Controlling power with an output network

• US 7,728,661 B2
• Filed: 05/05/2008
• Issued: 06/01/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 05/05/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Avago Technologies International Sales Pte Limited (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Javelin Semiconductor, Inc. (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Inventors: Bockelman, David E., Srinivasan, Vishnu
• Primary Examiner(s): Mottola; Steven J
• Application Number:
  US12/151,199
• Publication Number:
  US 20090273397A1
• Time in Patent Office: 757 Days
• Field of Search: 330/51, 330/124.R, 330/195
• US Class Current: 330/51
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 1/0277 Selecting one or more amplifiers from a plurality of amplifiers
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 2200/451 the amplifier being a radio frequency amplifier
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 2200/537 A transformer being used as coupling element between two amplifying stages
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 2200/541 Transformer coupled at the output of an amplifier
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 2203/45614 the IC comprising two cross coupled switches
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 2203/7233 the gated amplifier, switched on or off by putting into parallel or not, by choosing between amplifiers by one or more switch(es), being impedance adapted by switching an adapted passive network
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 3/195 in integrated circuits
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 3/211 using a combination of several amplifiers H03F3/60 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 3/45475 using IC blocks as the active amplifying circuit
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 3/72 Gated amplifiers, i.e. amplifiers which are rendered operative or inoperative by means of a control signal

Abstract

In one embodiment, the present invention includes multiple gain stages and an output network coupled to the gain stages. Each of the gain stages can be independently controlled to amplify a radio frequency (RF) signal to an output power level for transmission from a mobile wireless device. When controlled to be inactive, at least one of the gain stages can be placed into a low impedance state.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

a first gain stage having an input to receive a first input signal and to output a first amplified signal;

a second gain stage having an input to receive a second input signal and to output a second amplified signal;

an output network coupled to the first and second gain stages, and wherein at least one of the first and second gain stages is to be placed into a low impedance state when inactive, the output network including a transformer having a first coil and a second coil, wherein the outputs of the first and second gain stages are coupled to the first coil; and

a coupling capacitor to couple the output of the second gain stage to the first coil, wherein the coupling capacitor is configured in shunt with the first coil when the second gain stage is in the low impedance state and is coupled in series with the first coil when the second gain stage is active.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first and second gain stages have substantially different drive point impedances when active.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a switchable capacitance coupled to the output of the first gain stage, wherein the switchable capacitance is controllable to be enabled or disabled when the first gain stage is disabled.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the second gain stage comprises a pair of complementary amplifiers each having an output, and an inductor coupled in parallel between the outputs of the pair of complementary amplifiers.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein when the first gain stage is enabled, a drive point impedance of the first gain stage is substantially less than an output impedance of an output load, and when the second gain stage is enabled, a drive point impedance of the second gain stage is substantially closer to the output impedance of the output load.

6. A power amplifier comprising:

a first stage including a first pair of amplifiers to receive a first input signal and to output a first amplified signal;

a second stage including a second pair of amplifiers to receive a second input signal and to output a second amplified signal;

a first transformer having a first coil to receive the first amplified signal and a second coil to output the first amplified signal to an output load; and

a second transformer having a third coil to receive the second amplified signal and a fourth coil to output the second amplified signal to the output load, the second transformer having a different turns ratio than the first transformer and wherein the turns ratio of the first transformer is greater than the turns ratio of the second transformer, wherein the first stage is a high power gain stage and the second stage is a low power gain stage.

7. The power amplifier of claim 6, wherein the fourth coil is capacitively coupled to the output load.

8. The power amplifier of claim 7, wherein the fourth coil is coupled to the output load by at least one coupling capacitor coupled in series between the fourth coil and the output load.

9. The power amplifier of claim 6, wherein when the second stage is inactive, the second stage is to be placed into a low impedance state, and a net inductance is effectively switched to be coupled in parallel to the second coil of the first transformer.

10. The power amplifier of claim 9, wherein when the first stage is inactive, the second coil is to act as an impedance coupled in parallel with the output load.

11. The power amplifier of claim 10, further comprising a switchable capacitance coupled to the first coil, wherein the switchable capacitance is effectively controlled to be enabled or disabled when the first stage is disabled.

12. The power amplifier of claim 10, further comprising a capacitance coupled to the second coil to tune out an inductance of the fourth coil when the second stage is inactive.

13. The power amplifier of claim 6, wherein the first transformer and the second transformer have a weak magnetic coupling.

14. An integrated circuit comprising:

a first gain stage having an input to receive a first input signal and to output a first amplified signal;

a second gain stage having an input to receive a second input signal and to output a second amplified signal;

a third gain stage having an input to receive a third input signal and to output a third amplified signal; and

at least three transformers each coupled to a corresponding one of the first, second and third gain stages, wherein the first and second transformers each have substantially equal turns ratios and wherein each of the substantially equal turns ratios is greater than a turns ratio of the third transformer.

15. The integrated circuit of claim 14, wherein each of the first, second, and third gain stages is individually enabled.

16. The integrated circuit of claim 15, wherein the first and second gain stages correspond to a high power gain path, and the third gain stage corresponds to a low power gain path.

17. The integrated circuit of claim 16, wherein the first and second gain stages are to be controlled in common to operate in a high power mode, wherein each of the first and second gain stages are sized to be substantially half of a single gain stage size needed to operate in the high power mode.

18. The integrated circuit of claim 14, further comprising a first matching capacitance coupled across outputs of the first and second transformers, the first and second transformers having serially connected output coils, and a second matching capacitance coupled across an output of the third transformer.

19. A power amplifier comprising:

a first differential complementary amplifier stage to receive an input signal and to amplify the input signal to a first amplified output signal;

a second differential complementary amplifier stage to receive the input signal and to amplify the input signal to a second amplified output signal;

an output transformer coupled to receive the first amplified output signal or the second amplified output signal, depending on which of the first and second differential complementary amplifier stages is enabled, wherein a turns ratio of the output transformer is dependent upon which of the first and second differential complementary amplifier stages is enabled, and wherein the non-enabled differential complementary amplifier stage is placed into a high impedance state; and

an input transformer having an input coil coupled to outputs of a driver stage and a pair of output coils each coupled to the first and second differential complementary amplifier stages, wherein the first differential complementary amplifier stage is switchably coupled to the pair of output coils.

20. The power amplifier of claim 19, further comprising a plurality of bias sources each coupled to one of the first and second differential complementary amplifier stages, wherein a voltage of the corresponding bias source is to place the corresponding differential complementary amplifier stage into the high impedance state.

21. The power amplifier of claim 19, wherein the first differential complementary amplifier stage includes a pair of complementary amplifiers, each having a first transconductance amplifier of a first polarity and a second transconductance amplifier of a second polarity each having a gate terminal coupled to one of the pair of output coils, a first cascode device coupled to an output terminal of the first transconductance amplifier and a first output of the first differential complementary amplifier gain stage, and a second cascode device coupled to an output terminal of the second transconductance amplifier and a second output of the first differential complementary amplifier stage, wherein the first and second cascode devices are each driven by a corresponding bias voltage.

22. The power amplifier of claim 19, further comprising a first matching capacitance coupled between an output of the driver stage and the input transformer, wherein the matching capacitance is controllable to compensate for a change in capacitance when the first differential complementary amplifier stage is disabled.

23. An integrated circuit comprising:

a first gain stage having an input to receive a first input signal and to output a first amplified signal;

a second gain stage having an input to receive a second input signal and to output a second amplified signal;

a first transformer coupled to the first gain stage; and

a second transformer coupled to the second gain stage, wherein the first and second transformers each have substantially equal first turns ratios and each of the first and second transformers include coils formed of inductors integrated on a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) die of the integrated circuit including the first and second gain stages, and wherein the inductors are sized to manage inductance variation of a CMOS process on which the integrated circuit is fabricated.

24. The integrated circuit of claim 23, wherein the first and second transformers are to enable the first and second gain stages to have drive point impedances that are substantially lower than a load impedance of a load coupled to the first and second transformers.

25. The integrated circuit of claim 24, wherein each of the first and second transformers are sized to be substantially twice a size of a single transformer needed to operate in a high power mode in which the first and second gain stages are controlled in common.

26. The integrated circuit of claim 24, further comprising:

a third gain stage having an input to receive a third input signal and to output a third amplified signal; and

a third transformer coupled to the third gain stage, wherein a second coil of each of the first and second transformers is coupled in series and a second coil of the third transformer is coupled in parallel to the series-coupled second coils.

27. The integrated circuit of claim 26, further comprising a first matching capacitance coupled in parallel with the series-coupled second coils, and a second matching capacitance coupled in parallel with the second coil of the third transformer.