Design of a power amplifier module in a novel silicon-ceramic substrate for an LTE transmitter

The present paper demonstrates the design of a power amplifier (PA) module on a silicon ceramic (SiCer) composite substrate. The SiCer platform combines the advantages of low temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC) and silicon thin-film processing technology for micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) in a single composite substrate. The present approach provides a methodology for the design and manufacturing of a PA module that foresees further integration with MEMS modules such as switches, oscillators, and acoustic filters. Based on a co-simulation approach in a specification-compliant software and polyharmonic distortion modeling, the impact of the PA module in a long term evolution (LTE) transmitter is evaluated.