a l l e r t h a n t h o s e c a l c u l a t e d f o r an i d e a l
envelope l i m i t e r i n which t h e r e i s zero AM/PM
conversion.
The f a c t t h a t t h e IEL performance i s uni-
formly optimal i n comparison w i t h t h e l a b o r a t o r y
measurements o n l y when viewed a s a f u n c t i o n o f
o u t p u t backoff is n o t unusual. It a l s o does not
v i o l a t e KGE's c o n j e c t u r e , i n which t h e output-
backoff dependence o f t h e I M n o i s e i s t h e consid-
eration of interest. I n f a c t , i n t h e s e computer
experiments it has been found p o s s i b l e t o d e s c r i b e
p a i r s o f a r b i t r a r i l y chosen AM/AM c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s
f o r which one s e t appears s u p e r i o r when I M
performance i s compared on t h e b a s i s o f calcu-
l a t i o n s o f p v e r s u s i n p u t b a c k o f f , and t h e
o p p o s i t e conclusion i s reached when t h e output-
backoff I M dependence i s c o n s i d e r e d . These
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r e s u l t s emphasize t h e p o i n t t h a t t h e p a r t i c u l a r
a p p l i c a t i o n and t h e e n t i r e system o p e r a t i o n must
be c o n s i d e r e d when e v a l u a t i n g a m p l i f i e r l i n e a r i t y .
As noted above, I M n o i s e a s a f u n c t i o n o f o u t p u t
power i s u s u a l l y t h e important c o n s i d e r a t i o n .
It i s , however, unexpected f o r t h e v a r i a -
b i l i t y i n agreement beween measured and c a l c u l a t e d
v a l u e s o f p f o r t h e SSPA a s observed i n F i g u r e s
7 and 8 t o occur, s i n c e f o r purposes o f t h e s e
comparisons input-backoff measurements and output-
backoff measurements should be e q u i v a l e n t -- a s
t h e y a r e f o r t h e TWT. A p o s s i b l e r e a s o n f o r t h i s
may be found i n t h e r e s u l t s o f F i g u r e 9. Here we
p r e s e n t p l o t s o f t o t a l i n p u t n o i s e power v e r s u s
t o t a l o u t p u t n o i s e power a s determined by labora-
t o r y measurements, by computer s i m u l a t i o n e x p e r i -
ments and a l s o by a n a l y t i c a l c a l c u l a t i o n b a s e d on
t h e measured AM/AM c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s . A s d e r i v e d
i n t h e Appendix, t h e a n a l y t i c a l r e s u l t i s :
where r i s t h e o u t p u t amplitude ( e n v e l o p e ) ,
2 O l v o l t a g e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f memoryless systems a r e
P ( ) = -E r i s t h e o u t p u t power, Pm = 2 1 2
0 2 . ,
2 f o r an I E L i s p a r t i c u l a r l y easy t o i n v e r t . L e t t i n g
i s t h e maximum o u t p u t power, Ps = r / 2 i s t h e
i n p u t s a t u r a t i o n power ( s e e F i g u r e 5 ) and Pin i s
t h e i n p u t power.
The computer c a l c u l a t i o n s a r e s e e n t o b e i n
very good agreement w i t h Equation ( 4 . 1 ) which
h i g h l i g h t s t h e d i s c r e p a n c y w i t h t h e measurements.
Considering t h e r e g i o n n e a r s a t u r a t i o n , it Is
seen t h a t i n o r d e r t o produce, s a y , 36 dBm o u t p u t
power, t h e power measured a t t h e SSPA i n p u t i s
approximately 4 dB g r e a t e r t h a n t h e t h e o r e t i c a l
v a l u e b a s e d on t h e measured AM/AM c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s .
This d i f f e r e n c e becomes p r o g r e s s i v e l y s m a l l e r
w i t h s m a l l e r o u t p u t power and e s s e n t i a l l y vanishes
f o r o u t p u t power l e s s t h a n ' ~ 3 2dBm, where t h e
o p e r a t i o n is l i n e a r . We n o t e t h a t comparison o f
c a l c u l a t e d and measured v a l u e s o f p a s a f u n c t i o n
of input backoff w i l l be s a t i s f a c t o r y only i f , i n
t h e measurements, t h e i n p u t - o u t p u t power r e l a t i o n -
s h i p w i l l b e as p r e s c r i b e d by t h e AM/AM measure-
ments. I n f a c t , it i s s e e n t h a t t h i s i s n o t t h e
case. The r e s u l t s i n F i g u r e 9 i n d i c a t e t h a t , f o r
wideband s i g n a l s , i n t h e n o n l i n e a r r e g i o n n e a r
s a t u r a t i o n t h e e f f e c t i v e power a c t u a l l y d r i v i n g t h e
SSPA may b e s i g n i f i c a n t l y l e s s t h a n t h a t measured
a t t h e a m p l i f i e r i n p u t . S i n c e lower power produces
l e s s I M , t h i s would have t h e e f f e c t o f c a u s i n g t h e
SSPA t o a p p e a r t o produce l e s s I M n o i s e f o r
a p p a r e n t l y g r e a t e r i n p u t power l e v e l s . This i s
what i s found i n Figure 8 i n comparison o f measure-
ments w i t h t h e r e s u l t s o f t h e computer s i m u l a t i o n .
It i s a l s o seen t h a t , q u a n t i t a t i v e l y , t h e d i f f e r -
ences between c a l c u l a t e d and measured power v a l u e s
i n F i g u r e 9 a r e n e a r l y t h e same a s t h e s e i n p u t
backoff d i f f e r e n c e s i n Figure 8.
A s a p o s s i b l e mechanism f o r t h i s , [ 8 ] it i s
known t h a t t h e i n d i v i d u a l s t a g e s i n t h e SSPA pro-
duce mixing p r o d u c t s . For s i g n a l i n p u t s occupying
a f i n i t e , nonzero, frequency range, t h e s e p r o d u c t s
f a l l w e l l o u t o f t h e p a s s bands o f t h e i n d i v i d u a l
FET s t a g e s i n t h e SSPA f o r which t h e c e n t e r
frequency i s 4 CHz. Thus, t h e r e is t h e p o s s i b i l i t y
o f s i g n i f i c a n t r e d u c t i o n i n e f f e c t i v e d r i v i n g power
f o r wideband s i g n a l s which would n o t be observed
i n t h e AM/AM, AM/PM measurements i n which s i n g l e -
frequency s i g n a l s a r e employed. It seems, t h e r e -
f o r e , t h a t t h e m u l t i s t a g e c o n f i g u r a t i o n may i n t r o -
duce c o m p l e x i t i e s i n t h e o v e r a l l SSPA power
t r a n s f e r c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s which a r e n o t understood,
and which, t h e r e f o r e , l i m i t t h e e x t e n t t o which
t h e o v e r a l l a m p l i f i e r o p e r a t i o n f o r wideband
s i g n a l s can b e p r e d i c t e d on t h e b a s i s o f s i n g l e -
frequency AM/AM and AM/PMmeasurements.
5. Generation o f I d e a l Envelope
Limiter Characteristics
We r e c a l l t h a t measurements o f t h e f i r s t
harmonic o f t h e o u t p u t o f t h e i n s t a n t a n e o u s v o l t a g e
t r a n s f e r f u n c t i o n y i e l d s t h e envelope t r a n s f e r
function. It i s o f i n t e r e s t t o determine how t h e
envelope t r a n s f e r f u n c t i o n o f an IEL i s r e l a t e d t o
its instantaneous voltage t r a n s f e r function.
C l e a r l y , it i s n o t t h e f a m i l i a r " i n s t a n t a n e o u s -
s o f t - l i m i t e r " v o l t a g e t r a n s f e r f u n c t i o n , which g i v e s
r i s e t o a n envelope f u n c t i o n having a g r a d u a l
t r a n s i t i o n between l i n e a r and s a t u r a t e d r e g i o n s
which i s c h a r a c t e r i s t i c o f TWTs. I n g e n e r a l ,
envelope t r a n s f e r c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s and i n s t a n t a n e o u s
r e l a t e d through t h e Chebyshev t r a n s f o r m , [6] which
x be t h e i n s t a n t a n e o u s i n p u t v o l t a g e , t h e i n s t a n -
taneous n o n l i n e a r v o l t a g e t r a n s f e r f u n c t i o n , ~ ( x, )
f o r t h e IEL i s , t o w i t h i n an a r b i t r a r y even
function:
where
 S e t t i n g r2 = 2 x 1 0 ~ and ' ~ ~r2 =
m
Eq. ( 5 . 1 ) r e p r e s e n t s , t h e o r e t i c a l l y , t h e i n s t a n -
taneous v o l t a g e t r a n s f e r c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s f o r an
IEL having AM/AM c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s e s s e n t i a l l y t h o s e
o f F i g . 5 . Using t h e s e v a l u e s , a p l o t o f 1 0 l o g
v 2 ( x ) v e r s u s 1 0 l o g x2 i s p r e s e n t e d i n F i g . 1 0 ,
a l o n g w i t h a r e p l o t o f Fig. 5 . By means o f a band-
p a s s s i m u l a t i o n w i t h s i n u s o i d a l i n p u t s , t h e AM/AM
c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s corresponding t o t h e v o l t a g e
c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f Equation 5 . 1 w i t h t h e s e v a l u e s
o f rm and r were g e n e r a t e d u s i n g SYSTID. The
s l e s s i d e a l AM/AM c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s -- should a l s o be
c a l c u l a t e d values a r e seen i n F i g u r e 1 0 t o cor-
respond e x a c t l y t o t h e measured AM/AM c h a r a c t e r -
i s t i c s , which v e r i f i e s t h e v a l i d i t y o f Equation
(5.1) as well as the self-consistency of the
computer s i m u l a t i o n .
6. Discussion o f R e s u l t s and Conclusions
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On t h e b a s i s o f t h e s e measurements, [ 5 ] t h e
r e s u l t s presented here indicate t h a t the single-
frequency AM/AM and AM/PM measurements do not f u l l y
c h a r a c t e r i z e t h e o p e r a t i o n o f t h e SSPA f o r wide-
band i n p u t s i g n a l s . Two major q u e s t i o n s con-
c e r n i n g t h e computer s i m u l a t i o n a r e , (1): i s it
v a l i d t o c h a r a c t e r i z e t h e SSPA a s an i n s t a n t a n e o u s
system which can be r e p r e s n e d by t h e complex
low-pass f u n c t i o n U(r)e-ivPrt, i n which U and v,
which a r e f u n c t i o n s only o f t h e envelope, r , o f
t h e i n p u t s i g n a l , a r e determined from AM/AM and
AM/PM measurements, and ( 2 ) : given t h e v a l i d i t y
o f ( l ) ,i s t h e computer s i m u l a t i o n v a l i d and has
it been implemented p r o p e r l y .
Concerning ( I ) , t o t h e e x t e n t t h a t a device -
such a s a TWT - can be c h a r a c t e r i z e d a t a l l by
s i n g l e - f r e q u e n c y AM/AM and AM/PM measurements, it
was shown t o be v a l i d t o t r e a t t h e device a s a n
i n s t a n t a n e o u s system which.c n be r e p r e s e n t e d by
t h e complex f u n c t i o n U ( r ) e ' v a r ) , provided t h a t t h e
bandwidth o f t h e i n p u t s i g n a l i s n o t t o o l a r g e .
With r e g a r d t o ( 2 ) , a number o f demonstrations o f
t h e v a l i d i t y o f t h i s approach and i t s implemen-
t a t i o n were p r e s e n t e d i n c l u d i n g : agreement between
c a l c u l a t e d and measured v a l u e s o f IM/S+lM f o r a
TWT; agreement between c a l c u l a t i o n s o f IM/S+IM
f o r t h e SSPA w i t h zero AM/PMand t h e r e s u l t s u s i n g
t h e SYSTID l i b r a r y r o u t i n e f o r an IEL; almost
e x a c t agreement between t h e t h e o r e t i c a l c a l c u l a t i o n
o f t h e total-noise-power inuut-output r e l a t i o n s h i p
f o r t h e SSPA and t h e r e s u l t o f t h e computer
experiment; e x a c t r e p r o d u c t i o n by SYSTID o f t h e
IEL AM/AM c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s b a s e d on t h e Chebyshev
transform analysis. In addition, although not
p r e s e n t e d h e r e , t h e computer c a l c u l a t i o n s o f
IM/S+IM v e r s u s o u t p u t b a c k o f f f o r t h e IEL a r e
found t o b e i n good agreement (%0.5 d ~ w) i t h
a n a l y t i c a l c a l c u l a t i o n s p r e s e n t e d elsewhere. ( 9 )
Measurements o f p v e r s u s o u t p u t b a c k o f f a r e
found t o b e i n good agreement w i t h computer
calculations. S i g n l f i c a n t d i s c r e p a n c i e s a r e found
between measurements and c a l c u l a t i o n s o f p v e r s u s
i n p u t b a c k o f f , and t h e input-output power t r a n s f e r
c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s f o r wideband Gaussian n o i s e . A s
d i s c u s s e d i n S e c t i o n 4 , t h e major s o u r c e o f t h e
d i s c r e p a n c i e s appears t o be r e l a t e d t o t h e power-
t r a n s f e r mechanism f o r wideband s i g n a l s and i t s
r e l a t i o n s h i p t o t h e AM/AM measurements. It i s
p o s s i b l e t h a t measurements o t h e r t h a n t h e s e may
be n e c e s s a r y f o r a d e q u a t e l y c h a r a c t e r i z i n g t h e
SSPA o v e r i t s f u l l range o f o p e r a t i o n .
E v i d e n t l y , g r e a t e r understanding i 5 needed con-
c e r n i n g t h e power t r a n s f e r c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s between
s t a g e s i n t h e SSPA. Experiments with s i n g l e - s t a g e
and m u l t i s t a g e SSPAs would p o s s i b l y p r o v i d e such
information. I f , i n f a c t , system memory i s
responsible f o r these discrepancies, t h i s could
be determined by comparison o f measurements and
computer c a l c u l a t i o n s f o r s i g n a l s c o v e r i n g a
range o f bandwidths, i n c l u d i n g s m a l l v a l u e s .
Comparisons o f measurements and cal.culations f o r
o t h e r SSPAs -- i f p o s s i b l e i n c l u d i n g some w i t h
c a r r i e d o u t i n o r d e r t o determine t h e e x t e n t t o
which t h e r e s u l t s p r e s e n t e d h e r e a r e r e p r e s e n t a t i v e
' m u l t i s t a g e SSPAs i n g e n e r a l .
References
W. R . Bennett and S. 0 . Rice, "Note on Methods
o f Computing Modulation Products ," Philo-
s o p h i c a l Magazine, S e r i e s 7, Vol. 1 8 , p.p.
422-424, September, 1934.
0 . Shimbo, " E f f e c t s o f I n t e r m o d u l a t i o n , AM-PM
Conversion, and Additive Noise i n M u l t i c a r r i e r
TWT Systems , ' I P r o c . IEEE, Vol. 59, No. 2 ,
p. p . 230-238. February, 1971.
A. R . Kaye, D. A . George, M. H . E r i c ,
"Analysis and Compensation of Bandpass Non-
l i n e a r i t i e s f o r Communications," IEEE
T r a n s a c t i o n on Communications, p.p. 965-972,
October, 1972.
S. 0. Rice, "Mathematical Analysis o f Random
Noise, P a r t 111," BSTJ, Vol. 24, No. 1,
January, 1945.
P r i v a t e Communication from R . D. S t a n d l e y o f
Bell Laboratories.
N . M. Blachman, " D e t e c t o r s Bandpass Non-
l i n e a r i t i e s , and Their Optimization: Inversion
o f t h e Chebyshev Transform," IEEE T r a n s a c t i o n s
on Information Theory, Vol. IT-17, No. 4,
J ~ Y ,1971.
P r i v a t e Communication from M. L. S t e i n b e r g e r
of Bell Laboratories.
P r i v a t e Communication from R . D. S t a n d l e y o f
Bell Laboratories.
A. A . M. S a l e h , " I n t e r m o d u l a t i o n Analysis o f
FDMA S a t e l l i t e System Employing compensated
and Uncompensated TWTs," s u b m i t t e d f o r
p u b l i c a t i o n i n IEE T r a n s a c t i o n s i n Communi-
cat&om.
Apoendix
To c a l c u l a t e a n a l y t i c a l l y t h e t h e o r e t i c a l
r e l a t i o n s h i p between t o t a l o u t p u t n o i s e power and
t o t a l i n p u t n o i s e power, we observe t h a t , r e f e r -
r i n g t o t h e beginning o f S e c t i o n 3, t h e complex
SYSTID o u t p u t i s o f t h e form:
 where v ( r ) i s t h e phase s h i f t imposed by t h e non- 2
Hence, m u l t i p l y i n g and d i v i d i n g (A.S) by r :
s
l i n e a r i t y and ~ ( r i )s t h e a m p l i f i e r g a i n , b o t h
b e i n g f u n c t i o n s o f t h e i n p u t envelope r . The
square o f t h e output envelope, rg, i s t h e r e f o r e :

independent o f t h e phase term v ( r ) . Now, because

t h e n o n l i n e a r envelope t r a n s f e r c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s ,
~ ( r ) a, r e e s s e n t i a l l y t h o s e o f an I E L , r g w i l l be
l i n e a r l y r e l a t e d t o r below s a t u r a t i o n and w i l l
be e q u a l t o a c o n s t a n t above s a t u r a t i o n . Refer-
r i n g t o F i g . 5 , l e t rm be t h e maximum o u t o u t
s a t u r a t i o n envelope, and rs t h e i n p u t envelope a t
which s a t u r a t i o n t a k e s p l a c e . The o u t p u t power,
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/ 2 can be w r i t t e n a s :

2nd s i n c e we a r e d e a l i n g w i t h t h e envelope o f a
Gaussian n o i s e s i g n a l , r has a Rayleigh d i s t r i -
bution:

Eq. ( A . 3 ) t h e r e f o r e becomes:

where f o r r < r, we have w r i t t e n : ro = k r , k =

a m p l i f i e r g a i n i n l i n e a r r e g i o n . E q . (-4.5) can b e
p u t i n t o somewhat more convenient form f o r
2
computations by n o t i n g t h a t : Ps = r 12 = i n p u t
s a t u r a t i o n power, a2 = pin i n s t a n t a n j o u s i n p u t
2
power, and r / 2 = P = k2ps = maximum o u t p u t power.
m m
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FIGURE I FIRST-ORDER MODEL W NON-LMEAR

SYSTEM WITH MEMORY

FWRE 4 SPECTRUM OFSSR OUTRIT; 0-dB INPOT -OFF

(COMPUTER SIMULATION)
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COMPUTER CALCULATIONS
FOR TWT

- 15

1
A T W T MEASUREMENTS
. . ..
0 SSPA MEASUREMENTS
. .
-COMPUTER CALCULATIONS

COMPUTER
CALCULATIONS

- 2S A MEASUREMENTS FOR TWT

- 30 0 MEASUREMENTS FOR SSPA

-40 - 35
X COMPUTER CALCULATIONS FOR IDEAL
ENVELOPE LIMITER
0 COMPUTER CALCULATIONS FOR SSPA
WITH ZERO & W P M
'.
.
0 4 2 3 4 5 6 7
OUTPUT BACKOFF (dB1 --+

FIGURE 7 I M I S + IM vs O U T P U T B A C K O F F

X
- 50 I I I I I I I
0 2 4 6 B 10 42 44
INPUT BACKOFF (dB1 -+

FIGURE 8 I M / S + I M vs I N P U T B A C K O F F
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AM/AM CHARACTERISTICS
(FROM FIG 5)

000 LAB MEASUREMENTS

WWW COMPUTER CALCULATIONS
X X X ANALYTICAL CALCULATION
(Ep 4 I )

FIGURE 9 TOTAL POWER I N n TOTAL POWER OUT FOR SSPA:

COMPARISON O F CALCULATED VALUES AND
LABORATORY MEASUREMENTS