Apparatus and methods for wideband envelope tracking systems

• US 9,445,371 B2
• Filed: 06/29/2015
• Issued: 09/13/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 08/13/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Skyworks Solutions Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Skyworks Solutions Incorporated
• Inventors: Khesbak, Sabah, Balteanu, Florinel G., Modi, Hardik Bhupendra
• Primary Examiner(s): Trinh, Tan H
• Application Number:
  US14/754,118
• Publication Number:
  US 20160050629A1
• Time in Patent Office: 442 Days
• Field of Search: 455/574, 455/63, 455/126, 455/571, 330/51, 330/136, 330/251, 330/127, 330/149, 330/10, 330/297, 330/302, 330/129, 330/298, 330/285, 330/296, 330/291, 375/297, 375/238, 375/295, 375/219
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 1/0227 using supply converters
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 2200/102 A non-specified detector of a signal envelope being used in an amplifying circuit
• 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 2200/451 the amplifier being a radio frequency amplifier
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 3/19 with semiconductor devices only
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 3/245 with semiconductor devices only
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 3/45179 using MOSFET transistors as the active amplifying circuit H03F3/45278 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 3/45192 Folded cascode 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: H04W 52/0261 managing power supply demand, e.g. depending on battery level
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 70/30 Systems integrating technologies related to power network operation and communication or information technologies for improving the carbon footprint of the management of residential or tertiary loads, i.e. smart grids as climate change mitigation technology in the buildings sector, including also the last stages of power distribution and the control, monitoring or operating management systems at local level
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

Apparatus and methods for wideband envelope tracking systems are disclosed herein. In certain implementations, an envelope tracker includes a DC-to-DC converter, a current digital-to-analog converter (DAC), an error amplifier, a feedback circuit, and an AC combiner. The current DAC receives a digital envelope signal, and uses the digital envelope signal to generate an envelope current. The feedback circuit is connected between an output and an inverting input of the error amplifier, and the envelope current is provided to the error amplifier'"'"'s inverting input. Additionally, the AC combiner generates a power amplifier supply voltage by combining an output of the DC-to-DC converter and an output of the error amplifier.

Claims

1. A method of envelope tracking in a power amplifier system, the method comprising:

generating a regulated voltage from a battery voltage using a DC-to-DC converter;

generating a first envelope current based on a first digital envelope signal, including level-shifting a plurality of bits of the first digital envelope signal using a plurality of level-shifters, providing the plurality of level-shifted bits to a plurality of resistors, and generating the first envelope current based on a flow of current through the plurality of resistors;

providing the first envelope current as an input to a first error amplifier, the first error amplifier electrically connected with negative feedback; and

generating a first power amplifier supply voltage by combining the regulated voltage from the DC-to-DC converter and an output of the first error amplifier using a first AC combiner.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising generating an error current using the first error amplifier, and generating the regulated voltage based on the error current.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising tracking a high frequency component of the first digital envelope signal using the first error amplifier and tracking a low frequency component of the first digital envelope signal using the DC-to-DC converter.

4. A method of envelope tracking in a power amplifier system, the method comprising:

generating a regulated voltage from a battery voltage using a DC-to-DC converter;

generating a first envelope current based on a first digital envelope signal;

providing the first envelope current as an input to a first error amplifier, the first error amplifier electrically connected with negative feedback;

generating a first power amplifier supply voltage by combining the regulated voltage from the DC-to-DC converter and an output of the first error amplifier using a first AC combiner;

generating a second envelope current based on a second digital envelope signal;

controlling an output of a second error amplifier based on the second envelope current, the second error amplifier electrically connected with negative feedback; and

generating a second power amplifier supply voltage by combining the regulated voltage from the DC-to-DC converter and the output of the second error amplifier using a second AC combiner.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein generating the first envelope current based on the first digital envelope signal includes level-shifting a plurality of bits of the first digital envelope signal using a plurality of level-shifters, providing the plurality of level-shifted bits to a plurality of resistors, and generating the first envelope current based on a flow of current through the plurality of resistors.

6. The method of claim 4 further comprising generating a first error current using the first error amplifier, generating a second error current using the second error amplifier, generating a combined error current based on the first and second error currents, and generating the regulated voltage based on the combined error current.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein generating the combined error current includes averaging the first and second error currents.

8. The method of claim 4 further comprising powering a first power amplifier using the first power amplifier supply voltage and powering a second power amplifier using the second power amplifier supply voltage.

9. An envelope tracking system comprising:

a DC-to-DC converter configured to generate a regulated voltage from a battery voltage, the DC-to-DC converter including an output that provides the regulated voltage;

a first current digital-to-analog converter (DAC) configured to receive a first digital envelope signal, the first current DAC configured to generate a first envelope current based on the first digital envelope signal, the first current DAC including a plurality of level-shifters and a plurality of resistors, the plurality of level-shifters configured to generate a plurality of level-shifted bits by level-shifting a plurality of bits of the first digital envelope signal and to provide the plurality of level-shifted bits to the plurality of resistors;

a first feedback circuit;

a first error amplifier including an output and an inverting input electrically connected to one another via the first feedback circuit, the output of the first error amplifier configured to change based on the first envelope current; and

a first AC combiner configured to generate a first power amplifier supply voltage based on combining the output of first error amplifier and the output of the DC-to-DC converter.

10. The envelope tracking system of claim 9 wherein the first error amplifier is further configured to generate an error current, the DC-to-DC converter further configured to generate the regulated voltage based on the error current.

11. The envelope tracking system of claim 9 wherein the first error amplifier further includes a non-inverting input electrically connected to a first reference voltage, the first current DAC configured to provide the first envelope current to the inverting input of the first error amplifier.

12. The envelope tracking system of claim 9 wherein the first feedback circuit includes a resistor and a capacitor electrically connected in parallel.

13. The envelope tracking system of claim 9 wherein the first AC combiner includes an inductor electrically connected between the output of the DC-to-DC converter and the first power amplifier supply voltage, and a capacitor electrically connected between the output of the first error amplifier and the first power amplifier supply voltage.

14. An envelope tracking system comprising:

a DC-to-DC converter configured to generate a regulated voltage from a battery voltage, the DC-to-DC converter including an output that provides the regulated voltage;

a first current digital-to-analog converter (DAC) configured to receive a first digital envelope signal, the first current DAC configured to generate a first envelope current based on the first digital envelope signal;

a first feedback circuit;

a first error amplifier including an output and an inverting input electrically connected to one another via the first feedback circuit, the output of the first error amplifier configured to change based on the first envelope current;

a first AC combiner configured to generate a first power amplifier supply voltage based on combining the output of first error amplifier and the output of the DC-to-DC converter;

a second current DAC configured to receive a second digital envelope signal and to generate a second envelope current based on the second digital envelope signal;

a second error amplifier including an output and an inverting input electrically connected to one another via a second feedback circuit, the output of the second error amplifier configured to change based on the second envelope current; and

a second AC combiner configured to generate a second power amplifier supply voltage based on combining the output of second error amplifier and the output of the DC-to-DC converter.

15. The envelope tracking system of claim 14 wherein the first current DAC includes a plurality of level-shifters and a plurality of resistors, the plurality of level-shifters configured to generate a plurality of level-shifted bits by level-shifting a plurality of bits of the first digital envelope signal and to provide the plurality of level-shifted bits to the plurality of resistors.

16. The envelope tracking system of claim 14 further comprising an error current processing circuit configured to generate a combined error current based on a first error current from the first error amplifier and a second error current from the second amplifier, the DC-to-DC converter further configured to generate the regulated voltage based on the combined error current.

17. The envelope tracking system of claim 16 wherein the error current processing circuit is further configured to generate the combined error current based on averaging the first error current and the second error current.

18. A wireless device comprising:

a transceiver configured to generate a first digital envelope signal and a first radio frequency signal;

a first power amplifier configured to amplify the first radio frequency signal;

an envelope tracker configured to receive the first digital envelope signal and to generate a first power amplifier supply voltage for the first power amplifier, the envelope tracker including a DC-to-DC converter, a first error amplifier, and a first AC combiner, the first AC combiner configured to generate the first power amplifier supply voltage based on combining an output of the DC-to-DC converter and an output of the first error amplifier; and

a second power amplifier configured to amplify a second radio frequency signal from the transceiver, the envelope tracker further configured to receive a second digital envelope signal from the transceiver and to generate a second power amplifier supply voltage for the second power amplifier.

19. The wireless device of claim 18 wherein the envelope tracker further including a second error amplifier and a second AC combiner, the second AC combiner configured to generate the second power amplifier supply voltage based on combining the output of the DC-to-DC converter and an output of the second error amplifier.

20. The wireless device of claim 19 wherein the first radio frequency signal is a low band signal and the second radio frequency signal is a high band signal.