Patent Grant
10476451
The present application relates to circuitry, such as matching networks, that may be used in a class-F power amplifier.
A Power amplifier (PA) is used to receive an analog input signal and deliver an amplified signal with higher amplitude in an electronic device. Of particular interest is a PA that can amplify radio frequency (RF) input signals to drive a radio transmitter or an antenna in a transmitter for application in a battery-powered portable electronic device such as a wireless smart phone. Rapid growth in LTE smart phones has increased the demand for multiband PAs that have low cost and high efficiency. A high efficiency PA has a high ratio of delivered power compared to the total power consumed by the PA.
According to an aspect of the present application, a class-F PA with a matching network, and a second harmonic trap circuit implemented with lumped inductive and capacitive components is described herein.
In some embodiments, a PA is provided. The PA comprises a first switch and a second switch. The first switch has a first drain terminal. The second switch has a second drain terminal. The first switch and the second switch are configured to receive differential signals corresponding to an input signal having a first harmonic frequency (fH1), a second harmonic frequency (fH2) and a third harmonic frequency (fH3). The PA further comprises a second harmonic trap circuitry that is configured to be coupled to the first drain terminal and the second drain terminal. The second harmonic trap circuitry is configured to have a first impedance between the first drain terminal and a common voltage at fH2, and a second impedance between the first drain terminal and the common voltage at fH3. The first impedance is smaller than the second impedance. The second harmonic trap circuitry comprises a plurality of lumped inductive and capacitive components.
The second harmonic trap circuitry may be configured to have a third impedance between the second drain terminal and the ground at fH2, and a fourth impedance between the second drain terminal and the ground terminal at fH3, wherein the third impedance is smaller than the fourth impedance.
The second harmonic trap circuitry may be configured to provide a short between the first drain terminal and the ground, and between the second drain terminal and the ground at fH2.
The first switch and the second switch may be Si MOS transistors on a semiconductor die.
The second harmonic trap circuitry may comprise a first node coupled to the first drain terminal by a first group of lumped inductive and capacitive components of the plurality of lumped inductive and capacitive components, and to the second drain terminal by a second group of lumped inductive and capacitive components of the plurality of lumped inductive and capacitive components, and wherein the first node is coupled to the ground by a common mode inductor.
The first group of lumped inductive and capacitive components may comprise a serial capacitor and a serial inductor.
The PA may further comprise a pair of differential output terminals coupled to the first and second drain terminal; and a matching network configured to be coupled between the pair of differential output terminals, the matching network having a single-ended output configured to be coupled to a load resistance, wherein the matching network is configured to match the impedance between the pair of differential output terminals and the load resistance.
The matching network may comprise a first matching capacitor coupled between the single-ended output and a first differential output terminal of the pair of differential output terminals; a second matching capacitor coupled between a second differential output terminal of the pair of differential output terminals and a second node; a first matching inductor coupled between the first differential output terminal and the second node; a second matching inductor coupled between the second differential output terminal and the single-ended output; and a ground network coupled between the ground and the second node, wherein the second node is connected to a terminal of a capacitor and a terminal of an inductor.
The ground network may be configured to have a first ground network impedance at fH1, and a second ground network impedance at fH3 different from the first ground network impedance.
The PA may further comprise a pair of differential output terminals coupled to the first and second drain terminal; and a common mode trap circuitry coupled between the pair of differential output terminals, wherein the common mode trap circuitry having a first circuit path in parallel with a second circuit path, wherein the first circuit path comprises inductive and capacitive components configured to short a common mode signal at the pair of differential output terminals to the ground at fH1, and the first circuit path comprises inductive and capacitive components configured to short the common mode signal at the pair of differential output terminals to the ground at fH3.
The matching network may comprise a transformer with a primary coil coupled between the pair of differential output terminals and a secondary coil coupled between a terminal of the load resistance and the ground.
The PA may further comprise a voltage supply, wherein the first drain terminal and the second drain terminal are connected to the voltage supply, and wherein the first switch, the second switch and the plurality of lumped inductive and capacitive components of the second harmonic trap circuitry are disposed on a first substrate, and the voltage supply and the matching network is disposed on a second substrate.
The magnitude of the first impedance may be less than 50% of the magnitude of the second impedance.
In some embodiments, a PA is provided. The PA comprises a first switch and a second switch configured to receive differential signals corresponding to an input signal having a first harmonic frequency (fH1), a second harmonic frequency (fH2) and a third harmonic frequency (fH3). The PA further comprises a lumped component circuit configured to be coupled between a first drain terminal of the first switch and a second drain terminal of the second switch. The lumped component circuit has inductive components sized to resonate at fH2 and configured to short the first drain terminal and the second drain terminal to a common voltage at fH2.
The first switch and the second switch may be Si MOS transistors on a semiconductor die.
The lumped component circuit may comprise a first node coupled to the first drain terminal by a first serial capacitor and a first serial inductor, and to the second drain terminal by a second serial capacitor and a second serial inductor, and wherein the first node is coupled to the ground by a common mode inductor.
The PA may further comprise a pair of differential output terminals coupled to the first and second drain terminal; and a matching network coupled between the pair of differential output terminals, the matching network having a single-ended output coupled to a load resistance, wherein the matching network is configured to match the impedance between the pair of differential output terminals and the load resistance.
The matching network may comprise a first matching capacitor coupled between the single-ended output and a first differential output terminal of the pair of differential output terminals; a second matching capacitor coupled between a second differential output terminal of the pair of differential output terminals and a second node; a first matching inductor coupled between the first differential output terminal and the second node; a second matching inductor coupled between the second differential output terminal and the single-ended output; and a ground network coupled between the ground and the second node, wherein the second node is connected to a terminal of a capacitor and a terminal of an inductor and wherein the ground network is configured to have a first ground network impedance at fH1, and a second ground network impedance at fH3 different from the first ground network impedance.
The PA may further comprise a pair of differential output terminals coupled to the first and second drain terminal; and a common mode trap circuitry coupled between the pair of differential output terminals, wherein the common mode trap circuitry having a first circuit path in parallel with a second circuit path, wherein the first circuit path comprises inductive and capacitive components configured to short a common mode signal at the pair of differential output terminals to the ground at fH1, and the first circuit path comprises inductive and capacitive components configured to short the common mode signal at the pair of differential output terminals to the ground at fH3.
The matching network may comprise a transformer with a primary coil coupled between the pair of differential output terminals and a secondary coil coupled between a terminal of the load resistance and the ground.
Various aspects and embodiments of the application will be described with reference to the following figures. It should be appreciated that the figures are not necessarily drawn to scale. Items appearing in multiple figures are indicated by the same reference number in all the figures in which they appear.
Class A/B PAs may be relatively simple to design and to implement, but suffer from low efficiency. Class-F PAs, on the other hand, offer substantially increased efficiency compared to class A/B PAs. An input signal to the PA may be an analog RF signal that has a fundamental frequency that corresponds to a first harmonic frequency (fH1) when the input signal is decomposed into a harmonic series or Fourier series comprising multiple order harmonic components (hereinafter also referred to as multiple order harmonics). The input signal has a multitude of harmonic frequencies, where each harmonic frequency is an integer multiple of the fundamental frequency. For example, the input signal may have a second harmonic frequency (fH2) and a third harmonic frequency (fH3) in its harmonic series that are twice and three times the fundamental frequency, respectively.
In a class-F PA, even order harmonics of the output signal at the drain terminal of a switch are attenuated, while odd order harmonics are maintained such that the output voltage waveform in the time domain is shaped similar to a square wave based on combination of the odd order harmonics. Because instantaneous power consumption of the amplifier is based on a product of the voltage and current at the switch, the near-square wave voltage waveform in the time domain when multiplied with the asynchronous current draw waveform in the time domain of the PA during the even harmonics will provide a low total power consumption and a correspondingly high efficiency. In designing class-F PA, impedance matching of the first three order harmonics is typically sufficient.
Aspects of the present application provide a class-F PA with a matching network, and a second harmonic trap circuit implemented with lumped inductive and capacitive components is described herein. The inventors have appreciated that while a class-F PA offers high efficiency compared with for example traditional class A/B PAs, the design of a class-F PA is generally more complex due to the requirement of impedance matching at multiple harmonic frequencies. According to an aspect of the present application, a matching network in a class-F PA performs impedance matching with a load at all three frequencies fH1, fH2 and fH3. According to another aspect, a class-F PA based on metal-oxide semiconductor (MOS) switches such as silicon complementary-MOS (CMOS) switches may be fabricated using low cost and highly integrated Si-based semiconductor fabrication processing and can substantially lower the size and cost of a complex class-F PA.
In some embodiments, the input signal may have a fundamental frequency in the WCDMA/LTE frequency band for wireless applications, such as 824 to 849 MHz inclusive, 880 to 915 MHz inclusive, 1850 to 1910 MHz inclusive, and 1920 to 1980 MHz inclusive, although it should be appreciated that aspects of the present application are not so limited and an input signal of any RF fundamental frequency may be used with the power amplifiers disclosed herein.
The inventors have appreciated and recognized that to selectively attenuate the second harmonic frequency output impedance of the transistor switch at fH2 in a class-F PA, a second harmonic trap circuitry may be provided. The inventors have appreciated that an RF transmission line may be used to attenuate the impedance at fH2, by, for example, coupling a drain terminal of the switch with a transmission line having a quarter wavelength corresponding to fH2. However, the inventors have also recognized that the use of transmission line has multiple limitations, such as higher cost related to providing a transmission line to a Si MOS device, as well as larger amplifier footprint associated with quarter wave transmission lines at common wireless communication frequencies, which is undesirable in small portable electronic devices. According to an aspect of the present application, a second harmonic trap circuitry is provided using lumped capacitive and inductive components such as passive capacitors and inductors, without the need to use any transmission line. Lumped capacitive and inductive components may be provided in the form of passive capacitors and inductors, as opposed to, for example, a quarter wave transmission line. The lumped components in the second harmonic trap circuitry are configured to form a lower impedance at fH2 compared to fH3 in order to attenuate the second order impedance, and in some embodiments the second harmonic trap circuitry is configured to form a short between a drain terminal of the switch to a common voltage at fH2, and to form a high impedance between the drain terminal and the common voltage at fH3. In some embodiments, the common voltage is a common reference voltage and may be a fixed voltage such as ground. In some embodiments, the lumped components in the second harmonic trap circuitry are formed on the same semiconductor die as the Si MOS switches of the class-F PA.
According to another aspect of the present application, a class-F PA has differential inputs received by two transistor switches. The difference between the differential inputs represents an input signal to be amplified. In some embodiments, the second harmonic trap circuitry comprises a T-shaped capacitive and inductive network coupled between a first drain terminal of a first switch, a second drain terminal of a second switch, and ground, such that independent control of common mode and differential mode impedance at the drain terminals of the two switches may be performed during amplifier design.
According to an aspect of the present application, a matching network is provided to convert differential-ended impedance between two differential output terminals of the class-F PA into single-ended output with a single-ended impedance that matches that of a load resistance.
Aspects of the present application may provide simultaneous impedance matching for the first three harmonics, while providing single-ended to differential-ended impedance conversion.
In PA 100, the first switch M1a has a first input In1a, a first drain terminal D1a and a source terminal connected to ground. The second switch M1b has a second input In1b, a second drain terminal D1b and a source terminal connected to ground. The first drain terminal D1a is connected to a voltage supply VDD via impedance Z1a. The second drain terminal D1b is connected to a voltage supply VDD via impedance Z1b. Each of impedance Z1a and Z1b may be an inductive impedance that includes an inductor that couples the drain terminals to the voltage supply VDD, and may optionally and additionally include any parasitic inductive and capacitive impedance between wirings and interconnects in the package of the PA 100.
In the class-F PA 100, second harmonic trap circuitry 120 couples the drain terminals D1a and D1b to ground and is configured to have a first impedance between D1a and ground at the second harmonic frequency fH2, and a second impedance between D1a and ground at the third harmonic frequency fH3. During class-F PA operation, second harmonic trap circuitry 120 is configured to selectively attenuate the impedance between D1a and ground at fH2 as opposed to fH3. Therefore, in some embodiments the first impedance is smaller than the second impedance. In some embodiments, the magnitude of the first impedance may be less than 50% of the magnitude of the second impedance such that the impedance between D1a and ground at fH2 as opposed to fH3 In other embodiments, the magnitude of the first impedance may be less than 20%, less than 10%, less than 2%, less than 1%, less than 0.2%, less than 0.1%, between 1×10−9 and 1×10−2, between 1×10−9 and 1×10−3, between 1×10−9 and 1×10−4 , between 1×10−9 and 1×10−5 , or between 1×10−9 and 1×10−6 of the magnitude of the second impedance. According to some aspects of the present application, second harmonic trap circuitry 120 is configured to short D1a to ground at fH2, or create a short circuit between D1a and ground at fH2, whereas second harmonic trap circuitry 120 is configured to create an open circuit between D1a and ground at fH3.
Similarly, the second harmonic trap circuitry 120 is configured to have a third impedance between D1b and ground at fH2, and a fourth impedance between D1b and ground at fH3, and the third impedance is smaller than the fourth impedance such that the impedance between D1b and ground is selectively attenuated at fH2.
PA 100 is configured to operate in differential mode and the switches M1a and M1b in PA 100 are configured to receive differential signals at their respective inputs In1a and In1b that represents an input signal to be amplified.
In the exemplary embodiment illustrated in
According to an aspect of the present application, the second harmonic trap circuitry 120 may be a lumped component circuit having components C2, L_h2 and L_cm sized to have a resonance at fH2, such that at fH2, the lumped component circuit appears to short D1a and D1b, respectively, to ground. In the exemplary circuit diagram shown in
Still referring to the lumped inductive and capacitive components in the second harmonic trap circuitry 120, at the higher third harmonic frequency f3H, reactance due to C2 becomes smaller and the circuit 120 between D1a and D1b has an impedance that is dominated by the inductors such that the circuitry 120 forms a high impedance at D1a and D1b at f3H.
During differential mode operation of PA 100, because the lumped capacitive and inductive components in the second harmonic trap circuitry 120 are sized to short D1a and D1b to ground at f2H, for common mode signals at D1a and D1b, the common mode impedance is shorted to ground via L_cm at f2H. At the higher third harmonic frequency f3H, differential mode impedance at D1a and D1b appears to be an impedance dominated by the inductors L_h2.
According to an aspect of the present application, L_h2 may be effectively regarded as a differential mode inductance L_dm, and be used to tune the differential mode third harmonic impedance, whereas the common mode inductance L_cm may be independently adjusted to tune the common mode impedance at the drain terminals of the switches. Therefore the exemplary second harmonic trap circuit 120 as shown in
In PA 200, the drain terminals D1a and D1b are each connected to VDD via a combination of inductor Ld and parasitic inductance Lb between wirings and interconnects in the package of the PA 200. For example, Lb may be parasitic inductance between the wire bonds used in the package of PA 200.
Optionally and additionally, a common mode trap circuitry 260 is provided in PA 200 and coupled between T1b and T1a. The common mode trap circuitry 260 is configured for selectively terminating common mode currents to ground at f1H and f3H. An exemplary implementation of the common mode trap circuitry 260 will be discussed below in relation to
PA 200 includes a pair of differential output terminals T1a, T1b, each coupled to the respective drain terminals D1a and D1b via coupling capacitors C_AC. The matching network 240 converts an impedance R1 between the differential output terminals T1a and T1b to match a single-ended impedance RL connected to a single-ended output Out of the matching network.
At the second harmonic fH2, C_h2 in the second harmonic trap circuitry 120 in PA 200 is configured to resonate with (L_h2+2×L_cm) at fH2 to realize a short to ground at D1a and D1b. Details of the design of the second harmonic trap circuitry 120 are discussed above in relation to PA 100 as shown in
In PA 200 at the first harmonic fH1, the load line impedance R2 is based on a resonance between the parasitic capacitance Cd at the first and second switches M1a, M1b, the lumped capacitive and inductive components in the second harmonic trap circuitry 120, and the inductances Lb+Ld.
Still referring to PA 200, at the third harmonic fH3, the second harmonic trap circuitry 120 appears as a small inductance which dominates the other reactance such as Lb+Ld, and resonates with the parasitic capacitance Cd to form a high impedance at D1a and D1b at f3H.
Thus PA 200 suppresses second harmonic impedance by shorting the drain terminals of the switches M1a, M1b to ground via the second harmonic trap circuitry at f2H, and provides a load line differential impedance R2 between the drain terminals D1a and D1b at each of f1H and f3H to be matched to the load to implement class-F amplifier design.
In PA 200 shown in
As shown in
Still referring to the matching network 240 shown in
As shown, common mode trap circuitry 460a has a first circuit path 461 in parallel with a second circuit path 463 and both coupled between the differential output terminals T1a and T1b. The first circuit path 461 includes two capacitors Ch1_cm and an inductor Lh1_cm in a T-shaped network with the inductor Lh1_cm coupling a shared node between the two capacitors Ch1_cm to ground. The Ch1_cm is configured to resonate with LH1_cm at f1H such that the first circuit path 461 effectively terminates common mode currents at T1a and T1b to ground at f1H. Similarly, the second circuit path 463 includes two capacitors Ch3_cm and an inductor Lh3_cm in a T-shaped network with the inductor Lh3_cm coupling a shared node between the two capacitors Ch3_cm to ground. The Ch3_cm is configured to resonate with LH3_cm at f3H such that the second circuit path 463 effectively terminates common mode currents at T1a and T1b to ground at f3H.
According to an aspect of the present application, the first switch and the second switch M1a and M1b of PA 600 as shown in
The terms “approximately” and “about” may be used to mean within ±20% of a target value in some embodiments, within ±10% of a target value in some embodiments, within ±5% of a target value in some embodiments, or within ±2% of a target value in some embodiments. The terms “approximately” and “about” may include the target value.
Various aspects of the apparatus and techniques described herein may be used alone, in combination, or in a variety of arrangements not specifically discussed in the embodiments described in the foregoing description and is therefore not limited in its application to the details and arrangement of components set forth in the foregoing description or illustrated in the drawings. For example, aspects described in one embodiment may be combined in any manner with aspects described in other embodiments.
Use of ordinal terms such as “first,” “second,” “third,” etc., in the claims to modify a claim element does not by itself connote any priority, precedence, or order of one claim element over another or the temporal order in which acts of a method are performed, but are used merely as labels to distinguish one claim element having a certain name from another element having a same name (but for use of the ordinal term) to distinguish the claim elements.
Also, the phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. The use of “including,” “comprising,” or “having,” “containing,” “involving,” and variations thereof herein, is meant to encompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereof as well as additional items.
This Application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/446,574, entitled “CLASS-F PA MATCHING NETWORK” filed on Jan. 16, 2017, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
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| 20180205349 A1 | Jul 2018 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
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| 62446574 | Jan 2017 | US |
