GHz-Band High-Efficiency Rectifier Design Based on MHz-Band Multi-Harmonic Active Source-Pull Technique

A MHz-band multi-harmonic active source-pull technique has been developed for GHz-band high-efficiency rectifier design. The active load-pull technique is usually used for high-efficiency amplifier design. This method has been successfully diverted to rectifier design by carefully considering an optimum source impedance estimation at the fundamental frequency existing at an input source signal. In addition, an intrinsic nonlinear resistance as a rectifying element with an operation frequency of a GHz band can be directly extracted by the MHz-band measurement, due to negligible parasitic reactance elements. The method has been verified for a fabricated 2.45-GHz GaAs pHEMT rectifier.