RF PA Predistortion using Non-Linear RF-DACs

Analog and/or digital predistortion may be used to linearize power amplifiers (PAs) at the cost of additional hardware. We present a novel scheme which uses segmented non-linear RF-DACs to linearize PAs at no additional hardware cost. An expanding segmented scaling chosen at design time may be adjusted using DAC bias, allowing linearization to be adapted. Simulations demonstrate the robustness and flexibility of the approach, achieving excellent overall linearity over a large range of DAC and PA bias conditions.