Power amplifying circuit with load adjust for control of adjacent and alternate channel power

• US 6,160,449 A
• Filed: 07/22/1999
• Issued: 12/12/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 07/22/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Google Technology Holdings LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Motorola, Inc. (Motorola Solutions, Inc.)
• Inventors: Alberth, William, Klomsdorf, Armin, Winkelmann, Luke
• Primary Examiner(s): Shingleton, Michael B
• Application Number:
  US09/358,884
• Time in Patent Office: 509 Days
• Field of Search: 330/129, 330/149, 330/279, 375/296, 375/297
• US Class Current: 330/149
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 1/0205 in transistor amplifiers
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 1/3241 using predistortion circuits H03F1/3211, H03F1/3217 take precedence

Abstract

A power amplifying circuit with load adjust for control of adjacent and alternate channel power. A power amplifier amplifies an input signal to produce an amplified signal. A variable impedance network presents different impedances to the output of the power amplifier responsive to a load control signal. A peak-to-average detector provides an indication of a peak-to-average ratio of the amplified signal. A controller coupled to the peak-to-average detector and the variable impedance network produces the load control signal responsive to the indication of the peak-to-average ratio.

Claims

1. A power amplifying circuit comprising:

a power amplifier for amplifying an input signal to produce an amplified signal;

a variable impedance network coupled to an output of the power amplifier, the variable impedance network for presenting different impedances to the output of the power amplifier responsive to a load control signal;

a peak-to-average difference detector coupled to an output of the power amplifier, the peak-to-average difference detector to detect a peak level of the amplified signal and an average power of the amplified signal and to provide an indication of a difference between the peak level and the average power; and

a controller coupled to the peak-to-average difference detector and the variable impedance network, the controller for producing the load control signal responsive to the indication of the difference between the peak level and the average power of the amplified signal.

2. The power amplifying circuit as in claim 1 wherein the controller causes the variable impedance network to present different impedances to the output of the power amplifier to maintain the difference between the peak level and the average power substantially equal to a predetermined level.

3. The power amplifying circuit as in claim 2 wherein the controller determines a peak-to-average ratio of the amplified signal based upon the indication of the difference between the peak level and the average power, the controller to produce the load control signal responsive to the peak-to-average ratio.

4. The power amplifying circuit as in claim 1 wherein the average output power varies according to a changeable desired average output power, the controller causing the variable impedance network to present the different impedances to the output of the power amplifier over only a portion of a total dynamic range of the average output power.

5. The power amplifying circuit as in claim 1 further comprising a variable gain circuit coupled to an input of the power amplifier, wherein the controller adjusts a gain of the variable gain circuit responsive to the indication of the average power to cause the average power to substantially equal a desired average output power.

6. The power amplifying circuit as in claim 1 wherein the peak-to-average difference detector detects the peak level and the average power of the amplified signal over a predetermined time period.

7. A power amplifying circuit comprising:

a power amplifier for amplifying an input signal to produce an amplified signal;

a variable impedance network coupled to an output of the power amplifier, the variable impedance network for presenting different impedances to the output of the power amplifier responsive to a load control signal;

a peak-to-average detector coupled to an output of the power amplifier, the peak-to-average detector to provide an indication of a peak-to-average ratio of the amplified signal; and

a controller coupled to the peak-to-average detector and the variable impedance network, the controller for producing the load control signal responsive to the indication of the peak-to-average ratio of the amplified signal.

8. The power amplifying circuit as in claim 7 wherein the controller causes the variable impedance network to present different impedances to the output of the power amplifier to cause the peak-to-average ratio of the amplified signal to substantially equal a predetermined level.

9. The power amplifying circuit as in claim 7 wherein the average output power varies according to a changeable desired average output power, the controller causing the variable impedance network to present the different impedances to the output of the power amplifier over only a portion of a total dynamic range of the average output power.

10. The power amplifying circuit as in claim 7 further comprising a variable gain circuit coupled to an input of the power amplifier, wherein the peak-to-average detector provides an indication of an average output power, the controller to adjust a gain of the variable gain circuit responsive to the indication of the average power to cause the average power to substantially equal a desired average output power.

11. The power amplifying circuit as in claim 7 wherein the peak-to-average detector detects the peak-to-average ratio of the amplified signal over a predetermined time period.

12. A transmitter operable in a portable radiotelephone, the transmitter comprising:

digital baseband circuitry for receiving an information signal and producing a digital stream;

transmitter circuitry for converting the digital stream into an radio frequency (RF) input signal;

a power amplifying circuit including;

a power amplifier for amplifying the RF input signal to produce an amplified signal;

a variable impedance network coupled to an output of the power amplifier, the variable impedance network for presenting different impedances to the output of the power amplifier responsive to a load control signal;

a digital peak detector coupled to the digital baseband circuitry, the digital peak detector for determining when a peak in the RF input signal is to occur and producing a peak indication signal;

a peak-to-average detector coupled to an output of the power amplifier and responsive to the peak indication signal, the peak-to-average detector to provide an indication of a peak-to-average ratio of the amplified signal; and

a controller coupled to the peak-to-average detector and the variable impedance network, the controller for producing the load control signal responsive to the indication of the peak-to-average ratio of the amplified signal.

13. The transmitter as in claim 12 wherein the peak-to-average detector comprises:

an envelope detector coupled to the output of the power amplifier to remove an RF carrier signal from the amplified signal to produce an envelope signal;

an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) coupled to the envelope detector, the ADC for converting the envelope signal into digital samples; and

digital circuitry coupled to receive the digital samples and produce an indication of the peak-to-average ratio of the amplified signal.

14. The transmitter as in claim 13 wherein one of the digital samples is an indication of a peak level of the amplified signal, the indication of the peak level produced by the ADC responsive to the peak indication signal.

15. The transmitter as in claim 14 wherein the ADC includes a sample-and-hold circuit, the sample-and-hold circuit triggered by the peak indication signal to capture a sample of the envelope signal, the ADC converting the sample of the envelope signal to the indication of the peak level.

16. The transmitter as in claim 15 wherein the peak indication signal is delayed to account for propagation delay in the transmitter circuitry.

17. The transmitter as in claim 16 further comprising a variable gain circuit coupled to an input of the power amplifier, wherein the peak-to-average detector provides an indication of an average output power, the controller to adjust a gain of the variable gain circuit responsive to the indication of the average output power to cause the average output power to substantially equal a desired average output power.

18. A method of amplifying a radio frequency (RF) signal, the method comprising:

amplifying the RF signal with a power amplifier to produce an amplified signal;

detecting a peak-to-average ratio of the amplified signal;

producing an indication of the peak-to-average ratio; and

changing impedances presented to an output of the power amplifier responsive to the indication of the peak-to-average ratio.

19. The method as in claim 18 wherein the impedances presented to the output of the power amplifier cause the peak-to-average ratio of the amplified signal to substantially equal a desired peak-to-average ratio.

20. The method as in claim 19 wherein an average output power of the amplified signal varies according to a changeable desired average output power, the impedances presented to the output of the power amplifier changing over only a portion of a total dynamic range of the average output power.

21. A power amplifying circuit comprising:

a power amplifier for amplifying an input signal to produce an amplified signal;

a variable impedance network coupled to an output of the power amplifier, the variable impedance network for presenting different impedances to the output of the power amplifier responsive to a load control signal;

a peak-to-average difference detector coupled to an output of the power amplifier, the peak-to-average difference detector to detect a peak level of the amplified signal and an average power of the amplified signal and to provide an indication of a difference between the peak level and the average power;

a controller coupled to the peak-to-average difference detector and the variable impedance network, the controller for producing a digital control signal responsive to the indication of the difference between the peak level and the average power of the amplified signal; and

a shift register coupled to the controller and the variable impedance network, the shift register to convert the digital control signal to the load control signal.