Analysis of Intermodulation Distortion in OFDM Based Transmitter Using EER Technique

Abstract

During the last two decades, new digital modulation systems have appeared in the audio broadcasting. Such broadcasting systems require new transmitters’ concepts to enable the transmission of digitally modulated signals. Moreover, the selected modulation schemes (e.g. orthogonal frequency division multiplexing) require a high linearity power stage, which typically exhibits low efficiency due to high peak-toaverage power ratio of the modulated signal. One of the promising transmitter concepts is the Kahn envelope elimination and restoration technique, where the original Cartesian in-phase and quadrature baseband signals are transformed to the envelope and phase signals. The main advantage of this technique is an ability to employ suitable types of highly efficient amplitude modulation transmitters for envelope amplification, while the phase modulated carrier is produced by an additional phase modulator. The substantial drawback of envelope elimination and restoration is nonideal recombination of linearly distorted amplitude signal and phase modulated carrier at the output power stage. The aim of this paper is twofold. Firstly, to analyze the effect of the envelope and phase signals bandwidth limitation on the modulated signal in-channel distortion and out-ofchannel emission. Secondly, to present the performance results as a reference for transmitter designers to properly set the envelope and phase paths to reach required in-channel signal quality and suppress out-of-channel products.