RF System MATLAB Model Simulation Using a Variety of Data Sources

During the development of the Soil Moisture Active-Passive (SMAP) High-Power Amplifier (HPA), a power glitch was observed with the characteristic of producing small 0.1-0.3 dB jumps in power across temperature. In order to troubleshoot this glitch behavior, a nonlinear model that could describe the saturation behavior of the HPA across temperature was desired. However, nonlinear device models were not available for the transistors and components within the HPA. Measured data of the HPA subassemblies were available but were of various formats, including s-parameters, nonlinear pin-pout curves, and fixed losses over temperature, and not easily modeled within commercial EDA (electronic design automation) simulation tools. This tool was built to be able to understand the gain/power distribution stackup and the sensitivities to power changes in the HPA over temperature.