Power amplifier and power amplification method

• US 5,546,051 A
• Filed: 03/10/1995
• Issued: 08/13/1996
• Est. Priority Date: 03/14/1994
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Tateoka, Kazuki, Koizumi, Haruhiko, Kanazawa, Kunihiko, Sugimura, Akihisa
• Primary Examiner(s): MOTTOLA, STEVEN J
• Application Number:
  US08/402,490
• Time in Patent Office: 522 Days
• Field of Search: 330/127, 330/129, 330/297, 455/93, 455/127
• US Class Current: 330/297
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 1/0244 Stepped control
• CPC Class Codes: H03G 3/3042 in modulators, frequency-changers, transmitters or power amplifiers transmission power control in bidirectional transmission systems H04W52/04
• CPC Class Codes: H03G 3/3047 for intermittent signals, e.g. burst signals

Abstract

In a dual-mode radio telephone transmitter operative in both an analog modulation mode based on the FDMA system and a digital modulation mode based on the TDMA system, a DC bias voltage Vdd to be applied to a power amplification circuit is varied in accordance with the type of modulation, so that the input/output characteristics of the power amplification circuit can be optimized. To this end, a micro processor controls a switch interposed between the power amplification circuit and a positive DC power unit in such a manner that the DC bias voltage Vdd is 4.8 V for the FDMA mode, while the DC bias voltage Vdd is 6.0 V for the TDMA mode. The value of another DC bias voltage Vgg in the power amplification circuit is fixed. The value of the DC bias voltage Vdd is set higher in the TDMA mode than in the FDMA mode; thus, it becomes possible to increase the power added efficiency in the FDMA mode, without adversely affecting high linearity and high efficiency in the TDMA mode.

Claims

1. A power amplifier operative in both an analog modulation mode and a digital modulation mode comprising:

a power unit circuit for producing two DC voltage levels;

a switch circuit for selecting either of said two DC voltage levels produced from said power unit circuit;

a control circuit for controlling said switch circuit in accordance with a type of modulation mode;

a single power amplification circuit for amplifying radio frequency signals using the DC voltage level selected by said switch circuit; and

wherein said switch circuit is operable to select a lower of said DC voltage levels as a voltage to be applied to the power amplification circuit in the digital modulation mode and to select a higher of said DC voltage levels in the analog modulation mode.

2. The power amplifier in accordance with claim 1, wherein said power amplification circuit is used for a wireless telephone transmitter.

3. The power amplifier in accordance with claim 1, wherein Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) system is used as an access system for said analog modulation mode, while Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) system is used as an access system For said digital modulation mode.