Power amplifier with co-existence filter

• US 9,093,967 B2
• Filed: 05/02/2012
• Issued: 07/28/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 05/02/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Skyworks Solutions Incorporated
• Original Assignee: RFaxis, Inc. (Skyworks Solutions Incorporated)
• Inventors: Gorbachov, Oleksandr
• Primary Examiner(s): GONZALES, APRIL GUZMAN
• Application Number:
  US13/462,737
• Publication Number:
  US 20120280754A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,182 Days
• Field of Search: 455/73, 455/78
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 1/565 using inductive elements
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 2200/117 A coil being coupled in a feedback path of an amplifier stage
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 2200/138 the feedback circuit comprising a parallel resonance circuit
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 2200/147 the feedback circuit comprising a series resonance circuit
• 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 2200/294 the amplifier being a low noise amplifier [LNA]
• 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 2200/489 A coil being added in the source circuit of a common source stage, e.g. as degeneration means
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 2200/492 A coil being added in the source circuit of a transistor amplifier stage as degenerating element
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 2200/501 A series resonance circuit being added in the source circuit of a FET amplifier
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 3/195 in integrated circuits
• 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: H03H 7/1741 Comprising typical LC combinations, irrespective of presence and location of additional resistors when resistors are present, also classify in H03H7/06 - H03H7/07

Abstract

A power amplifier architecture and front end circuits utilizing the same that connect a transceiver to an antenna are disclosed. The transceiver is configured for a specific operating frequency. An input matching segment is connected to an input port, and an output matching segment is connected to an output port. An amplifier segment includes at least one transistor with a first terminal connected to the input matching segment, a second terminal connected to the output matching segment, and a third terminal connected to a filter with a range of rejection frequencies. The filter is connected in close proximity to a first inductive interconnection tying a junction connected to the third terminal to a ground. A compensator is also connected to the input matching segment and the output matching segment to minimize instability of the filter.

Claims

1. A power amplifier architecture for an operating frequency for connecting a transceiver to an antenna and including an input port and an output port, comprising:

an input matching segment connected to the input port;

an output matching segment connected to the output port;

at least one filter with a range of rejection frequencies within a close proximity to the operating frequency;

an amplifier segment including at least one transistor having a first terminal connected to the input matching segment, a second terminal connected to the output matching segment, and a third terminal connected to the filter in close proximity to a first inductive interconnection tying a junction connected to the third terminal to a ground; and

a compensator connected to the input matching segment and the output matching segment to minimize instability of the filter.

2. The power amplifier architecture of claim 1, wherein the filter includes a first filter capacitor tied to the junction and a first filter inductor in series with the first filter capacitor and tied to the ground.

3. The power amplifier architecture of claim 2, wherein the first filter inductor is a second inductive interconnection extending in a parallel relationship to the first inductive interconnection, the first and second bond wires being magnetically coupled to each other.

4. The power amplifier architecture of claim 3, wherein a magnetic coupling coefficient between the first inductive interconnection and the second inductive interconnection is approximately 0.4 to 0.5.

5. The power amplifier architecture of claim 2, wherein the first filter capacitor and the first filter inductor have values corresponding to a small resistive impedance and reactive impedance at the operating frequency, and a large resistive impedance and reactive impedance at the range of the rejection frequencies.

6. The power amplifier architecture of claim 5, wherein the resistive impedance at the operating frequency is less than approximately 4 Ohms, and the resistive impedance at the range of rejection frequencies is greater than approximately 15 Ohms.

7. The power amplifier architecture of claim 5, wherein the reactive impedance at the operating frequency is approximately 0 Ohms, and the inductive reactive impedance at the range of rejection frequencies is greater than approximately 20 Ohms.

8. The power amplifier architecture of claim 2, wherein the filter includes a second filter capacitor tied to the junction and a second filter inductor in series with the second filter capacitor and tied to ground.

9. The power amplifier architecture of claim 8, wherein the first filter inductor and the second filter inductor are a second inductive interconnection and a third inductive interconnection, respectively, extending in a parallel relationship to the first inductive interconnection, the first, second, and third inductive interconnections being magnetically coupled to each other.

10. The power amplifier architecture of claim 9, wherein a first magnetic coupling coefficient between the first inductive interconnection and the second inductive interconnection, and a second magnetic coupling coefficient between the first inductive interconnection and the third inductive interconnection, are approximately 0.4 to 0.5, and a third magnetic coupling coefficient between the second inductive interconnection and the third inductive interconnection is approximately 0.2 to 0.3.

11. The power amplifier architecture of claim 2, wherein the filter includes a second filter capacitor tied to the third terminal and a second filter inductor in series with the second filter capacitor and tied to the ground, and a third filter inductor connected between the third terminal and the junction.

12. The power amplifier architecture of claim 11, wherein the first filter inductor and the second filter inductor are a second inductive interconnection and a third inductive interconnection, respectively, extending in a parallel relationship to the first inductive interconnection, the first, second, and third inductive interconnection being magnetically coupled to each other.

13. The power amplifier architecture of claim 1, wherein the amplifier segment includes a plurality of transistors connected in a multi-stage sequence, more than one of the transistors being connected to respective filters.

14. The power amplifier architecture of claim 1, wherein the compensator includes:

a parallel resonant circuit with a first compensator capacitor and a compensator inductor, the parallel resonant circuit being defined by a resonance frequency approximate the operating frequency; and

a second compensator capacitor connected in series with the parallel resonant circuit.

15. The power amplifier architecture of claim 14, wherein the compensator affects rejection characteristics at particular signal frequencies.

16. The power amplifier architecture of claim 1, wherein the first inductive interconnection is a bond wire.

17. The power amplifier architecture of claim 1, wherein the first inductive interconnection is an on-die printed inductor.

18. The power amplifier architecture of claim 1, wherein the transistor is a bipolar type in which the first terminal is a base terminal, the second terminal is a collector terminal, and the third terminal is an emitter terminal.

19. The power amplifier architecture of claim 1, wherein the transistor is a field effect type in which the first terminal is a gate terminal, the second terminal is a source terminal, and the third terminal is a drain terminal.

20. The power amplifier architecture of claim 1, wherein the at least one transistor fabricated on a semiconductor architecture selected from a group consisting of metal oxide semiconductor field effect, bipolar junction, heterojunction bipolar, metal semiconductor field effect, and high electron mobility.

21. A radio frequency (RF) front end architecture for connecting a transceiver to an antenna, comprising:

a transmit input port connectible to an output line of the transceiver;

a receive output port connectible to an input line of the transceiver;

a power amplifier with an operating frequency connected to the transmit input port, the power amplifier including a input matching segment, an output matching segment, and an amplifier segment;

a filter with a range of rejection frequencies connected to an emitter side of the amplifier segment;

a compensator connected to the output matching segment and the input matching segment of the power amplifier to minimize instability effects associated with the emitter side filter;

a low noise amplifier connected to the receive output port; and

a switch having a first port connected to the antenna, a second port connected to the low noise amplifier, and a third port connected to the power amplifier, the low noise amplifier and the second being selectively connectible to the antenna by the switch.

22. The RF front end architecture of claim 21, wherein the filter includes components with values corresponding to a small resistive impedance and reactive impedance at the operating frequency, and a large resistive impedance and reactive impedance at the range of rejection frequencies.

23. The RF front end architecture of claim 22, wherein the resistive impedance at the operating frequency is less than approximately 4 Ohms, and the resistive impedance at the range of rejection frequencies is greater than approximately 15 Ohms.

24. The RF front end architecture of claim 22, wherein the reactive impedance at the operating frequency is approximately 0 Ohms, and the inductive reactive impedance at the range of rejection frequencies is greater than approximately 20 Ohms.

25. The power amplifier architecture of claim 21, wherein the compensator includes a parallel resonant circuit defined by a resonance frequency approximate the operating frequency.

26. The power amplifier architecture of claim 25, wherein the compensator affects rejection characteristics at particular signal frequencies.

27. An RF front end circuit connecting a first transceiver operating in a first frequency band to a first antenna and a second transceiver operating in a second frequency band to a second antenna, the front end circuit comprising:

a first power amplifier connectible to a transmit line from the first transceiver;

a first low noise amplifier connectible to a receive line from the first transceiver;

a second power amplifier connectible to a transmit line from the second transceiver;

a second low noise amplifier connectible to a receive line from the second transceiver; and

a co-existence filter in a transmit chain defined by an interconnection between the transmit line from the second transceiver and the second antenna including the second power amplifier, the co-existence filter rejecting a portion of a transmitted signal of the second frequency band overlapping in frequency with a reception of the first frequency band;

wherein the first power amplifier and the first low noise amplifier are connectible to the first antenna, the second power amplifier and the second low noise amplifier are selectively connectible to the second antenna, and the co-existence filter fabricated on-die together with the second power amplifier and the second low noise amplifier.

28. The RF front end circuit of claim 27, further comprising:

a duplexer having a first port connected to an output of the first power amplifier, a second port connected to an input of the first low noise amplifier, and a third port connectible to the first antenna, the duplexer connecting the first power amplifier and the first low noise amplifier to the first antenna.

29. The RF front end circuit of claim 27, further comprising:

a switch having a first port connected to an output of the second power amplifier, a second port connected to an input of the second low noise amplifier, and a third port connectible to the second antenna, the switch selectively connecting the second power amplifier and the second low noise amplifier to the second antenna.

30. The RF front end circuit of claim 27, wherein the first frequency band corresponds to a Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) mobile communications modality.

31. The RF front end circuit of claim 30, wherein the first frequency band ranges approximately between 2.11 GHz to 2.17 GHz, the first power amplifier and the first low noise amplifier being tuned therefor.

32. The RF front end circuit of claim 27, wherein the second frequency band corresponds to a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) data networking modality.

33. The RF front end circuit of claim 32, wherein the second frequency band ranges approximately between 2.4 GHz to 2.5 GHz, the second power amplifier and the second low noise amplifier being tuned therefor.

34. The RF front end circuit of claim 27, wherein the first power amplifier, the second power amplifier, the first low noise amplifier, the second low noise amplifier, and the co-existence filter are fabricated on a semiconductor architecture selected from a group consisting of metal oxide semiconductor field effect, bipolar junction, heterojunction bipolar, metal semiconductor field effect, and high electron mobility.

35. A power amplifier architecture for an operating frequency for connecting a transceiver to an antenna and including an input port and an output port, comprising:

an input matching segment connected to the input port;

an output matching segment connected to the output port;

at least one filter with a range of rejection frequencies;

an amplifier segment including at least one transistor having a first terminal connected to the input matching segment, a second terminal connected to the output matching segment, and a third terminal connected to the filter in close proximity to a first inductive interconnection tying a junction connected to the third terminal to a ground; and

a compensator connected to the input matching segment and the output matching segment to minimize instability of the filter;

wherein the filter includes a first filter capacitor tied to the junction and a first filter inductor in series with the first filter capacitor and tied to the ground.

36. The power amplifier architecture of claim 35, wherein the first filter inductor is a second inductive interconnection extending in a parallel relationship to the first inductive interconnection, the first and second bond wires being magnetically coupled to each other.

37. The power amplifier architecture of claim 35, wherein the first filter capacitor and the first filter inductor have values corresponding to a small resistive impedance and reactive impedance at the operating frequency, and a large resistive impedance and reactive impedance at the range of the rejection frequencies.

38. The power amplifier architecture of claim 35, wherein the filter includes a second filter capacitor tied to the junction and a second filter inductor in series with the second filter capacitor and tied to ground.

39. The power amplifier architecture of claim 38, wherein the first filter inductor and the second filter inductor are a second inductive interconnection and a third inductive interconnection, respectively, extending in a parallel relationship to the first inductive interconnection, the first, second, and third inductive interconnections being magnetically coupled to each other.

40. The power amplifier architecture of claim 35, wherein the filter includes a second filter capacitor tied to the third terminal and a second filter inductor in series with the second filter capacitor and tied to the ground, and a third filter inductor connected between the third terminal and the junction.

41. The power amplifier architecture of claim 40, wherein the first filter inductor and the second filter inductor are a second inductive interconnection and a third inductive interconnection, respectively, extending in a parallel relationship to the first inductive interconnection, the first, second, and third inductive interconnection being magnetically coupled to each other.

42. A power amplifier architecture for an operating frequency for connecting a transceiver to an antenna and including an input port and an output port, comprising:

an input matching segment connected to the input port;

an output matching segment connected to the output port;

at least one filter with a range of rejection frequencies;

an amplifier segment including at least one transistor having a first terminal connected to the input matching segment, a second terminal connected to the output matching segment, and a third terminal connected to the filter in close proximity to a first inductive interconnection tying a junction connected to the third terminal to a ground; and

a compensator connected to the input matching segment and the output matching segment to minimize instability of the filter, the compensator including a parallel resonant circuit defined by a resonance frequency approximate the operating frequency and including a first compensator capacitor and a compensator inductor, and a second compensator capacitor connected in series with the parallel resonant circuit.

43. The power amplifier architecture of claim 42, wherein the compensator affects rejection characteristics at particular signal frequencies.