VARIABLE GAIN AMPLIFIER

• US 20130314157A1
• Filed: 05/22/2013
• Published: 11/28/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 05/22/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. (Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. (Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: RAO, Jin, LIU, Quan, ZHU, Yun, WANG, Huajiang
• Granted Patent: US 8,907,724 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 330/254
• CPC Class Codes: H03G 1/0029 using FETs
• CPC Class Codes: H03G 3/004 Control by varying the supply voltage

Abstract

The embodiments of the present invention disclose a variable gain amplifier and relate to the field of electronic circuits. The linear-in-dB relationship between an output current and a control voltage of the variable gain amplifier is relatively ideal. The variable gain amplifier includes a fitted differential module group and an offset voltage output module, where the fitted differential module group is configured to output, under the control of a driving voltage and offset voltages, an output current of the variable gain amplifier according to a reference current; and the fitted differential module group includes n fitted differential modules, the n fitted differential modules are cascaded in turn, and n is any positive integer larger than 1.

Claims

1. A variable gain amplifier, comprising a fitted differential module group and an offset voltage output module, wherein:

the fitted differential module group is configured to output, under control of a driving voltage and offset voltages, an output current of the variable gain amplifier according to a reference current;

the fitted differential module group includes a number n fitted differential modules, and the number n is any positive integer larger than 1; and

the n fitted differential modules are cascaded in turn and meet the following;

I_out(s−

1)=I_in(s),

wherein s is larger than 1 and smaller than or equal to the number n, I_out(s−

1) indicates an output current of an (s−

1)^th fitted differential module, I_in(s) indicates an input current of an s^th fitted differential module, an input current I_in(1) of a first fitted differential module of the fitted differential module group is the reference current, and an output current of an n^th fitted differential module of the fitted differential module group is the output current of the variable gain amplifier; and

the offset voltage output module is configured to input the offset voltages to the multiple fitted differential modules, respectively, wherein the offset voltages meet;

V₂−

V₁= . . . =V_s−

V<sub>s−

1</sub> . . . =V_n−

V<sub>n−

1</sub>,

wherein V_s indicates an offset voltage that the offset voltage output module inputs to the s^th fitted differential module.

2. The variable gain amplifier according to claim 1, wherein:

each fitted differential module of the fitted differential module group comprises;

a first minor current source, configured to receive an input current of a fitted differential module and output a stable first bias current to a fitted differential submodule of the fitted differential module, wherein the first bias current is in a multiple relationship with the input current of the fitted differential module, and an output end of the first minor current source is connected to a current input end of the fitted differential submodule;

the fitted differential submodule, configured to enlarge an area in which a linear-in-dB relationship exists between an input current of the fitted differential submodule and a control voltage of the variable gain amplifier, wherein an output end of the fitted differential submodule is connected to an input end of a second mirror current source; and

the second mirror current source, configured to receive an output current of the fitted differential submodule and output a stable second bias current, wherein the second bias current is in a multiple relationship with the output current of the fitted differential submodule; and

when the fitted differential module is not the n^th fitted differential module, an output end of the second mirror current source of the fitted differential module is connected to a current input end of a next-level fitted differential module;

when the fitted differential module is the n^th fitted differential module, the output end of the second mirror current source of the fitted differential module is a current output end of the variable gain amplifier.

3. The variable gain amplifier according to claim 2, further comprising:

a driving voltage output module, wherein the driving voltage output module has n driving voltage output ends, and the n driving voltage output ends are connected to fitted differential submodules of the n fitted differential modules, respectively, and configured to output a driving voltage, which is in proportion to the control voltage of the variable gain amplifier, to the fitted differential submodules of the n fitted differential modules.

4. The variable gain amplifier according to claim 3, wherein the driving voltage output module comprises:

a first driving voltage output submodule and a second driving voltage output submodule, wherein the first driving voltage output submodule or the second driving voltage output submodule outputs the driving voltage, which is in proportion to the control voltage of the variable gain amplifier, to the fitted differential submodules of the n fitted differential modules.

5. The variable gain amplifier according to claim 4, wherein the first driving voltage output submodule comprises a first resistor, a second resistor, a first operational amplifier, a third resistor, a first capacitor, a fourth resistor, a fifth resistor, and a first field effect transistor;

one end of the first resistor is connected to an input end of the control voltage of the variable gain amplifier, and the other end of the first resistor is connected to a first end of the second resistor;

a second end of the second resistor is connected to an inverting input end of the first operational amplifier, wherein the first end of the second resistor is connected to the first resistor; and

a third end of the second resistor is grounded;

a non-inverting input end of the first operational amplifier is connected to one end of the fifth resistor and is grounded through the fifth resistor;

an inverting input end of the first operational amplifier is connected to the second end of the second resistor;

an output end of the first operational amplifier is connected to both gate electrodes of the first field effect transistor and the third resistor; and

the output end of the first operational amplifier is connected to the first capacitor through the third resistor;

one end of the first capacitor is connected to one end of the third resistor, and the other end of the first capacitor is connected to both drain electrodes of the first field effect transistor and output ends of the driving voltage;

one end of the fourth resistor is connected to input ends of the driving voltage of the fitted differential submodules of the n fitted differential modules, and the other end of the fourth resistor is connected to the one end of the fifth resistor;

the one end of the fifth resistor is connected to both the non-inverting input end of the first operational amplifier and one end of the fourth resistor, and the other end of the fifth resistor is grounded; and

the gate electrode of the first field effect transistor is connected to the output end of the first operational amplifier;

a source electrode and a substrate of the first field effect transistor are connected to a voltage source; and

the drain electrode of the first field effect transistor is connected to the output ends of the driving voltage, and is also grounded through the fifth resistor and the fourth resistor.

6. The variable gain amplifier according to claim 5, wherein the second driving voltage output submodule comprise a second field effect transistor, a second capacitor, a second operational amplifier, a sixth resistor, and a seventh resistor, wherein:

a source electrode and a substrate of the second field effect transistor are connected to the drain electrode of the first field effect transistor and output ends of the driving voltage;

the gate electrode of the second field effect transistor is connected to an output end of the second operational amplifier; and

the drain electrode of the second field effect transistor is connected to the non-inverting input end of the first operational amplifier;

one end of the second capacitor is connected to both the output end of the second operational amplifier and the gate electrode of the second field effect transistor, and the other end of the second capacitor is grounded; and

a non-inverting input end of the second operational amplifier is connected to an input end of a band-gap voltage of the variable gain amplifier, and an inverting input end of the second operational amplifier is grounded through the seventh resistor, and is also connected to the output ends of the driving voltage through the sixth resistor.