Front end radio architecture (FERA) with power management

• US 9,220,067 B2
• Filed: 10/11/2013
• Issued: 12/22/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 05/02/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qorvo US, Inc. (Qorvo, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: RF Micro Devices Incorporated (Qorvo, Inc.)
• Inventors: Khlat, Nadim, Hietala, Alexander Wayne
• Primary Examiner(s): Lai, Andrew
• Assistant Examiner(s): HENSON, JAMAAL R
• Application Number:
  US14/051,601
• Publication Number:
  US 20140038675A1
• Time in Patent Office: 802 Days
• Field of Search: 370/277
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 1/02 Modifications of amplifiers to raise the efficiency, e.g. gliding Class A stages, use of an auxiliary oscillation
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 1/0227 using supply converters
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 2203/7209 the gated amplifier being switched from a first band to a second band
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 2203/7221 the gated amplifier being switched on or off by a switch at the output of the amplifier
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 3/24 of transmitter output stages
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 3/68 Combinations of amplifiers, e.g. multi-channel amplifiers for stereophonics power amplifiers using a combination of several semiconductor amplifiers H03F3/211; combinations of amplifiers using coupling networks with distributed constants H03F3/602
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 3/72 Gated amplifiers, i.e. amplifiers which are rendered operative or inoperative by means of a control signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/0067 with one or more circuit blocks in common for different bands
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 2001/045 with means for improving efficiency
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/001 the frequencies being arranged in component carriers
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0251 using monitoring of local events, e.g. events related to user activity

Abstract

A front end radio architecture (FERA) with power management is disclosed. The FERA includes a first power amplifier (PA) block having a first-first PA for amplifying first-first signals and a first-second PA for amplifying first-second signals. Also included is a second PA block having a second-first PA for amplifying second-first signals and a second-second PA for amplifying second-second signals. At least one power supply is adapted to selectively supply power to the first-first PA and the second-second PA through a first path. The power supply is also adapted to selectively supply power to the first-second PA and the second-first PA through a second path. A control system is adapted to selectively enable and disable the first-first PA, the first-second PA, the second-first PA, and the second-second PA.

Claims

1. A front end radio architecture (FERA) with power management comprising:

a first power amplifier (PA) block having a first-first PA for amplifying first-first signals and a first-second PA for amplifying first-second signals;

a second PA block having a second-first PA for amplifying second-first signals and a second-second PA for amplifying second-second signals;

at least one power supply adapted to selectively supply power to the first-first PA and the second-second PA through a first path, and to selectively supply power to the second-first PA and the first-second PA through a second path; and

a control system adapted to selectively enable and disable the first-first PA, the first-second PA, the second-first PA, and the second-second PA in response to a selected mode of operation.

2. The FERA of claim 1 wherein the control system is further adapted during a first mode of operation to enable the first-first PA to draw power from the at least one power supply via the first path, enable the first-second PA to draw separate power from the at least one power supply via the second path, disable the second-first PA, and disable the second-second PA.

3. The FERA of claim 2 wherein the first PA block is a low band (LB) PA block and the first mode of operation includes amplification of TX MIMO LB signals.

4. The FERA of claim 2 wherein the first PA block is a low band (LB) PA block and the first mode of operation includes amplification of uplink (UL) carrier aggregation (CA) LB intra-band non-contiguous signals.

5. The FERA of claim 2 wherein the first PA block is a low band (LB) PA block, and the first mode of operation includes amplification of UL CA inter-band LB/LB signals.

6. The FERA of claim 1 wherein the control system is further adapted during a second mode of operation to disable the first-first PA, disable the first-second PA, enable the second-first PA to draw power from the at least one power supply via the second path, and enable the second-second PA to draw separate power from the at least one power supply via the first path.

7. The FERA of claim 6 wherein the second PA block is a high band (HB) PA block, and the second mode of operation includes amplification of TX MIMO HB signals.

8. The FERA of claim 6 wherein the second PA block is an HB PA block, and the second mode of operation includes amplification of UL CA HB intra-band non-contiguous signals.

9. The FERA of claim 6 wherein the second PA block is an HB PA block, and the second mode of operation includes amplification of UL CA HB/HB inter-band signals.

10. The FERA of claim 1 wherein the control system is further adapted during a third mode of operation to enable the first-first PA to draw power from the at least one power supply via the first path, disable the first-second PA, enable the second-first PA to draw separate power from the at least one power supply via the second path, and disable the second-second PA.

11. The FERA of claim 10 wherein the first PA block is an LB PA block, the second PA block is an HB block, and the third mode of operation includes amplification of UL CA inter-band LB/HB signals.

12. The FERA of claim 1 wherein the control system is further adapted during a fourth mode of operation to enable the first-first PA to draw power from the at least one power supply via the first path, disable the first-second PA, disable the second-first PA, and disable the second-second PA.

13. The FERA of claim 12 wherein the first PA block is an LB PA block, and the fourth mode of operation includes amplification of UL CA intra-band contiguous signals.

14. The FERA of claim 12 wherein the first PA block is an LB PA block, and the fourth mode of operation includes amplification of non-CA for the LB signals input into the first-first PA.

15. The FERA of claim 1 wherein the at least one power supply is further adapted to power a satellite PA block having at least one satellite PA.

16. The FERA of claim 15 wherein the control system is further adapted during a fifth mode of operation for amplification of auxiliary signals to selectively enable the at least one satellite PA to draw power from the at least one power supply via the first path.

17. The FERA of claim 1 wherein the first-first signals are amplified by the first-first PA before being selectively switched through a first-first switch to one of M outputs.

18. The FERA of claim 17 wherein the first-second signals are selectively switched through a first-second switch to one of K outputs.

19. The FERA of claim 18 wherein the K outputs are less than or equal to the M outputs.

20. The FERA of claim 1 wherein the second-second signals are amplified by the second-first PA before being selectively switched through a second-first switch to one of N outputs.

21. The FERA of claim 20 wherein the second-second signals are selectively switched through a second-second switch to one of L outputs.

22. The FERA of claim 21 wherein the L outputs are less than or equal to the N outputs.