FET amplifier with temperature-compensating circuit

• US 6,906,590 B2
• Filed: 01/24/2003
• Issued: 06/14/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 01/29/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Original Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Inventors: Amano, Shigeru
• Primary Examiner(s): Mottola, Steven J.
• Application Number:
  US10/350,136
• Publication Number:
  US 20030141931A1
• Time in Patent Office: 872 Days
• Field of Search: 330/277, 330/289, 330/296
• US Class Current: 330/277
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 1/301 in MOSFET amplifiers H03F1/303, H03F1/305, H03F1/308 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 3/193 with field-effect devices H03F3/195 takes precedence

Abstract

A FET amplifier which minimizes the worsening of the distortion-susceptibility due to variations in the ambient temperature of operation is to be provided. An LDMOS FET 1, whose source terminal is grounded and to which are applied a gate voltage Vgs from a gate bias terminal 3 via a temperature-compensating circuit 2 and a choke coil and a drain voltage Vds from a drain bias terminal 4 via a choke coil operates as a source-grounded type amplifier. In the temperature compensating circuit 2, the resistances of fixed resistance elements 21 and 22 connected in parallel are set to be the same or have the same number of digits, and those of thermosensitive resistance elements (thermistors) 23 and 24 are set to be a combination of a value greater by one digit and a value smaller by one digit than that of the fixed resistance element 21 or the fixed resistance element 22 at the standard level (+25° C.) in the ambient temperature range of operation.

Claims

1. A FET amplifier, using a FET as its amplifying element, provided with a temperature-compensating circuit for subjecting the gate voltage of said FET element to temperature compensation, wherein:

the source of said FET is grounded, and

said temperature-compensating circuit compensates said gate voltage so as to keep the drain current of said FET element constant at a prescribed amperage against variations in ambient temperature, wherein;

the prescribed amperage of said drain current is an amperage at which third order cross modulation distortion in the output power of said FET amplifier is minimized.

5. The FET amplifier, as claimed in claim 1, wherein:

the amplifying element of said FET amplifier is an LDMOS FET (lateral diffused MOS field effect transistor).

2. A FET amplifier, using a FET as its amplifying element, provided with a temperature-compensating circuit for subjecting the gate voltage of said FET element to temperature compensation, wherein:

said temperature-compensating circuit compensates said gate voltage so as to keep the drain current of said FET element constant at a prescribed amperage against variations in ambient temperature, wherein;

said temperature-compensating circuit is provided with;

a resistance circuit in which a first parallel circuit formed by a first fixed resistance element whose resistance does not vary dependent on the temperature and a first thermosensitive resistance element whose resistance does vary dependent on the temperature and a second parallel circuit formed of a second fixed resistance element and a second thermossensitive resistance element are connected in series, and

a third fixed resistance element, wherein;

a voltage divided by said resistance circuit and said third fixed resistance element is applied as said gate voltage.

3. The FET amplifier, as claimed in claim 2, wherein:

said first fixed resistance element and said second fixed resistance element have either the same resistance or resistances of the same number of digits,

the resistance of said first thermosensitive resistance element at the normal temperature is smaller than that of said first fixed resistance element by one digit, and

the resistance of said second thermosensitive resistance element at the normal temperature is greater than that of said second fixed resistance element by one digit.

4. The FET amplifier, as claimed in claim 2, wherein:

said first thermosensitive resistance element and said second thermosensitive resistance element are thermistors.

6. A FET amplifier, using a FET as its amplifying element, provided with a temperature-compensating circuit for subjecting the gate voltage of said FET element to temperature compensation, wherein:

the source of said FET is grounded,

said temperature-compensating circuit compensates said gate voltage so as to keep the drain current of said FET element constant at a prescribed amperage against variations in ambient temperature, wherein a compensable temperature range of said FET is at least from −

10°

C. to +80°

C., and

said temperature-compensation circuit comprises a parallel resistor network including at least one resistor of a fixed value and at least one thermo-sensitive resistor which varies in value according to temperature.

7. A FET amplifier, using a FET as its amplifying element, provided with a temperature-compensating circuit for subjecting the gate voltage of said FET element to temperature compensation, wherein:

the source of said FET is directly grounded,

said temperature-compensating circuit compensates said gate voltage so as to keep the drain current of said FET element constant at a prescribed amperage against variations in ambient temperature, and

said temperature-compensation circuit comprises a parallel resistor network including at least one resistor of a fixed value and at least one thermo-sensitive resistor which varies in value according to temperature.