Patent ID: 6188284
Filing Date: 2001-02-13
Classification: H03F

Abstract:
A line driver amplifier comprising:at least one adaptive gain amplifier; andat least one distributed gain amplifier connected in parallel with said adaptive gain amplifier,said at least one distributed gain amplifier includes at least a first distributed gain amplifier stage including a first plurality of auxiliary amplifiers, each of said auxiliary amplifiers in said first plurality of auxiliary amplifiers having an input and an output and including a prescribed offset voltage level, and a first plurality of output transistors, each of said output transistors in said first plurality of output transistors being in a prescribed circuit relationship with the output of a respective one of said first plurality of auxiliary amplifiers forming a first plurality of auxiliary amplifier-output transistor pairs that are connected in parallel circuit relationship with each other, wherein each of said output transistors in said first plurality of output transistors is in an OFF state until an input signal supplied to the inputs of said first plurality of auxiliary amplifiers has a signal magnitude equal to or greater than the offset voltage level of the respective auxiliary amplifier in circuit relationship to said respective output transistor, whereby abrupt changes in a transfer function of said line driver amplifier are smoothed out.