The constraints

  • 5V (~500mA) power from phone
  • 1W RF output required
  • Very compact with less "moving" parts
  • 14 MHz capable

The design

We use INNOTION YG401530VB MMIC in this design.

              100n
Si5351 CLK 0 --||----+---------+
                     |  MMIC   |
                     |   IN    |
                     |         |
                     |   OUT   +----||---- RF OUT ---- LPF ---- 50R dummy load
                     +----+----+   100nF
                          |
                         10uH
                          |
                          |---100n---GND
                          | 
                         +5V

Note: No explicit 'special' matching required it seems ;)

This seems to be an extremely broadband circuit which should cover all HF!

Results

10 dBm from Si5351 and 13.8 dB gain of the INNOTION MMIC gives ~9.8Vpp output theoretically.

I am getting 10.8Vpp after a strong 20m BPF filter and into a 50 ohms load, which is roughly ~290 mW of RF power.

The goal however is to get around 1W - I need another 6dB gain it seems.

My idea: Condition the output of Si5351 by adding a 6ns fast comparator in series. This comparator will produce 5V square wave drive with 65mA plus current drive! Some attenuation after the comparator will be required.

Another possibility:

Si5351 -- 22Ω -- 74LVC1G04 @ 5V -- attenuator (3-6 dB) -- +14 dBm -- MMIC input

Another idea:

For +14 dBm into 50Ω, we need about:

P = 25 mW
Vrms = 1.12 V
Vpp sine ≈ 3.16 V
Ipk ≈ 32 mA
                 33Ω
ACT04 gate 1 ---/\/\---+
                 33Ω   |
ACT04 gate 2 ---/\/\---+---- 6 dB pad ---- MMIC input

The ACT04 can do 24mA per output pin.

Compact idea:

SN74LVC2G04 / 74LVC2G04, two gates paralleled. Compact, fast, easy. Use one package with two inverters, parallel outputs through separate resistors:

Si5351---- gate1 ---- 22Ω ----+
                              +---- 3–6 dB pad ---- RF input
Si5351---- gate2 ---- 22Ω ----+

https://www.random-science-tools.com/electronics/dBm-Watts-volts.htm is very useful for doing the math.

Cost

The INNOTION MMIC costs around 30 INR - beat that! ;)

Time to build

Less than 30 minutes

References