Linear high powered integrated circuit amplifier

• US 8,000,664 B2
• Filed: 06/15/2009
• Issued: 08/16/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 07/23/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Avago Technologies International Sales Pte Limited (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Broadcom Corporation (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Inventors: Khorram, Shahla
• Primary Examiner(s): West; Lewis G
• Application Number:
  US12/484,929
• Publication Number:
  US 20090251222A1
• Time in Patent Office: 792 Days
• Field of Search: 455/91, 455/127.1, 455/127.2, 455/127.3, 455/95, 330/301, 330/127
• US Class Current: 455/127.3
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 3/45188 Non-folded cascode stages
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/406 with more than one transmission mode, e.g. analog and digital modes

Abstract

A linear high powered integrated circuit amplifier includes a plurality of power amplifiers, balanced integrated circuit coupling, and a combining circuit. The balanced integrated circuit coupling couples a signal to the plurality of power amplifiers to the up-conversion module such that the power amplifiers amplify the signal to produce a plurality of amplified radio frequency (RF) signals. The combining circuit is operably coupled to combine the plurality of amplified RF signals to produce a high-powered amplified signal.

Claims

1. A linear high-powered integrated circuit amplifier comprises:

a plurality of power amplifiers on an integrated circuit that receive a signal and produce therefrom a plurality of amplified signals;

a plurality of baluns operably coupled to the plurality of power amplifiers, wherein the plurality of baluns converts differential signals into single-ended signals, wherein the plurality of power amplifiers provides the plurality of amplified signals as the differential signals; and

a combining circuit operably coupled to combine the plurality of amplified signals to produce a high-powered amplified signal.

2. The linear high-powered integrated circuit amplifier of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of baluns further comprises at least one of:

a transformer balun; and

an inductor-capacitor circuit balun.

3. The linear high-powered integrated circuit amplifier of claim 1 further comprises:

balanced integrated circuit coupling that couples the plurality of power amplifiers to the plurality of baluns; and

second balanced integrated circuit coupling that couples the plurality of baluns to the combiner.

4. The linear high-powered integrated circuit amplifier of claim 1 further comprises:

the plurality of power amplifiers provides the plurality of amplified signals as differential current signals to the combining circuit; and

the combining circuit includes directly coupling a current to voltage circuit and a balun, wherein the direct coupling couples positive outputs of the plurality of power amplifiers together to produce a positive combined current signal and couples negative outputs of the plurality of power amplifiers to produce a negative combined current signal, wherein the current to voltage circuit converts the first and second combined current signals into a differential voltage signal, and wherein the balun converts the differential voltage signal into the high-powered amplified signal.

5. The linear high-powered integrated circuit amplifier of claim 1 further comprises being fabricated using CMOS technology.

6. A linear high-powered integrated circuit amplifier comprises:

a plurality of power amplifiers that receive a signal and produce therefrom a plurality of differential amplified signals; and

a plurality of baluns operably coupled to the plurality of power amplifiers, wherein the plurality of baluns converts the plurality of differential amplified signals into a single-ended signals, and wherein the plurality of baluns provides the single-ended signals off-chip for off-chip combining.

7. The linear high-powered integrated circuit amplifier of claim 6, wherein each of the plurality of baluns further comprises at least one of:

a transformer balun; and

an inductor-capacitor circuit balun.

8. The linear high-powered integrated circuit amplifier of claim 6 further comprises:

balanced integrated circuit coupling that couples the plurality of power amplifiers to the plurality of baluns; and

second balanced integrated circuit coupling that couples the plurality of baluns to pads for off-chip coupling to a combiner.

9. The linear high-powered integrated circuit transmitter of claim 6 further comprises being fabricated using CMOS technology.

10. A linear high-powered integrated circuit amplifier comprises:

a plurality of power amplifiers that receives a signal and amplifies to the signal to produce differential current signals;

a direct coupling that couples positive outputs of the plurality of power amplifiers together to produce a positive combined current signal and couples negative outputs of the plurality of power amplifiers to produce a negative combined current signal,

a current to voltage circuit operably coupled to convert the positive and negative combined current signals into a differential voltage signal, and

a balun operably coupled to convert the differential voltage signal into a single-ended high-powered amplified signal.

11. The linear high-powered integrated circuit amplifier of claim 10, wherein the balun further comprises at least one of:

a transformer balun; and

an inductor-capacitor circuit balun.

12. The linear high-powered integrated circuit amplifier of claim 10 further comprises:

balanced integrated circuit coupling that couples the plurality of power amplifiers to the current to voltage circuit; and

second balanced integrated circuit coupling that couples the current to voltage circuit to the balun.

13. The linear high-powered integrated circuit amplifier of claim 10 further comprises being fabricated using CMOS technology.