Power amplifier failure

[dolgaleb]

A high power amplifier was tested under high altitude and high temperature conditions, and it failed. In inspecting the board we noticed that the power amplifier was shorted and the inductor in the drain line was open. It is my understanding that under altitude conditions there is no much flow of air such that the power amplifier gets hotter, but I don't know if this would justify the failure. Can anyone provide an insight as to why the PA could have failed? Its output power is 5 W and it operates at 406 MHz.

Regards,
dolgaleb

 

[KlausST]

Hi,

you gave us nothing we can validate.

Klaus

 

[dolgaleb]

Hi,

you gave us nothing we can validate.

Klaus

--- Updated Apr 11, 2024 ---

What do you need to know?

 

[BigBoss]

A high power amplifier was tested under high altitude and high temperature conditions, and it failed. In inspecting the board we noticed that the power amplifier was shorted and the inductor in the drain line was open. It is my understanding that under altitude conditions there is no much flow of air such that the power amplifier gets hotter, but I don't know if this would justify the failure. Can anyone provide an insight as to why the PA could have failed? Its output power is 5 W and it operates at 406 MHz.

Regards,
dolgaleb

If the PA was shorted and the Drain Inductor was broken, we can conclude that the FET was shorted and so much current was flown so the inductor was burnt.
There might be few reasons to make it happen. But we need to know what type of components you have been used?
If you used consumer type components, they are not very sustainable for extreme conditions.
Post your schematic and component list here, let's see. The layout is also important, post it here too.