Adaptive linearizer for RF power amplifiers

Abstract

A feedforward amplifier is disclosed in which either the main amplifier or the auxiliary amplifier includes at least three parallel signal paths. Each of the signal paths includes a complex gain adjuster. In addition, a feedforward amplifier is disclosed in which a plurality of control linearizers compensate for nonlinearities in the response of signal adjusters to control inputs.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This application pertains to improvements in linearization of radio frequency (RF) amplifiers to reduce the effects of intermodulation (IM) distortion.

All amplifiers are non-linear to some degree. If the signal carried by the amplifier has an envelope that fluctuates in magnitude, such as a multicarrier signal or a linear data modulation, then the non-linear operation generates intermodulation (IM) products in the amplifier output. These IM products represent unwanted interference in the operating band of the amplifier. Although it is possible to reduce the power of the IM products relative to the power of the desired signal by reducing the drive level of the amplifier, this expedient also reduces the power efficiency of the amplifier. Increasing the linearity of the amplifier by means of external circuitry can be a more efficient alternative.

A number of prior art approaches to this problem are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,489,875, which is incorporated herein by reference. Some of the best prior art approaches described therein use a feedforward linearizer.

Traditional feedforward linearizers include a signal cancellation circuit and a distortion cancellation-circuit. The signal cancellation circuit has two branches, one of which contains the power amplifier whose output is to be linearized. In particular, the amplifier's output consists of an amplified version of an input signal, plus IM distortion. The other branch of the signal cancellation circuit contains circuitry characterized by a coefficient α (amplitude and phase) that can be adjusted to match the amplitude and phase shift of the amplifier, and a delay, also chosen to match the amplifier. If the match is perfect, the error signal obtained by subtracting the output of the two branches of the signal cancellation circuit equals the IM distortion. In the distortion cancellation circuit, an appropriately amplified and phase shifted version (coefficient β) of the distortion is subtracted from the amplifier output, ideally leaving only the linearly amplified replica at the feedforward output.

FIG. 1 shows an example of a traditional prior art feedforward amplifier. The incoming signal is split by splitter S 1 into two paths comprising the signal cancellation circuit. The first path 10 , 15 , 20 contains a complex gain adjuster CGA 1 and the main amplifier A 1 , the output 20 of which contains the amplified desired signal and unwanted IM distortion. Splitter S 2 directs part of the main amplifier output along line 25 to combiner C 1 . The second path 30 , 35 , 40 carries the desired signal, delayed by delay line DL 1 to match the delay in the first path, to another input of combiner C 1 . The complex gain adjuster CGA 1 provides means to change the amplitude and phase so that the signal component is cancelled in combiner C 1 , leaving only the IM distortion at line 45 . The distortion cancellation circuit also consists of two branches. In one, the IM distortion on line 45 passes through complex gain adjuster CGA 2 and auxiliary amplifier A 2 to combiner C 2 , which receives at its other input 70 the main amplifier output, delayed in delay line DL 2 to match the delay of path 25 , 45 , 50 , 55 , 60 . When complex gain adjuster CGA 2 is correctly adjusted, the IM distortion is cancelled in combiner C 2 , leaving only the amplified input signal at its output 75 .

Typical implementations of the complex gain adjuster are shown for polar coordinates in FIG. 2 ( a ) and for rectangular coordinates in FIG. 2 ( b ). The input, output and two components of complex gain are denoted by I, O, GA and GB, respectively.

The complex gain adjuster CGA 1 can alternatively be placed in line 30 , although doing so precludes cancellation of any distortion introduced by the complex gain adjuster itself.

Because feed forward linearization is based on subtraction of nearly equal quantities, its major parameters must adapt to changes in operating environment, such as signal level, supply voltage and temperature.

The “minimum power” principle may be implemented in the prior art feedforward amplifier of FIG. 1 . In the signal cancellation circuit, controller CT 1 operates to minimize the power measured on line 100 using control lines 110 and 115 to complex gain adjuster CGA 1 . This approach does not make use of line 105 . Instead, the system increments the voltages on control lines 110 , 115 in the direction that results in a lower power measured on line 100 .

The “gradient” method is an alternative to the minimum power principle for adaptation. FIG. 3 shows that the signal cancellation controller CT 1 is a bandpass correlator. The signal for which the power is to be minimized at input I and a reference signal at input R are split in splitters S 101 , S 102 , respectively, and one of them is phase shifted by 90 degrees in phase shifter PS 1 . Two bandpass mixers M 101 , M 102 produce outputs for which the mean value indicates the direction and size of increments to the complex gain components. Integrators I 1 , I 2 remove high frequency noise and sum the increments to produce the complex gain components at outputs GA and GB. The controller therefore operates to bring the mean value of the gradient to zero. Numeric designations on the input and output lines indicate where the bandpass controller is connected in the signal cancellation circuit. Other embodiments of the gradient method adapt the control voltages to complex gain adjuster CGA 1 similarly. The gradient method is faster than previously proposed minimum power methods and does not require deliberate misadjustments in order to determine the direction of change. However, it is sensitive to DC offset at the output of the mixers that create the gradient signal.

The gradient method can also be applied to adaptation of the FIG. 1 distortion cancellation circuit, as indicated in FIG. 3 by the numeric designations in parentheses. Specifically, controller CT 2 operates to bring the mean value of the correlation between the signal on line 85 and the signal on line 95 to zero using control lines 120 and 125 to complex gain adjuster CGA 2 .

A number of more sophisticated approaches are also disclosed in the '875 patent. In one of these approaches, the delay, gain and phase differences are automatically adjusted according to a gradient principle, instead of merely adjusting the gain and the phase.

The '875 patent also discloses approximating the gradient as a sum of partial gradients taken over limited bandwidths. In the case of the distortion cancellation circuit, this allows calculation of the gradient over selected frequency bands that do not contain the amplified input signal, in order to reduce the masking effect. The use of limited bandwidth for each partial gradient allows use of digital signal processing technology to perform the calculation, thereby eliminating the DC offset that could otherwise cause convergence to an incorrect value.

The '875 patent also discloses automatically adjusting the differences to minimize the power at the output of the corresponding cancellation circuit. At each adjustment step, a set of measurements corresponding to perturbed values of the parameters (describing delay, gain and phase) is made. From these measurements, an estimate of the gradient of the power surface is formed. All the parameters describing delay, gain and phase are then adjusted in a direction opposite to the gradient, thereby effecting the greatest decrease in the power to be minimized. In the case of the distortion cancellation circuit, the power to be minimized is the sum of powers measured in selected frequency bands that do not contain the amplified input signal, in order to reduce the masking effect.

FIG. 4 depicts another prior art feed forward amplifier that is disclosed in the '875 patent. The input signal on line 5 enters the signal cancellation circuit, where splitter S 1 produces two branches. The upper branch consists of the delay, gain and phase adjusting circuit DGPA 1 (described below) between lines 10 and 15 , the main amplifier A 1 , and line 25 to combiner C 1 . The lower branch consists of delay line DL 1 and line 40 to combiner C 1 . The delay in delay line DL 1 is selected to be approximately equal to the maximum delay expected in the main amplifier. When adjusted properly, the desired signal is cancelled on line 45 , leaving only the distortion and noise generated in the upper branch. The distortion cancellation circuit also has two branches. The upper branch consists of delay line DL 2 and line 70 to combiner C 2 . The lower branch consists of splitter S 4 , complex gain adjuster DGPA 2 , auxiliary amplifier A 2 and line 60 to combiner C 2 . When adjusted properly, the distortion is cancelled on line 75 , leaving only the desired signal. Controllers CT 3 and CT 4 operate to adapt the delay, gain and phase in the signal cancellation and the distortion cancellation circuits, respectively.

FIG. 5 ( a ) shows the preferred embodiment of the delay, gain and phase adjustment circuits DGPA 1 , DGPA 2 shown in FIG. 4 . Line numbers and block numbers shown without parentheses are associated with connections in the signal cancellation circuit, whereas line numbers and block numbers shown in parentheses are associated with connections in the distortion cancellation circuit. This convention is followed consistently below. The signal is split in splitter S 7 into a main branch consisting of splitter S 8 and complex gain adjuster CGA 3 , and a delayed branch consisting of delay line DL 3 and splitter S 9 . The branches are recombined in combiner C 3 . The delay in delay line DL 3 is selected to be approximately equal to the difference between the maximum and minimum expected delays in the main amplifier over the range of operating conditions. Appropriate settings of complex gain adjusters CGA 4 and CGA 3 allow line 15 to carry an interpolation of the delayed signal on line 135 and the undelayed signal on line 150 . Such interpolations can approximate the input signal with a delay ranging from zero to the delay of delay line DL 3 . Approximations of delays outside this range are also possible, but with decreasing accuracy.

FIG. 5 ( b ) shows an alternative embodiment of delay, gain and phase adjustment circuits DGPA 1 , DGPA 2 . This embodiment forms on lines 170 and 205 the sum and the difference of the delayed and undelayed signals, respectively; combiner C 5 being arranged to subtract its inputs 185 and 200 . The circuit applies the complex gain adjustments to the sum and the difference before recombination. It has the advantage of reducing the degree of interaction between the two branches, so that complex gain adjuster CGA 4 can be adjusted substantially independently of complex gain adjuster CGA 3 . Other linear combinations of the delayed and undelayed signals, and of additional signals at intermediate values of delay, are contemplated as falling within the scope of U.S. Pat. No. 5,489,875.

Although delay, gain and phase comprise three parameters, there are four control lines to the delay, gain and phase adjuster circuit (i.e. lines 102 , 103 , 107 , 108 for delay, gain and phase adjuster DGPA 1 ; and, lines 127 , 128 , 122 , 123 for delay, gain and phase adjuster DGPA 2 ). This allows an additional degree of freedom in compensating frequency dependent effects in the signal cancellation circuit, and the adaptation methods described below take full advantage of this degree of freedom.

The delay, gain and phase adjuster circuit can alternatively be placed in the lower branch of the signal cancellation circuit, on line 30 , although doing so allows any distortions introduced in the delay, gain and phase adjuster circuit to appear at the final output 75 without being cancelled themselves.

The '875 patent also discloses making the delay, gain and phase adjuster circuit adaptive by the gradient principle. FIG. 6 shows a detailed view of controller CT 3 (or CT 4 ) in the signal cancellation circuit of FIG. 4 . Again, line numbers and block numbers shown without parentheses are associated with connections in the signal cancellation circuit, whereas line numbers and block numbers in parentheses indicate connections in the distortion cancellation circuit. By means of dual bandpass correlators, each controlling one of the complex gain adjusters in FIG. 5 ( a ) or in FIG. 5 ( b ), the controller drives to zero the correlation between the undelayed input signal at input R and the distortion signal at input I and the correlation between the delayed input signal at input RD and the distortion signal at input I. The speed of convergence is determined by the gains of the several components in the adaptation loop.

Outputs GA, GB, GAD and GBD from the controller of FIG. 6 are connected to the corresponding inputs of the delay, gain and phase adjusters shown in FIGS. 5 ( a ) and 5 ( b ) through lines 107 ( 122 ), 108 ( 123 ), 102 ( 127 ) and 103 ( 128 ). Conversion from rectangular to polar coordinates decreases the convergence time if the complex gain adjusters CGA 4 , CGA 3 , CGA 6 or CGA 5 are implemented in polar coordinates, as shown in FIG. 2 ( a ), but this is not essential.

The '875 patent also describes operating the controllers CT 3 and CT 4 according to a “partial gradient” principle, as illustrated in FIG. 7. A local oscillator LO 1 shifts a selected narrow spectral region of the undelayed input signal at input R, the delayed input signal at input RD, and the fed back signal at line I to an intermediate frequency, where the bandpass correlations are performed substantially as in FIG. 6 . Shifting and bandwidth limitation are performed in the mixer/bandpass filter combinations M 2 and BPF 2 , M 3 and BPF 3 , and M 1 and BPF 1 . The bandwidth of the bandpass filters is significantly less than the operating bandwidth of the amplifier, so that only a partial gradient is produced. In operation, the output frequency of oscillator LO 1 is stepped across the operating band. The sum of the resulting partial correlations is a good approximation to the full gradient calculated by the circuit in FIG. 6 , and the integrators contained in bandpass correlators BPC 3 and BPC 4 inherently perform such a summation.

One advantage of the partial gradient principle applied to controller CT 4 in the distortion cancellation circuit is that it can reduce the masking effect of the desired signal on line 85 . In the case of a multicarrier signal, as shown in FIG. 8 ( a ), the bandwidth of the bandpass filter is selected not to exceed the bandwidth of each carrier, and the output frequency of oscillator LO 1 steps in increments of multiples of the minimum carrier spacing, selecting only those carrier locations that contain distortion and noise, with no component of the input signal. The resulting sum of selected partial correlations is only an approximation of the true gradient, but it has much improved signal to noise ratio. In the case of a single carrier, as shown in FIG. 8 ( b ), the “skirts” of the spectrum contain IM distortion, and the partial gradients are calculated only in these skirts, and include no component of the desired signal. Similarly, but with less advantage, controller CT 3 in the signal cancellation circuit can apply the partial gradient principle. In this case, the oscillator LO 1 selects only those spectral regions that contain the carriers or the desired signal, in order to minimize masking effects of the distortion and noise.

A second advantage of the partial gradient controller is that the narrower bandwidth lends itself to implementation of the correlation operation by means of digital signal processing technology. As explained in the '875 patent, the DC offsets inherent in analog mixers can, in consequence, be eliminated. FIG. 9 shows one such prior art embodiment. As in FIG. 7 , oscillator LO 1 and mixer/bandpass filter combinations M 2 and BPF 2 , M 3 and BPF 3 , and M 1 and BPF 1 shift narrow spectral regions of the undelayed input signal at input R, the delayed input signal at input RD, and the fed back signal at input I all to an intermediate frequency f I . A second stage of down conversion shifts the outputs of bandpass filters to a range suitable for further processing in the digital signal processor DSP 1 . This second stage is accomplished by oscillator LO 2 , which produces a carrier at frequency f I −W/2, where W is the bandwidth of the bandpass filters BPF 2 , BPF 3 and BPF 1 , and by mixer/bandpass filter combinations M 5 and BPF 5 , M 6 and BPF 6 , and M 4 and BPF 4 . The outputs of the bandpass filters are centered at frequency W/2 and have bandwidth less than W. The DC offsets at the outputs of mixers M 5 , M 6 and M 4 are thereby eliminated. The bandpass filter outputs are then sampled at a rate at least equal to 2 W per second and converted to digital format in analog to digital converters ADC 2 , ADC 3 and ADC 1 , from which they enter digital signal processor DSP 1 . The digital signal processor program operates as a pair of bandpass correlators to create the control signals GA, GB, GAD, and GBD through digital to analog converters DAC 1 , DAC 2 , DAC 3 and DAC 4 .

If controllers CT 3 or CT 4 operating according to the partial gradient principle are employed with the sum and difference form of the delay, gain and phase adjuster circuit illustrated in FIG. 5 ( b ), then the line designations 106 ( 121 ), 107 ( 102 ), 108 ( 123 ), 101 ( 126 ), 102 ( 127 ) and 103 ( 128 ) indicate the connections between the controller and the delay, gain and phase adjuster circuit.

A particular configuration of the partial gradient controller is applicable when delay variations in the main and auxiliary amplifiers are not significant, and it is sufficient to employ a complex gain adjuster instead of a full delay, gain and phase adjuster. FIG. 10 illustrates this prior art use of the partial gradient controller in the signal cancellation circuit, where the oscillator LO 1 steps across the operating band, selecting frequency bands that contain the desired signal. Comparison with FIG. 7 demonstrates considerable simplification. When this simplified form of the partial gradient controller is used for controller CT 4 of the distortion cancellation circuit, the oscillator selects frequency bands that contain IM products that do not contain the desired signal, in order to reduce the masking effect.

The digital signal processing implementation of the partial gradient controller is similarly simplified when delay variations in the main and auxiliary amplifiers are not significant, and it is sufficient to employ a complex gain adjuster instead of a full delay, gain and phase adjuster. FIG. 11 illustrates this prior art configuration; it is considerably simpler than FIG. 9 , but it retains the advantage of eliminating DC offset. When this controller is employed in the signal cancellation circuit, as illustrated, the oscillator LO 1 selects bands containing the desired signal. Conversely, when it is used for controller CT 4 of the distortion cancellation circuit, the oscillator selects bands that contain IM products that do not contain the desired signal.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, an amplifier is provided. The amplifier includes a main amplifier, a main signal adjuster, a first subtracter, and a main controller. The main amplifier generates an intermediate amplified signal. The main signal adjuster includes at least three parallel signal paths that couple an input signal to the main amplifier, with each of the parallel signal paths including a complex gain adjuster that is controlled by main control inputs. The first subtracter subtracts a delayed version of the input signal from the intermediate signal, resulting in an error signal. Based on the error signal, the main controller generates main control signals which are provided to the main control inputs of the main signal adjuster.

According to another aspect of the present invention, an amplifier is provided. The amplifier includes a main amplifier, a main signal adjuster, a first subtracter, and a main controller. It also includes an auxiliary amplifier, an auxiliary signal adjuster, a second subtracter, and an auxiliary controller. The main amplifier generates an intermediate amplified signal. The main signal adjuster couples an input signal to the main amplifier, and includes a complex gain adjuster that is controlled by main control inputs. The first subtracter subtracts a delayed version of the input signal from the intermediate signal, resulting in an error signal. Based on the error signal, the main controller generates main control signals which are provided to the main control inputs of the main signal adjuster. The auxiliary amplifier generates an amplified version of the error signal. The auxiliary signal adjuster includes at least three parallel signal paths that couple the error signal to the auxiliary amplifier, with each of the parallel signal paths including a complex gain adjuster that is controlled by auxiliary control inputs. The second subtracter subtracts the amplified version of the error signal from a delayed version of the intermediate signal, resulting in an output signal. Based on the output signal, the auxiliary controller generates auxiliary control signals which are provided to the auxiliary control inputs of the auxiliary signal adjuster.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a method of amplifying a signal is provided. The method includes the steps of amplifying a combination of at least three adjusted versions of an input signal, resulting in an intermediate signal. Each of the adjusted versions of the input signal comprises a phase, gain, and delay adjusted version of the input signal, and the delays in each of the at least three adjusted versions are all different. A delayed version of the input signal is subtracted from the intermediate signal, resulting in an error signal. Each of the adjusted versions of the input signal is modified based on the error signal.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a method of amplifying a signal is provided. The method includes the steps of amplifying an adjusted version of an input signal, resulting in an intermediate signal. A delayed version of the input signal is subtracted from the intermediate signal, resulting in an error signal. Each of the adjusted versions of the input signal is modified based on the error signal. A combination of at least three adjusted versions of the error signal is amplified, resulting in an amplified version of the error signal. Each of the adjusted versions of the error signal comprises a phase, gain, and delay adjusted version of the error signal, and the delays in each of the at least three adjusted versions are all different. In addition, an adjusted version of the error signal is amplified, resulting in an amplified version of the error signal. The amplified version of the error signal is subtracted from a delayed version of the intermediate signal, resulting in an output signal. The adjusted version of the error signal is modified based on the output signal.

According to another aspect of the present invention, an amplifier is provided. The amplifier includes a main amplifier, a main signal adjuster, a first subtracter, and a main controller. The main amplifier generates an intermediate amplified signal. The main signal adjuster couples an input signal to the main amplifier, including at least one complex gain adjuster that is controlled by main control inputs. The first subtracter subtracts a delayed version of the input signal from the intermediate signal, resulting in an error signal. In addition, based on the error signal, a main controller generates main control signals which are provided to the main control inputs of the main signal adjuster. The main controller includes at least one control linearizer which adjusts the main control signals to compensate for nonlinearities in the main signal adjuster's response to the main control inputs.

According to yet another aspect of the present invention, an amplifier is provided. The amplifier includes a main amplifier, a main signal adjuster, a first subtracter, and a main controller. It also includes an auxiliary amplifier, an auxiliary signal adjuster, a second subtracter, and an auxiliary controller. The main amplifier generates an intermediate amplified signal. The main signal adjuster couples an input signal to the main amplifier, and includes a complex gain adjuster that is controlled by main control inputs. The first subtracter subtracts a delayed version of the input signal from the intermediate signal, resulting in an error signal. Based on the error signal, the main controller generates main control signals which are provided to the main control inputs of the main signal adjuster. In addition, an auxiliary amplifier generates an amplified version of the error signal. The auxiliary signal adjuster couples the error signal to the auxiliary amplifier, and includes at least one complex gain adjuster that is controlled by auxiliary control inputs. The second subtracter subtracts the amplified version of the error signal from a delayed version of the intermediate signal, resulting in an output signal. Based on the output signal, the auxiliary controller generates auxiliary control signals which are provided to the auxiliary control inputs of the auxiliary signal adjuster. The auxiliary controller includes at least one control linearizer which adjusts the auxiliary control signals to compensate for nonlinearities in the auxiliary signal adjuster's response to the auxiliary control inputs.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a prior art adaptive feed forward amplifier.

FIGS. 2 ( a ) and 2 ( b ) respectively depict polar and rectangular coordinate implementations of the complex gain adjuster portion of the FIG. 1 amplifier.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the components comprising the bandpass correlator implementation of the controller portions of the FIG. 1 amplifier.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an adaptive feedforward linearizer constructed in accordance with a another prior art amplifier that includes delay, gain and phase adjusting circuits.

FIGS. 5 ( a ) and 5 ( b ) respectively depict two alternative embodiments of a delay, gain and phase adjusting circuit for adaptive feedforward linearizers constructed in accordance with the prior art amplifier of FIG. 4 .

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of components comprising the controller portions of the FIG. 4 amplifier, which embody the gradient principle to adapt the delay, gain and phase adjusting circuit.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of components comprising the controller portions of the FIG. 4 amplifier, which embody the partial gradient principle to adapt the delay, gain and phase adjusting circuit.

FIGS. 8 ( a ) and 8 ( b ) respectively depict carrier and distortion spectra of the FIG. 4 amplifier for multicarrier and for single carrier inputs.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of components comprising the controller portions of the FIG. 4 amplifier, which employ the partial gradient principle implemented with digital signal processing circuitry to adapt the delay, gain and phase adjusting circuit.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram of another prior art adaptive feedforward amplifier which employs the partial gradient principle to adapt the complex gain adjusting circuit for the case in which delay variations are not significant.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram of another prior art adaptive feedforward amplifier constructed which employs the partial gradient principle implemented with digital signal processing circuitry to adapt the complex gain adjusting circuit for the case in which delay variations are not significant.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram of an improved controller and delay/gain/phase adjuster in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 13 depicts a feedforward amplifier that incorporates control linearization functions in accordance with the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 12 shows an improved arrangement for the delay, gain and phase adjuster (DGPA) and the controller CT 3 (CT 4 ). This improved DGPA and controller set is used to replace the corresponding components in prior art feedforward amplifiers such as the feedforward amplifier of FIG. 4 . Unlike the prior art amplifiers, which have two parallel adjustable branches in the DGPA, the feedforward amplifier in accordance with the present invention includes a larger number of branches.

In FIG. 12 , the input signal 10 is split into three branches. The first branch includes a delay element 201 and a complex gain adjuster (CGA) 211 . The second branch includes a delay element 202 and a CGA 212 . The third branch includes a CGA 213 , but does not include a delay element (although it will have an associated incidental delay inherent in the circuit components and interconnections, which can be ignored). Each of the CGAs 211 - 213 is independently controlled by a pair of signals GA and GB. These signal pairs are provided from the controller CT 3 (CT 4 ). In addition, a splitter provided at the input each of the CGAs 211 - 213 provides a copy of the CGA's input signal to the controller CT 3 (CT 4 ). The outputs of the CGAs 211 - 213 are then combined in a combiner and provided as an output signal 15 to the main amplifier (A 1 , Shown in FIG. 4 ).

Compensation for non-linearities is accomplished by adjusting the GA and GB signal pairs corresponding to each of the branches. These GA/GB signal pairs are applied, respectively, to each CGA in the DGPA. The adjustments for each individual signal pair occurs in the same manner as in a corresponding signal pair in the two branch circuit of the prior art.

Providing the additional branch in accordance with the present invention results in an improved ability to compensate for frequency dependencies that are not monotonic in frequency, and frequency dependencies that exhibit non-linearity as a function of frequency. This aspect of the invention facilitates compensation, for example, for components with frequency responses that increase in one region of the operating band, and decrease in another region. This provides a significant advantage over prior art amplifiers.

While FIG. 12 shows that the DGPA contains three branches (each with its own CGA), and that the controller CT 3 has three control channels, this arrangement can be extended to four or more branches by adding additional parallel branches to the DGPA, with each additional branch containing a CGA and a delay element. A corresponding number of bandpass correlators should also be added to the controller. The delay times of the various delay elements 201 , 202 (and any additional delay elements, not shown), should be selected so that none of the delay times are equal.

In addition, while FIG. 12 shows that the controller CT 3 (CT 4 ) comprises three bandpass correlators 221 - 223 , other types of controllers may be substituted. For example, the partial gradient controller shown in FIG. 7 may be modified to form a three branch controller, in accordance with this aspect of the present invention, by adding an additional bandpass correlator, bandpass filter and mixer, and replacing the splitters S 16 and S 17 with three-way splitters. Additional channels may also be added, in a similar manner, to the DSP-based partial gradient controller CT 3 (CT 4 ) shown in FIG. 9 .

The three-branch arrangement shown in FIG. 12 may be used in either the signal cancellation section or the distortion cancellation section of the feedforward amplifier, or in both of those sections.

FIG. 13 depicts a second aspect of the present invention. Because the response of typical CGAs (like those illustrated in FIGS. 2A and 2B ) is not linear with respect to the control voltages, changes in the CGA output are typically not proportional to changes in the inputs GA and GB. For example, in the CGA of FIG. 2B , the gains in the two branches may not be proportional to the signals arriving at the GA and GB inputs, causing the amplitude gain and the phase shift of the complex gain adjuster to be different from sqrt(GA 2 +GB 2 ) and tan −1 (GB/GA), respectively. Since the complex gain adjusters (CGA) are located within the feed forward loop, these non-linearities do not appear in the output signal 80 (FIG. 4 ). But these non-linearities do slow the adaptation of the feed forward amplifier (i.e. the time needed to linearize the amplifier).

FIG. 13 shows an arrangement, in accordance with the present invention, in which the adaptation of the feed forward amplifier is significantly improved by adding control linearization functions (CLFs) between the controller CT 3 and the delay, gain, and phase adjuster DGPA 1 . The CLFs map their input voltage to a corresponding output voltage in accordance with a transfer function, which is preferably selected to approximate the inverse of the transfer function of the respective CGA. For example, if the output response of a given CGA is proportional to the square of the input voltage, the preferred transfer function for the CLF will be V OUT =sqrt(V IN ). With this arrangement, the combination of each CGA and its respective CLF will produce an output that is linear with respect to the input signal applied to the CLF. These CLF transfer functions are preferably determined at design time and are not affected by the choice of the power amplifier stage that follows the DGPA.

In the DSP implementation of the controller CT 3 (CT 4 ), the control linearization function is preferably implemented in the digital signal processor itself, instead of in the CLF blocks shown in FIG. 13 . While this implementation results in a hardware block diagram that is identical to the prior art system shown in FIG. 9 , the system in accordance with the present invention differs from the prior art system because the DSP software performs the linearization. Implementation of this linearization may be performed in the DSP, for example, by table look-up or by direct computation of the curve. The specifics of implementing the linearization algorithm in software will be apparent to persons skilled in the relevant art.

While the CLFs in FIG. 13 are illustrated in the signal cancellation section of the feed forward amplifier, CLFs may be also used in the distortion cancellation section (or in both the signal cancellation section and the distortion cancellation section).

In addition, while FIG. 13 shows CLFs that are added to the dual branch DGPA, the concept of linearizing the inputs to the DGPA using either a CLF or DSP software can also be applied to DGPAs having three or more branches. For example, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 12 , CLFs would be added in the control lines of the CGAs 211 , 212 , and 213 . Linearization may even be applied to traditional feedforward amplifiers that use only a single CGA in the signal cancellation section. For example, to modify the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 in accordance with this aspect of the present invention, CLFs would be added in the GA and GB control lines between the controller CT 1 and the complex gain adjuster CGA 1 .

As will be apparent to those skilled in the art in the light of the foregoing disclosure, many alterations and modifications are possible in the practice of this invention without departing from the spirit or scope thereof. Accordingly, the scope of the invention is to be construed in accordance with the following claims.

Claims

1. An amplifier comprising:a main amplifier that generates an intermediate amplified signal; a main signal adjuster including at least three parallel signal paths that couple an input signal to the main amplifier, with each of the parallel signal paths including a complex gain adjuster that is controlled by main control inputs; a first subtracter that subtracts a delayed version of the input signal from the intermediate signal, resulting in an error signal; a main controller that, based in the error signal, generates main control signals which are provided to the main control inputs of the main signal adjuster; an auxiliary amplifier that generates an amplified version of the error signal; an auxiliary signal adjuster that couples the error signal to the auxiliary amplifier, the auxiliary signal adjuster including a complex gain adjuster that is controlled by auxiliary control inputs; a second subtracter that subtracts the amplified version of the error signal from a delayed version of the intermediate signal, resulting in an output signal; and an auxiliary controller that, based on the output signal, generates auxiliary control signals which are provided to the auxiliary control inputs of the auxiliary signal adjuster.

2. The amplifier of claim 1, wherein one of the at least three parallel signal paths in the main signal adjuster does not include a delay element, and each of the remaining parallel signal paths in the main signal adjuster include a delay element.

3. The amplifier of claim 2, wherein the error signal is diminished by either minimizing the power of the error signal or minimizing the correlation between the input signal and the error signal.

4. The amplifier of claim 1, wherein distortion in the output signal is diminished by either minimizing the power of the distortion or minimizing the correlation between the error signal and the output signal.

5. An amplifier comprising:a main amplifier that generates an intermediate amplified signal; a main signal adjuster that couples an input signal to the main amplifier, including a complex gain adjuster that is controlled by main control inputs; a first subtracter that subtracts a delayed version of the input signal from the intermediate signal, resulting in an error signal; and a main controller that, based on the error signal, generates main control signals which are provided to the main control inputs of the main signal adjuster; an auxiliary amplifier that generates an amplified version of the error signal; an auxiliary signal adjuster including at least three parallel signal paths that couple the error signal to the auxiliary amplifier, with each of the parallel signal paths including a complex gain adjuster that is controlled by auxiliary control inputs a second subtracter that subtracts the amplified version of the error signal from a delayed version of the intermediate signal, resulting in an output signal; and an auxiliary controller that, based on the output signal, generates auxiliary control signals which are provided to the auxiliary control inputs of the auxiliary signal adjuster.

6. The amplifier of claim 5, wherein one of the at least three parallel signal paths in the auxiliary signal adjuster does not include a delay element, and each of the remaining parallel signal paths in the auxiliary signal adjuster includes a delay element.

7. A method of amplifying a signal comprising the steps of:amplifying an adjusted version of an input signal, resulting in an intermediate signal; subtracting a delayed version of the input signal from the intermediate signal, resulting in an error signal; and modifying each of the adjusted versions of the input signal based on the error signal; amplifying a combination of at least three adjusted versions of the error signal, resulting in an amplified version of the error signal, wherein each of the adjusted versions of the error signal comprises a phase, gain, and delay adjusted version of the error signal, and the delays in each of the at least three adjusted versions are all different; amplifying an adjusted version of the error signal, resulting in an amplified version of the error signal; subtracting the amplified version of the error signal from a delayed version of the intermediate signal, resulting in an output signal; and modifying the adjusted version of the error signal based on the output signal.

8. An amplifier comprising:a main amplifier that generates an intermediate amplified signal; a main signal adjuster that couples an input signal to the main amplifier, including at least one complex gain adjuster that is controlled by main control inputs; a first subtracter that subtracts a delayed version of the input signal from the intermediate signal, resulting in an error signal; and a main controller that, based on the error signal, generates main control signals which are provided to the main control inputs of the main signal adjuster, wherein the main controller includes at least one control linearizer which adjusts the main control signals to compensate for nonlinearities in the main signal adjuster's response to the main control inputs.

9. The amplifier of claim 8, further comprising:an auxiliary amplifier that generates an amplified version of the error signal; an auxiliary signal adjuster that couples the error signal to the auxiliary amplifier, the auxiliary signal adjuster including a complex gain adjuster that is controlled by auxiliary control inputs a second subtracter that subtracts the amplified version of the error signal from a delayed version of the intermediate signal, resulting in an output signal; and an auxiliary controller that, based on the output signal, generates auxiliary control signals which are provided to the auxiliary control inputs of the auxiliary signal adjuster.

10. The amplifier of claim 8, wherein each of the at least one control linearizers has a transfer function that is the inverse of the transfer function of one of the at least one complex gain adjusters in the main signal adjuster.

11. The amplifier of claim 8, wherein the main controller comprises a digital signal processor, and the control linearizers are implemented in software running on the digital signal processor.

12. An amplifier comprising:a main amplifier that generates an intermediate amplified signal; a main signal adjuster that couples an input signal to the main amplifier, including a complex gain adjuster that is controlled by main control inputs; a first subtracter that subtracts a delayed version of the input signal from the intermediate signal, resulting in an error signal; a main controller that, based on the error signal, generates main control signals which are provided to the main control inputs of the main signal adjuster; an auxiliary amplifier that generates an amplified version of the error signal; an auxiliary signal adjuster that couples the error signal to the auxiliary amplifier, the auxiliary signal adjuster including at least one complex gain adjuster that is controlled by auxiliary control inputs a second subtracter that subtracts the amplified version of the error signal from a delayed version of the intermediate signal, resulting in an output signal; and an auxiliary controller that, based on the output signal, generates auxiliary control signals which are provided to the auxiliary control inputs of the auxiliary signal adjuster, the auxiliary controller including at least one control linearizer which adjusts the auxiliary control signals to compensate for nonlinearities in the auxiliary signal adjuster's response to the auxiliary control inputs.

13. The amplifier of claim 12, wherein each of the at least one control linearizers has a transfer function that is the inverse of the transfer function of one of the at least one complex gain adjusters in the auxiliary signal adjuster.

14. The amplifier of claim 12, wherein the auxiliary controller comprises a digital signal processor, and the control linearizers are implemented in software running on the digital signal processor.