Ultra compact multi-band transmitted with robust AM-PM distortion self-suppression techniques

• US 10,381,986 B2
• Filed: 01/23/2018
• Issued: 08/13/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 03/11/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Original Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Inventors: Park, Jong Seok, Wang, Yanjie J., Pellerano, Stefano, Hull, Christopher D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Wong, Linda
• Application Number:
  US15/877,879
• Publication Number:
  US 20180278216A1
• Time in Patent Office: 567 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 1/0261 with control of the polarisation voltage or current, e.g. gliding Class A
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 1/0277 Selecting one or more amplifiers from a plurality of amplifiers
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 1/223 with MOSFET's
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 1/3205 in field-effect transistor amplifiers
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 1/565 using inductive elements
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 2200/111 the amplifier being a dual or triple band amplifier, e.g. 900 and 1800 MHz, e.g. switched or not switched, simultaneously or not
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 2200/162 FETs are biased in the weak inversion region
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 2200/18 the bias of the gate of a FET being controlled by a control signal
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 2200/387 A circuit being added at the output of an amplifier to adapt the output impedance of the amplifier
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 2200/423 Amplifier output adaptation especially for transmission line coupling purposes, e.g. impedance adaptation
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 2200/429 Two or more amplifiers or one amplifier with filters for different frequency bands are coupled in parallel at the input or output
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 2200/451 the amplifier being a radio frequency amplifier
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 2200/541 Transformer coupled at the output of an amplifier
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 2201/3203 the amplifier comprising means for back off control in order to reduce distortion
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 2203/21139 An impedance adaptation circuit being added at the output of a power amplifier stage
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 2203/21142 Output signals of a plurality of power amplifiers are parallel combined to a common output
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 2203/21178 Power transistors are made by coupling a plurality of single transistors in parallel
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 2203/7206 the gated amplifier being switched on or off by a switch in the bias circuit of the amplifier controlling a bias voltage in the amplifier
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 2203/7209 the gated amplifier being switched from a first band to a second band
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 2203/7236 the gated amplifier being switched on or off by putting into parallel or not, by choosing between amplifiers by (a ) switch(es)
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 3/189 : High-frequency amplifiers, e.g. radio frequency amplifiers
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 3/193 : with field-effect devices H03F3/195 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 3/211 : using a combination of several amplifiers H03F3/60 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 3/24 : of transmitter output stages
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 3/245 : with semiconductor devices only
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 3/45188 : Non-folded cascode stages
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 3/68 : Combinations of amplifiers, e.g. multi-channel amplifiers for stereophonics power amplifiers using a combination of several semiconductor amplifiers H03F3/211; combinations of amplifiers using coupling networks with distributed constants H03F3/602
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 3/72 : Gated amplifiers, i.e. amplifiers which are rendered operative or inoperative by means of a control signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/04 : Circuits
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 2001/0408 : with power amplifiers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 27/34 : Amplitude- and phase-modulated carrier systems, e.g. quadrature-amplitude modulated carrier systems

Abstract

A communication device includes a power amplifier that generates power signals according to one or more operating bands of communication data, with the amplitude being driven and generated in output stages of the power amplifier. The final stage can include an output passive network that suppresses suppress an amplitude modulation-to-phase modulation (AM-PM) distortion. During a back-off power mode a bias of a capacitive unit of the output power network component can be adjusted to minimize an overall capacitance variation. A output passive network can further generate a flat-phase response between dual resonances of operation.

Claims

1. An apparatus of a mobile device for amplifying radio frequency signals, comprising:

a plurality of n-bit binary weighted differential amplifier cells coupled to an output passive network, wherein an n-bit binary weighted differential amplifier cell of the plurality of n-bit binary weighted differential amplifier cells comprises a pair of amplification transistors and a pair of cascode transistors, wherein the pair of amplification transistors comprise a smaller gate width than the pair of cascode transistors;

the output passive network comprising a transformer and a plurality of capacitive units coupled in parallel with one another; and

a processing circuitry configured to power on or off the at least one of the pair of cascode transistors based on an amplification setting or a voltage threshold.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the pair of cascode transistors are connected to drain terminals of the pair of amplification transistors, respectively.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the output passive network comprises at least two inductors.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the pair of amplification transistors comprise thin transistors and the pair of cascode transistors comprise thick transistors that comprise a greater gate width than the thin transistors.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the transformer of the output passive network comprises a single transformer connected directly to the plurality of n-bit binary weighted differential amplifier cells.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a set of switches or inverters, coupled to the pair of amplification transistors, configured to selectively enable a power level of the pair of amplification transistors.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the output passive network is configured to enable a dual band operation as a multi-resonant matching network to enable a response for two different operating frequency bands of the mobile device based on a single transformer connected in parallel directly to the plurality of n-bit binary weighted differential amplifier cells.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the pair of amplification transistors are connected to a driver terminal to receive a driver signal, and the pair of cascode transistors are connected to a bias terminal to receive a bias signal.

9. A system of a mobile device for amplifying radio frequency signals, comprising:

a plurality of differential amplifier cells coupled to an output passive network, wherein a differential amplifier cell of the plurality of differential amplifier cells comprises a pair of amplification transistors and a pair of cascode transistors, respectively, wherein the pair of cascode transistors comprises a wider gate than the pair of amplification transistors;

the output passive network comprising a transformer and a plurality of capacitance units, wherein the transformer is connected to the plurality of amplifier cells; and

a processing circuitry configured to operate at least one cascode the pair of cascode transistors based on a voltage threshold.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the pair of amplification transistors are connected to source terminals of the pair of cascode transistors, respectively.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein the output passive network comprises two inductors forming the transformer.

12. The system of claim 9, wherein the transformer is coupled in parallel to the plurality of differential amplifier cells.

13. The system of claim 9, further comprising:

a set of switches connected to plurality of differential amplifier cells and configured to enable a voltage input to at least one of;

the pair of amplification transistors or the pair of cascode transistors.

14. A method for a mobile device comprising:

providing, via a plurality of differential amplifier cells coupled to an output passive network, power signals through a pair of amplification transistors of a differential amplifier cell of the plurality of differential amplifier cells coupled to a pair of cascode transistors of the differential amplifier cell of the plurality of differential amplifier cells that comprise a wider gate than the pair of amplification transistors; and

powering on or off, via a processing circuitry coupled to the plurality of differential amplifier cells, at least one of the pair of cascode transistors based on an amplification setting or a voltage threshold.