Power amplification using a direct-upconverting quadrature mixer topology
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A power amplifier comprising:
- (a) an oscillator circuit configured to generate reference signals that are 90°
out of phase with respect to each other; and
(b) a quadrature mixer having;
(1) a plurality of mixer elements forming a final gain stage of the power amplifier, each connected by predetermined low impedance inputs with the oscillator circuit to receive one of the reference signals at an RF frequency, and each configured to;
(A) receive a signal at a baseband centered frequency through relatively high impedance inputs, the signal containing either an in-phase (I) component or a quadrature (Q) component of a baseband signal to be transmitted; and
(B) use one of the reference signals to simultaneously upconvert and amplify the in-phase or the quadrature component of the baseband signal; and
(2) combining circuitry configured to combine the upconverted and amplified I and Q components received from the mixer elements to form an output signal.
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Abstract
A power amplifier for use in a wireless communication system operates like a quadrature mixer with conversion gain. The amplifier includes a local oscillator that generates two reference signals 90° out of phase with respect to each other. Four quadrature mixer elements receive signals representing the in-phase and quadrature components of a baseband signal. Each quadrature mixer amplifies the in-phase or the quadrature component of the baseband signal while upconverting with the corresponding reference signal.
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Citations
56 Claims
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1. A power amplifier comprising:
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(a) an oscillator circuit configured to generate reference signals that are 90°
out of phase with respect to each other; and
(b) a quadrature mixer having;
(1) a plurality of mixer elements forming a final gain stage of the power amplifier, each connected by predetermined low impedance inputs with the oscillator circuit to receive one of the reference signals at an RF frequency, and each configured to;
(A) receive a signal at a baseband centered frequency through relatively high impedance inputs, the signal containing either an in-phase (I) component or a quadrature (Q) component of a baseband signal to be transmitted; and
(B) use one of the reference signals to simultaneously upconvert and amplify the in-phase or the quadrature component of the baseband signal; and
(2) combining circuitry configured to combine the upconverted and amplified I and Q components received from the mixer elements to form an output signal. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 39)
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15. A wireless transmitter for transmitting an amplified RF signal comprising:
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(a) a baseband encoder that receives digital information and produces signals at a baseband centered frequency representing an in-phase (I) component and a quadrature (Q) component of a baseband signal to be transmitted;
(b) an oscillator circuit configured to generate reference signals at an RF frequency that are 90°
out of phase with respect to each other; and
(c) a quadrature mixer having;
(1) a plurality of mixer elements forming a final gain stage of the wireless transmitter, each connected to the oscillator circuit to receive one of the reference signals with inputs of predetermined low impedance and connected to the baseband encoder to receive one of the components of the baseband signal with inputs of relatively high impedance, each mixer element configured to operate as both a mixer and an amplifier using at least one of the reference signals to simultaneously modulate and impart conversion gain to the in-phase or the quadrature component of the baseband signal; and
(2) combining circuitry tuned to maximize the overall power conversion efficiency of the quadrature mixer, the combining circuitry configured to combine the modulated and amplified I and Q components to form the amplified RF signal. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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29. A method for amplifying a baseband signal to be transmitted over a wireless network, the method comprising:
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(a) providing amplified reference signals at an RF frequency that are 90°
out of phase with respect to each other to inputs of a quadrature mixer with predetermined low impedance;
(b) providing an in-phase (I) and quadrature (Q) component of the baseband signal at a baseband centered frequency to inputs of the quadrature mixer with relatively high impedance;
(c) operating the quadrature mixer as a both a final gain stage and a mixer such that at least one of the reference signals upconverts and at the same time amplifies the in-phase and the quadrature components of the baseband signal; and
(d) combining the upconverted and amplified I and Q components to form an output signal. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 40)
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41. A power mixer for generating an amplified signal from an in-phase (I) component and a quadrature (Q) component of a baseband signal, the power mixer comprising:
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an oscillator circuit configured to generate a reference signal; and
a quadrature mixer electrically connected with the oscillator circuit, comprising;
a dual port transistor that receives the reference signal at an RF frequency with a predetermined low impedance input and the baseband signal at a baseband centered frequency with a relatively high impedance input, wherein the dual port transistor is operable as both a mixing stage and a final stage conversion gain to modulate and amplify versions of the in-phase (I) component and the quadrature (Q) component. - View Dependent Claims (42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51)
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52. A method of amplifying a baseband signal for transmission as an amplified RF signal, the method comprising:
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providing signals at a baseband centered frequency to a relatively high impedance input of a quadrature mixer that are versions of an in-phase (I) component and a quadrature (Q) component representing the baseband signal;
amplifying a reference signal;
providing the amplified reference signal at an RF frequency to a predetermined low impedance input of the quadrature mixer;
simultaneously performing a final stage of amplification and modulation of the versions of the in-phase (I) component and the quadrature (Q) component with the quadrature mixer using the amplified reference signal;
combining the modulated and amplified versions of the in-phase (I) component and the quadrature (Q) component to form the amplified RF signal; and
optimizing power conversion efficiency during the combination with a combining circuit. - View Dependent Claims (53, 54, 55, 56)
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Specification