Power Amplifier Having An Integrated Microcontroller
First Claim
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1. A power amplifier (PA) comprising:
- a signal processing path comprising a plurality of gain stages to receive a radio frequency (RF) signal and to output an amplified RF signal;
a plurality of sensors coupled to the signal processing path, each of the plurality of sensors being configured to sense at least one characteristic of operation of the PA; and
a microcontroller comprising a memory configured to store instructions, the microcontroller being configured to;
execute the instructions;
receive the at least one operation characteristic; and
control at least one parameter of the signal processing path responsive to the received at least one operation characteristic.
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Abstract
In an embodiment, a power amplifier (PA) includes a signal processing path including gain stages to receive a radio frequency (RF) signal and to output an amplified RF signal, sensors coupled to the signal processing path each to sense a characteristic of operation of the PA, and a microcontroller configured to execute instructions and to receive the operation characteristic(s) and to control one or more parameters of the signal processing path responsive this operation characteristic.
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Citations
24 Claims
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1. A power amplifier (PA) comprising:
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a signal processing path comprising a plurality of gain stages to receive a radio frequency (RF) signal and to output an amplified RF signal; a plurality of sensors coupled to the signal processing path, each of the plurality of sensors being configured to sense at least one characteristic of operation of the PA; and a microcontroller comprising a memory configured to store instructions, the microcontroller being configured to;
execute the instructions;
receive the at least one operation characteristic; and
control at least one parameter of the signal processing path responsive to the received at least one operation characteristic. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 8, 9, 10)
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5-6. -6. (canceled)
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11. A method comprising:
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receiving, in a microcontroller of a power amplifier (PA), a wake up signal from a first sensor of the PA, the wake up signal to indicate that a sensed value sensed by the first sensor exceeds a threshold; initializing the microcontroller responsive to the wake up signal; receiving, in the microcontroller, sensor inputs from a plurality of sensors of the PA coupled to the microcontroller; generating at least one control signal based on at least one of the sensor inputs; and communicating the at least one control signal to a control circuit of the PA to update a setting of a component of a signal processing path of the PA. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A system comprising:
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a transceiver to receive data from a baseband processor and to process the data to output a radio frequency (RF) signal; a power amplifier (PA) coupled to the transceiver to receive the RF signal and configured to output an amplified RF signal via a plurality of gain stages of the PA, the PA comprising; a plurality of sensors, each of the plurality of sensors being configured to sense at least one characteristic of operation of the PA; a microcontroller coupled to the plurality of sensors and configured to execute instructions, the microcontroller being configured to receive the at least one operation characteristic and to generate a plurality of digital control signals each to control at least one controllable element of the PA responsive to the received at least one operation characteristic; and a matching network coupled between a first gain stage and a second gain stage of the plurality of gain stages, wherein the matching network is configured to receive at least one digital control signal from the microcontroller and to adjust an amount of capacitance of the matching network based thereon. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. (canceled)
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24. A power amplifier (PA) comprising:
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a signal processing path comprising a plurality of gain stages to receive a radio frequency (RF) signal and to output an amplified RF signal; a plurality of sensors coupled to the signal processing path, each of the plurality of sensors being configured to sense at least one characteristic of operation of the PA, the plurality of sensors comprising a plurality of peak detectors each coupled to the signal processing path and associated with one of the plurality of gain stages; and a microcontroller configured to;
execute instructions;
receive the at least one operation characteristic; and
control at least one parameter of the signal processing path responsive to the received at least one operation characteristic, wherein the microcontroller is further configured to be in a sleep mode and to wake up responsive to receipt of a wake up signal from one of the plurality of sensors. - View Dependent Claims (7)
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Specification