The present invention relates to Radio Frequency (RF) power amplifiers used in RF communications circuitry.
With the growth of the wireless communications industry, wireless communications protocols become more sophisticated and demanding in their requirements for complex modulation schemes and narrow channel bandwidths. The ultimate goal is to encode as much digital information as possible in a given channel. One such modulation scheme for encoding digital information is polar modulation. Polar modulated RF transmitters utilize both amplitude modulation and phase modulation to maximize the amount of information that can be encoded with minimum bandwidth. By using multiple combinations of phase and amplitude, multiple digital bits of information can be represented. Large signal amplitude modulation allows several distinct levels of modulation with adequate noise margins for reliable encoding of digital data. However, in a polar modulated system, large signal amplitude modulation can interfere with proper operation of phase modulated (PM) signals. The bandwidth of transmitted polar modulated RF signals must be contained within a single channel. Output Radio Frequency Spectrum (ORFS) is a measure of adjacent channel interference, which must be minimized. Some polar modulated RF transmitters may use pre-distortion methods with polynomial curve fitting to meet RF spectrum requirements.
In a typical polar modulated RF transmitter, PM signals follow a conventional signal path. An RF modulator receives a phase modulation signal and phase modulates an RF carrier to produce a PM RF signal, which may then be amplified by one or more RF driver amplifier stages that feed an RF final amplifier stage as part of an RF power amplifier. The RF final amplifier stage amplitude modulates the PM RF signal to create a polar modulated RF output signal. The RF final amplifier stage receives an envelope supply voltage from an amplitude modulated (AM) power supply, which provides the amplitude modulation in the final stage. In some designs, an RF final amplifier stage may use one or more bipolar NPN transistor as an active element, in which the collector of the NPN transistor is coupled to the envelope supply voltage. The PM RF signal is fed to the base of the NPN transistor. In the presence of large signal amplitude modulation signals, the voltage at the collector of the NPN transistor may drop below the voltage at the base of the NPN transistor, resulting in forward biasing of the base-to-collector junction, which distorts the amplified PM RF signal and degrades the RF spectrum. Therefore, to meet ORFS requirements and minimize pre-distortion requirements, there is a need for a polar modulated power amplifier that does not forward bias its base-to-collector junction in the presence of large AM signals.
Polar modulation input signals to a polar modulated power amplifier include a phase modulated (PM) input signal, which feeds a power amplifier input, and an amplitude modulated (AM) input signal, which provides an envelope supply voltage for the power amplifier. The present invention is a large signal polar modulated power amplifier that extends the effective amplitude range of AM input signals that can be handled by the power amplifier by amplitude modulating the PM input signal using the AM input signal. Amplitude modulating the PM input signal effectively lowers the amplitude of the PM input signal when the amplitude of the AM input signal is lowered, which maintains adequate headroom between the power amplifier's signal input and envelope supply voltage input in the presence of large amplitude AM input signals. As a result, the power amplifier can amplify larger amplitude AM input signals than traditional power amplifier designs.
Those skilled in the art will appreciate the scope of the present invention and realize additional aspects thereof after reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments in association with the accompanying drawing figures.
The accompanying drawing figures incorporated in and forming a part of this specification illustrate several aspects of the invention, and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention.
The embodiments set forth below represent the necessary information to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention and illustrate the best mode of practicing the invention. Upon reading the following description in light of the accompanying drawing figures, those skilled in the art will understand the concepts of the invention and will recognize applications of these concepts not particularly addressed herein. It should be understood that these concepts and applications fall within the scope of the disclosure and the accompanying claims.
Polar modulation input signals to a polar modulated power amplifier include a PM input signal, which feeds a power amplifier input, and an AM input signal, which provides an envelope supply voltage for the power amplifier. The present invention is a large signal polar modulated power amplifier that extends the effective amplitude range of AM input signals that can be handled by the power amplifier by amplitude modulating the PM input signal using the AM input signal. Amplitude modulating the PM input signal effectively lowers the amplitude of the PM input signal when the amplitude of the AM input signal is lowered, which maintains adequate headroom between the power amplifier's signal input and envelope supply voltage input in the presence of large amplitude AM input signals. As a result, the power amplifier can amplify larger amplitude AM input signals than traditional power amplifier designs.
On the transmit side, the baseband processor 48 receives digitized data, which may represent voice, data, or control information, from the control system 50, which it encodes for transmission. The encoded data is output to the transmitter 42, and contains phase modulation and amplitude modulation information needed for polar modulation. The phase modulation information is used by a modulator 62 to modulate a carrier signal that is at a desired transmit frequency. The power amplifier circuitry 36 amplifies and amplitude modulates the modulated carrier signal to create a polar modulated RF signal appropriate for transmission, and delivers the amplified and modulated carrier signal to the antenna 44 through the duplexer or switch 46.
A user may interact with the mobile terminal 38 via the interface 54, which may include interface circuitry 64 associated with a microphone 66, a speaker 68, a keypad 70, and a display 72. The interface circuitry 64 typically includes analog-to-digital converters, digital-to-analog converters, amplifiers, and the like. Additionally, it may include a voice encoder/decoder, in which case it may communicate directly with the baseband processor 48. The microphone 66 will typically convert audio input, such as the user's voice, into an electrical signal, which is then digitized and passed directly or indirectly to the baseband processor 48. Audio information encoded in the received signal is recovered by the baseband processor 48, and converted by the interface circuitry 64 into an analog signal suitable for driving the speaker 68. The keypad 70 and display 72 enable the user to interact with the mobile terminal 38, input numbers to be dialed, address book information, or the like, as well as monitor call progress information.
Those skilled in the art will recognize improvements and modifications to the preferred embodiments of the present invention. All such improvements and modifications are considered within the scope of the concepts disclosed herein and the claims that follow.
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