Push-pull power amplifier

• US 5,623,231 A
• Filed: 11/08/1995
• Issued: 04/22/1997
• Est. Priority Date: 09/26/1994
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Endwave Corp (Renesas Electronics Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Endgate Corp (Renesas Electronics Corporation)
• Inventors: Mohwinkel, Clifford A., Faulkner, Mark Van Ness
• Primary Examiner(s): MOTTOLA, STEVEN J
• Application Number:
  US08/555,131
• Time in Patent Office: 531 Days
• Field of Search: 330/269, 330/276, 330/286, 330/295, 330/307
• US Class Current: 330/276
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2223/6627 Waveguides, e.g. microstrip line, strip line, coplanar line
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2223/6644 Packaging aspects of high-frequency amplifiers
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/16 of an individual bump connector
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/81801 Soldering or alloying
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 23/66 High-frequency adaptations
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 24/81 using a bump connector
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 25/16 the devices being of types provided for in two or more different main groups of groups H01L27/00 - H01L33/00, or in a single subclass of H10K, H10N, e.g. forming hybrid circuits
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/00 Indexing scheme for arrangements or methods for connecting or disconnecting semiconductor or solid-state bodies as covered by H01L24/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/01013 Aluminum [Al]
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/01033 Arsenic [As]
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/0106 Neodymium [Nd]
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/10329 Gallium arsenide [GaAs]
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/1305 Bipolar Junction Transistor [BJT]
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/1306 Field-effect transistor [FET]
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/13091 Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Field-Effect Transistor [MOSFET]
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/14 Integrated circuits
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/1423 Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuit [MMIC]
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/15174 in different layers of the multilayer substrate
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/1903 including wave guides
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/19043 being a resistor
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/3011 : Impedance
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 2200/372 : Noise reduction and elimination in amplifier
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 2200/451 : the amplifier being a radio frequency amplifier
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 2200/543 : A transmission line being used as coupling element between two amplifying stages
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 3/265 : with field-effect transistors only
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 3/604 : using FET's

Abstract

A means of connecting a plurality of essentially identical active devices is presented for the purpose of multifunction and multiple function operation. These devices, mounted on a chip, are flip-mounted to a circuit motherboard having large passive elements. A push-pull amplifier is presented as an example in which the multiple function operation is the combining of amplifiers whose active devices are on a single chip. The electromagnetic coupling, impedance matching and signal transmission are variously provided by the use of striplines, slotlines, coplanar waveguides, and a slotline converted into a coplanar waveguide.

Claims

1. A push-pull power amplifier for amplifying an input radio frequency signal, comprising;

an input terminal for receiving an input radio-frequency signal;

an output terminal for outputting an amplified radio-frequency signal;

an integrated circuit chip having a first pair of active devices, the chip having a control terminal and at least one current-carrying terminal associated with each active device, the currents flowing through the current-carrying terminals depending upon the signals applied to the control terminals;

a substrate having a plurality of terminals, the chip being mounted with each chip terminal flip mounted onto a corresponding substrate terminal;

an input electromagnetic coupling means formed on the substrate and having an input primary conductor electrically coupled between the input terminal and the substrate terminal corresponding to the control terminal of a first one of the pair of active devices, and an input secondary conductor electromagnetically coupled to the input primary conductor and electrically coupled between an input reference potential and the substrate terminal corresponding to the control terminal of a second one of the pair of active devices; and

an output electromagnetic coupling means also formed on the substrate and having a primary conductor electrically coupled between the substrate terminal corresponding to one of the current-carrying terminals of the first active device and the output terminal, and an output secondary conductor mutually electromagnetically coupled to the output primary conductor and electrically coupled between the substrate terminal corresponding to one of the current-carrying terminals of the second active device and an output reference potential;

the signal on the output terminal being a combination of the signals being conducted by the pair of active devices.

12. An amplifier according to claim 1 wherein at least one of the input and output coupling means comprises microstrip lines conductor.

13. An amplifier according to claim 1 wherein at least one of the input and output coupling means comprises a slotline.

17. An amplifier according to claim 1 wherein at least one of the input and output coupling means is formed by the secondary conductor being coplanar with and extending in juxtaposition with the associated primary conductor.

2. An amplifier for amplifying an input radio frequency signal comprising first and second push-pull amplifiers, each push-pull power amplifier comprising:

an input terminal for receiving an input radio-frequency signal;

an output terminal for outputting an amplified radio-frequency signal;

a first pair of active devices having respective control terminals and current-carrying terminals, the current flowing through the current-carrying terminals depending upon the signal applied to the control terminal, one of the current-carrying terminals of each of the active devices being coupled together;

an input electromagnetic coupling means having an input primary conductor electrically coupled between the input terminal and the control terminal of a first one of the pair of active devices, and an input secondary conductor electromagnetically coupled to the input primary conductor and electrically coupled between an input reference potential and the control terminal of a second one of the pair of active devices; and

an output electromagnetic coupling means having a primary conductor electrically coupled between the other of the current-carrying terminals of the first active device and the output terminal, and an output secondary conductor mutually inductively coupled to the output primary conductor and electrically coupled between the other of the current-carrying terminals of the second active device and an output reference potential;

the signal on the output terminal being a combination of the signals being conducted by the pair of active devices, and the input secondary conductors of each of the first and second amplifiers being coupled together.

3. An amplifier comprising first and second compound amplifiers according to claim 2 connected electrically in parallel.

4. An amplifier according to claim 3 in which the active devices are all formed on a single chip, the input and output coupling means are formed on a single substrate, and the chip has separate terminals connected to the active devices which are flip-mounted onto corresponding terminals on the substrate.

5. An amplifier according to claim 4 in which the active devices are aligned in an mxn array, where m and n are integers and at least one of m and n is greater than one.

6. An amplifier according to claim 5 in which the pairs of active devices are identical and are spaced equal distances apart.

7. An amplifier according to claim 4 wherein at least one of the input and output coupling means comprises a microstrip conductor.

8. An amplifier according to claim 4 wherein at least one of the input and output inductance means comprises a slotline.

9. An amplifier according to claim 8 wherein the slotline is U-shaped and has a first portion extending adjacent to a second portion.

10. An amplifier according to claim 9 wherein the slotline is double-U-shaped and has a third portion adjacent to the second portion and opposite from the first portion.

11. An amplifier according to claim 9 wherein the first portion of the U-shaped slotline terminates in an enlarged opening.

14. A push-pull power amplifier for amplifying an input radio frequency signal, comprising:

an input terminal for receiving an input radio-frequency signal;

an output terminal for outputting an amplified radio-frequency signal;

a first pair of active devices having respective control terminals and current-carrying terminals, the current flowing through the current-carrying terminals depending upon the signal applied to the control terminal, one of the current-carrying terminals of each of the active devices being coupled to a reference potential;

an input electromagnetic coupling means having an input primary conductor electrically coupled between the input terminal and the control terminal of a first one of the pair of active devices, and an input secondary conductor electromagnetically coupled to the input primary conductor and electrically coupled between an input reference potential and the control terminal of a second one of the pair of active devices; and

an output electromagnetic coupling means having a primary conductor electrically coupled between the other of the current-carrying terminals of the first active device and the output terminal, and an output secondary conductor mutually inductively coupled to the output primary conductor and electrically coupled between the other of the current-carrying terminals of the second active device and an output reference potential;

the signal on the output terminal being a combination of the signals being conducted by the pair of active devices, and at least one of the input and output coupling means comprising a U-shaped slotline having a first portion extending adjacent to a second portion.

15. An amplifier according to claim 14 wherein the slotline is double-U-shaped and has a third portion adjacent to the second portion and opposite from the first portion.

16. An amplifier according to claim 14 wherein the first portion of the U-shaped slotline terminates in an enlarged opening.