An electronic circuit contains a controller integrated circuit and a power amplifier MMIC connected to the controller IC. The power amplifier MMIC contains a radio frequency power amplifier. The RF power amplifier is a double heterojunction bipolar transistor. The controller IC has an operational amplifier that supplies a DC bias to the base of the RF power amplifier through a ballast resistor. The operational amplifier has an output slope that compensates either partially or entirely for the voltage drop across the ballast resistor. A reference circuit in the power amplifier is disposed close enough to the power amplifier to mirror fluctuations in the base-emitter voltage caused by temperature fluctuations.