Apparatus and methods for wideband envelope tracking

• US 9,876,473 B2
• Filed: 07/28/2016
• Issued: 01/23/2018
• 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:
  US15/222,746
• Publication Number:
  US 20160336901A1
• Time in Patent Office: 544 Days
• Field of Search: 455574, 455 63, 455126, 455571, 330 51, 330136, 330251, 330127, 330149, 330 10, 330297, 330302, 330129, 330295, 330199, 330285, 330296, 330131, 323282
• 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 wideband envelope tracking system comprising:

a DC-to-DC converter configured to generate a regulated voltage based on a combined error current;

a first error amplifier configured to generate a first error current and a first output voltage based on a first envelope current;

a second error amplifier configured to generate a second error current and a second output voltage based on a second envelope current;

a first combiner configured to generate a first power amplifier supply voltage based on combining the regulated voltage and the first output voltage; and

an error current processing circuit configured to generate the combined error current based on combining a plurality of error currents including the first error current and the second error current.

2. The wideband envelope tracking system of claim 1 further comprising a current digital-to-analog converter configured to receive a first digital envelope signal and to generate the first envelope current.

3. The wideband envelope tracking system of claim 2 wherein the first current digital-to-analog converter 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.

4. The wideband envelope tracking system of claim 1 wherein the first error amplifier includes a current output that provides the first error current, a voltage output that provides the first output voltage, and an inverting input that receives the first envelope current.

5. The wideband envelope tracking system of claim 4 further comprising a feedback circuit electrically connected between the voltage output of the first error amplifier and the inverting input of the first error amplifier.

6. The wideband envelope tracking system of claim 1 wherein the error current processing circuit is configured to generate the combined error current based on averaging the plurality of error currents.

7. The wideband envelope tracking system of claim 1 further comprising a second combiner configured to generate a second power amplifier supply voltage based on combining the regulated voltage and the second output voltage.

8. A method of wideband envelope tracking in a mobile device, the method comprising:

generating a regulated voltage based on a combined error current using a DC-to-DC converter;

generating a first error current and a first output voltage based on a first envelope current using a first error amplifier;

generating a second error current and a second output voltage based on a second envelope current using a second error amplifier;

combining the regulated voltage and the first output voltage to generate a first power amplifier supply voltage using a first combiner; and

combining a plurality of error currents including the first error current and the second error current to generate the combined error current using an error current processing circuit.

9. The method of claim 8 further comprising generating the first envelope current based on a first digital envelope signal using a current digital-to-analog converter.

10. The method of claim 9 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 of the current digital-to-analog converter, providing the plurality of level-shifted bits to a plurality of resistors of the current digital-to-analog converter, and generating the first envelope current based on a flow of current through the plurality of resistors.

11. The method of claim 8 wherein combining a plurality of error currents includes averaging the plurality of error currents using the error current processing circuit.

12. The method of claim 8 further comprising combining the regulated voltage and the second output voltage to generate a second power amplifier supply voltage using a second combiner.

13. A mobile device comprising:

a first power amplifier configured to receive a first power amplifier supply voltage and to provide amplification to a first radio frequency signal;

a DC-to-DC converter configured to generate a regulated voltage based on a combined error current;

a first error amplifier configured to generate a first error current and a first output voltage based on a first envelope current that changes based on an envelope of the first radio frequency signal;

a second error amplifier configured to generate a second error current and a second output voltage based on a second envelope current;

a first combiner configured to generate the first power amplifier supply voltage based on combining the regulated voltage and the first output voltage; and

an error current processing circuit configured to generate the combined error current based on combining a plurality of error currents including the first error current and the second error current.

14. The mobile device of claim 13 further comprising a current digital-to-analog converter configured to receive a first digital envelope signal and to generate the first envelope current.

15. The mobile device of claim 14 further comprising a transceiver configured to generate the first digital envelope signal and the first radio frequency signal.

16. The mobile device of claim 13 wherein the first error amplifier includes a current output that provides the first error current, a voltage output that provides the first output voltage, and an inverting input that receives the first envelope current.

17. The mobile device of claim 16 further comprising a feedback circuit electrically connected between the voltage output of the first error amplifier and the inverting input of the first error amplifier.

18. The mobile device of claim 13 wherein the error current processing circuit is configured to generate the combined error current based on averaging the plurality of error currents.

19. The mobile device of claim 13 further comprising a second combiner configured to generate a second power amplifier supply voltage based on combining the regulated voltage and the second output voltage.

20. The mobile device of claim 19 further comprising a second power amplifier configured to receive the second power amplifier supply voltage and to provide amplification to a second radio frequency signal.