Wireless transceiver with amplifier bias adjusted based on modulation scheme

• US 8,913,970 B2
• Filed: 09/21/2010
• Issued: 12/16/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 09/21/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Akhi, Fraidun, Reddy, Vusthla Sunil
• Primary Examiner(s): TRAN, PABLO N
• Application Number:
  US12/887,464
• Publication Number:
  US 20120071159A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,547 Days
• Field of Search: 455/69, 455/522, 455/13.4, 455/513, 455/504, 455/67.13, 455/67.11, 455/63.1, 455/115.1, 455/136, 455/138, 455/220, 455/213, 455/222, 455/245.1, 455/341, 455/574, 455/127.2, 455/127.4, 455/73, 455/450, 455/127.5, 455/119, 455/126, 455/108, 455/572, 455/129, 455/302, 455/97, 455/83, 455/98, 455/200, 455/127.1, 455/127.3, 330/136, 330/129, 330/302, 330/127, 330/297, 330/83, 330/98, 330/200
• US Class Current: 455/127.1
• CPC Class Codes: H03G 3/004 Control by varying the supply voltage
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 27/36 Modulator circuits; Transmitter circuits

Abstract

An electronic device may contain wireless circuitry that transmits and receives radio-frequency signals through antenna structures. Power amplifier circuitry may amplify the radio-frequency signals that are being transmitted. An adjustable voltage supply may supply an adjustable power amplifier bias voltage to the power amplifier circuitry. The power amplifier circuitry may include multiple power amplifiers each of which may handle signals transmitted using a different cellular telephone standard. For each cellular telephone standard, multiple modulation schemes may be supported. Some modulation schemes may have greater power amplifier linearity requirements than others. Control circuitry can adjust the adjustable power amplifier bias voltage in real time to select an optimum power amplifier bias voltage based on the current cellular telephone standard, modulation scheme, power amplifier gain state, and operating frequency in use.

Claims

1. A method for operating an electronic device, comprising:

with wireless communications circuitry in the electronic device that contains a power amplifier and an adjustable voltage power supply that supplies a power supply voltage to the power amplifier to power the power amplifier, wirelessly transmitting radio-frequency signals using a modulation scheme selected from a plurality of modulation schemes supported by the electronic device; and

while wirelessly transmitting the radio-frequency signals using the modulation scheme, using the adjustable voltage power supply to adjust the power supply voltage to a level that is selected based at least partly on which of the plurality of modulation schemes is being used to wirelessly transmit the radio-frequency signals.

2. The method defined in claim 1 wherein the modulation scheme that is being used to wirelessly transmit the radio-frequency signals comprises a given modulation scheme selected from the group consisting of:

Gaussian Minimum Shift Keying, 8 Phase Shift Keying, Binary Phase Shift Keying, Quadrature Phase Shift Keying, 16 Quadrature Amplitude Modulation, 64-Quadrature Amplitude Modulation and wherein wirelessly transmitting comprises wirelessly transmitting using the given modulation scheme.

3. The method defined in claim 1 wherein wirelessly transmitting comprises wirelessly transmitting using a cellular telephone standard selected from the group consisting of:

a Global System for Mobile Communications cellular telephone standard, an Evolution-Data Optimized cellular telephone standard, a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System cellular telephone standard, a Code Division Multiple Access 2000 cellular telephone standard, and a Long Term Evolution cellular telephone standard.

4. The method defined in claim 1 further comprising:

during first wireless operations with the electronic device, wirelessly transmitting radio-frequency signals at a given frequency using a first modulation scheme and during second wireless operations with the electronic device, wirelessly transmitting radio-frequency signals at the given frequency using a second modulation scheme, wherein the second modulation scheme has greater power amplifier linearity requirements than the first modulation scheme, and wherein during use of the second modulation scheme the adjustable voltage power supply supplies the power supply voltage at a level that is higher than during use of the first modulation scheme.

5. The method defined in claim 1 wherein wirelessly transmitting comprises wirelessly transmitting using a power supply voltage at a level selected based at least partly on a bias voltage entry in a bias voltage calibration table stored in the electronic device.

6. The method defined in claim 5 wherein the electronic device comprises a transceiver with a variable gain amplifier and wherein wirelessly transmitting comprises wirelessly transmitting using a setting for the variable gain amplifier that is based at least partly on a variable gain amplifier setting in a variable gain amplifier settings table.

7. The method defined in claim 1, further comprising:

with control circuitry in the electronic device, performing gain mode adjustments on the power amplifier to activate a selected number of power amplifier gain stages in the power amplifier.

8. The method defined in claim 7, wherein performing the gain mode adjustments on the power amplifier comprises deactivating a given number of power amplifier gain stages in the power amplifier.

9. The method defined in claim 1, wherein the wireless communications circuitry comprises switching circuitry and an additional power amplifier, the method further comprising:

with the switching circuitry, switching a selected one of the power amplifier and the additional power amplifier into use based on a frequency band that is being used to transmit the radio-frequency signals.

10. An electronic device that is configured to wirelessly transmit radio-frequency signals using a plurality of cellular telephone modulation schemes, comprising:

antenna structures;

wireless communications circuitry that produces the radio-frequency signals for transmission;

power amplifier circuitry that amplifies the radio-frequency signals for transmission of the radio-frequency signals through the antenna structures;

an adjustable voltage supply that supplies an adjustable power amplifier bias voltage to the power amplifier circuitry to power the power amplifier circuitry; and

control circuitry that directs the adjustable voltage supply to supply the adjustable power amplifier bias voltage at a level that is adjusted in real time based at least partly on which cellular telephone modulation scheme of the plurality of cellular telephone modulation schemes is currently being used in transmitting the radio-frequency signals through the antenna structures, wherein the control circuitry includes storage that contains calibration data, wherein the calibration data includes calibration data specifying which levels of power amplifier bias voltage the control circuitry is to use across multiple operating frequencies.

11. The electronic device defined in claim 10 wherein the wireless communications circuitry is configured to transmit the radio-frequency signals using a plurality of modulation schemes selected from the group consisting of:

Gaussian Minimum Shift Keying, 8 Phase Shift Keying, Binary Phase Shift Keying, Quadrature Phase Shift Keying, 16 Quadrature Amplitude Modulation, 64-Quadrature Amplitude Modulation.

12. The electronic device defined in claim 11 wherein the wireless communications circuitry is configured to transmit the radio-frequency signals in accordance with a plurality of cellular telephone standards selected from the group consisting of:

a Global System for Mobile Communications cellular telephone standard, an Evolution-Data Optimized cellular telephone standard, a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System cellular telephone standard, a Code Division Multiple Access 2000 cellular telephone standard, and a Long Term Evolution cellular telephone standard.

13. The electronic device defined in claim 10 wherein the calibration data includes calibration data specifying which levels of power amplifier bias voltage the adjustable voltage supply is to supply in multiple power amplifier gain states for the power amplifier circuitry.

14. The electronic device defined in claim 13 wherein the power amplifier circuitry includes multiple power amplifiers each of which is used in handling radio-frequency signals for a different respective cellular telephone standard and wherein the calibration data includes calibration data specifying which levels of power amplifier bias voltage are to be used for each of the cellular telephone standards.