Look-up table based configuration of multi-mode multi-band radio frequency power amplifier circuitry

• US 8,989,685 B2
• Filed: 09/07/2011
• Issued: 03/24/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 04/20/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qorvo US, Inc. (Qorvo, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: RF Micro Devices Incorporated (Qorvo, Inc.)
• Inventors: Southcombe, William David, Jones, David E., Levesque, Chris, Yoder, Scott, Stockert, Terry J.
• Primary Examiner(s): HANNON, CHRISTIAN A
• Application Number:
  US13/226,814
• Publication Number:
  US 20120223774A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,294 Days
• Field of Search: 4551271-1274, 455/552.1, 455/553.1, 455/103, 455/108
• US Class Current: 455/127.4
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 1/0227 using supply converters
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 1/0261 with control of the polarisation voltage or current, e.g. gliding Class A
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 1/0277 Selecting one or more amplifiers from a plurality of amplifiers
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 2200/171 A filter circuit coupled to the output of an amplifier
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 2200/222 A circuit being added at the input of an amplifier to adapt the input impedance of the amplifier
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 2200/27 A biasing circuit node being switched in an amplifier circuit
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 2200/318 A matching circuit being used as coupling element between two amplifying stages
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 2200/336 A I/Q, i.e. phase quadrature, modulator or demodulator being used in an amplifying circuit
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 2200/387 A circuit being added at the output of an amplifier to adapt the output impedance of the amplifier
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 2200/411 the output amplifying stage of an amplifier comprising two power stages
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 2200/414 A switch being coupled in the output circuit of an amplifier to switch the output on/off
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 2200/417 A switch coupled in the output circuit of an amplifier being controlled by a circuit
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 2200/451 the amplifier being a radio frequency amplifier
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 2200/504 the supply voltage or current being continuously controlled by a controlling signal, e.g. the controlling signal of a transistor implemented as variable resistor in a supply path for, an IC-block showed amplifier
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 2200/534 Transformer coupled at the input of an 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 2203/21106 An input signal being distributed in parallel over the inputs of a plurality of power amplifiers
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 2203/21142 Output signals of a plurality of power amplifiers are parallel combined to a common output
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 2203/21157 A filter circuit being added at the output of a power amplifier stage
• 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 3/245 : with semiconductor devices only
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 3/602 : Combinations of several amplifiers
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 3/72 : Gated amplifiers, i.e. amplifiers which are rendered operative or inoperative by means of a control signal

Abstract

Circuitry, which includes multi-mode multi-band radio frequency (RF) power amplification circuitry, power amplifier (PA) control circuitry, and a PA-digital communications interface (DCI) is disclosed according to one embodiment of the circuitry. The PA control circuitry is coupled between the amplification circuitry and the PA-DCI, which is coupled to a digital communications bus, and configures the amplification circuitry. The amplification circuitry includes at least a first RF input and multiple RF outputs, such that at least some of the RF outputs are associated with multiple communications modes and at least some of the RF outputs are associated with multiple frequency bands. Configuration of the amplification circuitry associates one RF input with one RF output, and is correlated with configuration information defined by at least a first defined parameter set. The PA control circuitry stores at least a first look-up table (LUT), which provides the configuration information.

Claims

1. Circuitry comprising:

multi-mode multi-band radio frequency (RF) power amplification circuitry including at least a first RF input and a plurality of RF outputs; and

power amplifier (PA) control circuitry coupled between the multi-mode multi-band RF power amplification circuitry and a PA-digital communications interface (DCI), wherein;

the PA control circuitry stores configuration information in at least a first look-up table (LUT), such that the configuration information defines which one of the plurality of RF outputs should be associated with the at least first RF input for a selected communications mode and a selected frequency band or group of frequency bands of the multi-mode multi-band RF power amplification circuitry; and

the PA control circuitry is adapted to configure the multi-mode multi-band RF power amplification circuitry by associating the at least first RF input and one of the plurality of RF outputs based on the configuration information retrieved from the first LUT.

2. The circuitry of claim 1 wherein the PA-DCI is a serial digital interface.

3. The circuitry of claim 1 wherein the PA-DCI is a mobile industry processor interface.

4. The circuitry of claim 1 wherein the multi-mode multi-band RF power amplification circuitry comprises:

a first transmit path comprising a first RF PA having the at least first RF input and a single alpha PA output; and

a second transmit path comprising a second RF PA having a second RF input and a single beta PA output.

5. The circuitry of claim 1 wherein:

the PA control circuitry is adapted to receive information via the PA-DCI; and

the PA control circuitry is further adapted to retrieve the configuration information from at least the first LUT using the information as an index to at least the first LUT.

6. The circuitry of claim 1 wherein:

the multi-mode multi-band RF power amplification circuitry comprises a first transmit path and a second transmit path;

the PA control circuitry is further adapted to configure the multi-mode multi-band RF power amplification circuitry to operate in one of a first PA operating mode and a second PA operating mode;

during the first PA operating mode, the first transmit path is active and the second transmit path is inactive;

during the second PA operating mode, the first transmit path is inactive and the second transmit path is active.

7. The circuitry of claim 6 wherein:

the first transmit path comprises a first RF PA;

the second transmit path comprises a second RF PA;

during the first PA operating mode, the first RF PA is adapted to receive and amplify a first RF input signal via a first RF input to provide a first RF output signal via a single alpha PA output; and

during the second PA operating mode, the second RF PA is adapted to receive and amplify a second RF input signal via a second RF input to provide a second RF output signal via a single beta PA output.

8. The circuitry of claim 7 wherein the first RF input signal is a highband RF input signal and the second RF input signal is a lowband RF input signal.

9. The circuitry of claim 7 wherein:

during the first PA operating mode, the second RF PA is adapted to be disabled; and

during the second PA operating mode, the first RF PA is adapted to be disabled.

10. The circuitry of claim 8 wherein a difference between a frequency of the highband RF input signal and a frequency of the lowband RF input signal is greater than 500 megahertz, such that the frequency of the highband RF input signal is greater than the frequency of the lowband RF input signal.

11. The circuitry of claim 8 wherein a ratio of a frequency of the highband RF input signal divided by a frequency of the lowband RF input signal is greater than 1.5.

12. The circuitry of claim 1 wherein the multi-mode multi-band RF power amplification circuitry comprises a first transmit path comprising:

a first RF PA having the at least first RF input and a single alpha PA output, such that the first RF PA is coupled to alpha switching circuitry via the single alpha PA output; and

the alpha switching circuitry having a first alpha output and a plurality of alpha outputs,

wherein the plurality of RF outputs comprises the first alpha output and the plurality of alpha outputs.

13. The circuitry of claim 12 wherein:

the first RF PA is a multi-mode multi-band quadrature RF PA;

the alpha switching circuitry is multi-mode multi-band switching circuitry;

the first alpha output is a first alpha non-linear mode output, which is associated with a first non-linear mode RF communications band;

the plurality of alpha outputs is a plurality of alpha linear mode outputs, such that each of the plurality of alpha linear mode outputs is associated with a corresponding one of a first plurality of linear mode RF communications bands.

14. The circuitry of claim 12 wherein the alpha switching circuitry comprises:

a first alpha switching device coupled between the single alpha PA output and the first alpha output; and

a plurality of alpha switching devices, such that each of the plurality of alpha switching devices is coupled between the single alpha PA output and a corresponding one of the plurality of alpha outputs.

15. The circuitry of claim 14 wherein:

the first alpha switching device comprises a plurality of switching elements coupled in series; and

each of the plurality of alpha switching devices comprises a corresponding plurality of switching elements coupled in series.

16. The circuitry of claim 1 wherein:

the multi-mode multi-band RF power amplification circuitry comprises a first RF PA comprising a first final stage having a first final bias input; and

the circuitry further comprises a final stage current digital-to-analog converter (IDAC) coupled between the PA control circuitry and the first final bias input.

17. The circuitry of claim 1 wherein the multi-mode multi-band RF power amplification circuitry comprises:

a first RF PA comprising;

a first non-quadrature PA path having a first single-ended output; and

a first quadrature PA path coupled between the first non-quadrature PA path and an antenna port, such that the first quadrature PA path has a first single-ended input, which is coupled to the first single-ended output; and

a second RF PA comprising a second quadrature PA path coupled to the antenna port,

wherein the antenna port is configured to be coupled to an antenna.

18. A method comprising the steps of:

providing multi-mode multi-band radio frequency (RF) power amplification circuitry including at least a first RF input and a plurality of RF outputs;

providing power amplifier (PA) control circuitry coupled between the multi-mode multi-band RF power amplification circuitry and a PA-digital communications interface (DCI);

the PA control circuitry storing configuration information in at least a first look-up table (LUT), such that the configuration information defines which one of the plurality of RF outputs should be associated with the at least first RF input for a selected communications mode and a selected frequency band or group of frequency bands of the multi-mode multi-band RF power amplification circuitry; and

the PA control circuitry receiving information from the PA-DCI, the information including the selected communications mode and the selected frequency band or group of frequency bands;

the PA control circuitry retrieving the configuration information from the first LUT using the information as an index;

the PA control circuitry configuring the multi-mode multi-band RF power amplification circuitry by associating the at least first RF input and one of the plurality of RF outputs based on the retrieved configuration information.