Radio Frequency Compression
"Gain compression" in RF amps is similar to soft clipping. However, in narrowband systems, the effect "looks" more like gain compression simply because the harmonics are filtered out after amplification. Many data sheets for RF amplifiers list gain compression rather than distortion figures because it's easier to measure and is more important than distortion figures in non linear RF amplifiers.
In wideband and low frequency systems, the non-linear effects are readily visible, e.g. the output is clipped. To see the same thing at one GHz, an oscilloscope with a bandwidth of at least 10 GHz is needed. Observing with a spectrum analyzer, the fundamental compressed and the harmonics picking up.
Read more about this topic: Gain Compression
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