On the 27th, the Department of Electrical Engineering announced that doctoral student Jeonghwan Moon, 27, and master's student Jooyeon Lee, 25, advised by Professor Bumman Kim, submitted two amplifiers to the High Efficiency Power Amplifier Student Design Competition at the 2011 IEEE International Microwave Symposium in Baltimore, United States, winning first and second places.
This was the seventh edition of the competition. Kim's team had also won the second and fourth editions, bringing its total to three victories. The competition evaluates power-added efficiency (PAE) and operating frequency. Moon's team's winning amplifier achieved 80% efficiency at 3.475 GHz, while its other amplifier placed second with 79.3% efficiency.
Power amplifiers are key components determining power consumption in base-station wireless transmission systems. Their efficiency can substantially affect operating costs, prompting continuing research to minimize power lost as heat. Efficient amplifiers allow smaller cooling systems, reducing base-station size, manufacturing costs, and operating costs and making installation and operation easier.
As competition in next-generation mobile communications intensifies with SK Telecom and LG U+ launching LTE and KT launching WiBro services, this technology is expected to help expand services currently limited to the Seoul metropolitan area and certain other regions nationwide.
Professor Kim said, “This power amplifier can be used for next-generation mobile communications, known as 4G, which uses higher frequencies, and can also be applied immediately to existing wireless mobile communications such as WiBro, WCDMA, and LTE.”
Related articles: Kyongbuk Ilbo; Maeil Shinmun.