Design and implementation of 2.4-2.5 GHz 250 W power amplifier with 14dB gain for RF cooking applications

Solid state power amplifiers, which are frequently used in communication and electronic warfare systems, have begun to take their place in designs in heating and cooking applications with radio frequencies today. Since the past, magnetron, a product of vacuum tube technology, has been used as an active element in microwave heating and cooking applications. This technology is gradually giving way to solid state power amplifiers today. Gallium Nitride high electron mobility transistor is frequently used in microwave ovens, which are solid state power amplifiers. In this study, a Gallium Nitride high electron mobility transistor power amplifier design will be implemented for use in microwave ovens. It is very important to analyze and select the materials to be used in the circuit to achieve the maximum power and high efficiency targeted in the power amplifier design. CREE brand CGH21240F transistor is used in the power amplifier design. This transistor has been chosen because of the output power and high efficiency it provides in the relevant frequency band. Rogers RT5870 was used as the dielectric substrate. The design of the study was made using Cadence AWR Microwave Office program. The current-voltage curve of the transistor was simulated, and the source pull and load pull analyze were made using this program. As a result, in this study, a high efficiency (greater than 60 percent) single-stage power amplifier with 250W output power and 14 dB gain was designed, simulated, and implemented for use in 2.4-2.5 GHz heating applications. According to the simulation results, 255±5 W output power, 64±4 percent power added efficiency and 14.1±0.1 dB gain were obtained in the 2.4-2.5 GHz band. The measurement results show high agreement with the simulation results.