The following provide an overview of various techniques for power amplifiers and transmitters. They also provide a bibliography and informal definitions of various terms such as classes of amplification and types of transmitter.

This is an overview of technology prepared for the 50th Anniversary Issue of the IEEE Microwave Theory and Techniques Society.

F. H. Raab, P. Asbeck, S. Cripps, P. B. Kenington, Z. B. Popovic, N. Pothecary, J. F. Sevic, and N. O. Sokal, "Power amplifiers and transmitters for RF and microwave," IEEE Trans. Microwave Theory Tech., vol. 50, no. 3, pp. 814 - 826, March 2002.

Download this paper

This five-part series of papers from High Frequency Electronics is an expansion (factor of three) of the MTT 50th-Anniversary paper.

F. H. Raab, P. Asbeck, S. Cripps, P. B. Kenington, Z. B. Popovic, N. Pothecary, J. F. Sevic, and N. O. Sokal, "RF and microwave power amplifier and transmitter technologies," High Frequency Electronics, five-part series: vol. 2, no. 3, pp. 22 - 36, May 2003; vol. 2, no. 4, pp. 22 - 36, July 2003; vol. 2, no. 5, pp. 34 - 48, Sep. 2003; vol. 2, no. 6, pp. 38 - 49, Nov. 2003; vol. 3, no. 1, pp. 46 - 54, Jan. 2004.

Download Part 1: Introduction, average efficiency, transistors

Download Part 2: RF-power amplifiers

Download Part 3: Transmitter architectures

Download Part 4: Linearization

Download Part 5: Emerging techniques

The classic Solid State Radio Engineering textbook is still available new from Wiley and is generally available used from vendors such as Amazon.com.

H. L. Krauss, C. W. Bostian, and F. H. Raab, Solid State Radio Engineering. New York: Wiley, 1980.