Positive coefficient weighted quadrature modulation method and apparatus

A differential positive coefficient weighted quadrature modulator is actuated responsive to quadrature clock signals and positive digital modulation signals input to the modulator. The modulator includes an I-channel positive coefficient weighted modulator (PCWM) and a Q-channel PCWM. The I-channel PCWM has differential output nodes configured to output a differential I-channel signal responsive to the state of first and second positive digital modulation signals and first and second complimentary quadrature clock signals input to the I-channel PCWM. The Q-channel PCWM has differential output nodes configured to output a differential Q-channel signal responsive to the state of third and fourth positive digital modulation signals and third and fourth complimentary quadrature clock signals input to the Q-channel PCWM. The positive digital modulation signals input to the I-channel and Q-channel PCWMs have positive amplitude and the I-channel and Q-channel PCWMs conduct at approximately half clock cycle or less of the corresponding quadrature clock signals.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention generally relates to signal modulation, and more particularly relates to positive coefficient weighted modulation used in RF transmitters.

BACKGROUND

A conventional RF transmitter typically includes a baseband digital signal processor (DSP), two digital-to-analog converters (DAC), low pass filters (LPF) for quadrature channels, a quadrature modulator, a variable gain amplifier (VGA) and a power amplifier (PA). In this architecture, the quadrature modulator is operated at a relatively low level to maintain linearity while the VGA and PA are used to deliver the required RF power level. To modulate the baseband signals to a carrier RF signal and transmit over the air, the transmitter also needs quadrature clocks at the carrier frequency, DAC conversion reconstruction clocks and a control clock. Non-linearity in the components included in the RF transmitter creates harmonic distortions and inter-modulation products. These unwanted frequency components can cause spurious emissions and interference to neighboring receivers or the receiver associated with the RF transmitter, e.g. in transceiver structures.

To avoid such interference, the linearity requirements for the LPFs, quadrature modulator and VGA are very high, increasing the design complexity of these components. High linearity usually implies high power consumption, as the affected analog components operate as class A devices, resulting in a poor power efficiency. In addition, active and passive components, such as filter capacitors and large transistors for minimizing flicker noise, occupy additional silicon area which increases cost. Furthermore, analog circuits are much sensitive to process, temperature and supply voltage variation. Device matching is also a problem for deep submicron CMOS.

To relax the design difficulty associated with analog circuits and reduce area and power consumption, some conventional RF transmitters merge the DAC, LPF, quadrature modulator and VGA functions together into a digital cell. The resulting digital quadrature modulator utilizes DSP and other digital techniques to perform baseband signal processing, such as gain setting, over-sampling, interpolation and low pass filtering. In the final stage of a conventional digital quadrature modulator, the carrier clock signals are modulated by digital baseband signals and converted into modulated RF signals. Because the digital baseband signals have smaller distortion than their analog counterparts, depending on the digital signal processing accuracy or word length which is normally enough, linearity is improved. In addition, area occupation may be smaller than the equivalent analog components because large capacitors are not needed.

However, a conventional digital quadrature modulator does not include the power amplifier component of an RF transmitter, and it needs an additional power amplifier to reach the required power level. This creates redundant areas in the modulator and the power amplifier when considering the entire area of the modulator, pads and power amplifier. In addition, conventional digital quadrature modulators typically drive a 50 Ohm impedance and thus power consumption tends to be relatively high at the modulator output. Also, the power efficiency of the modulator and power amplifier tends to be lower because both components typically operate linearly in class A mode. Operating the modulator and power amplifier in class A mode results in constant power consumption, resulting in very low power efficiency at low output signal levels. Non-linear distortion is also difficult to compensate for in conventional power amplifiers, which gives rise to additional interference in the radio band. Since a power amplifier is not typically included as part of a conventional digital quadrature modulator, system integration is not optimized which further increases the cost of the final RF transmitter structure.

SUMMARY

According to the methods and apparatus disclosed herein, a differential positive coefficient weighted quadrature modulator is actuated responsive to quadrature clock signals and positive digital modulation signals input to the modulator. In one embodiment, the positive digital modulation signals are obtained by converting original digital modulation signals using digital logic. Using positive digital modulation signals to actuate the differential positive coefficient weighted quadrature modulator increases the power efficiency of the modulator. The differential positive coefficient weighted quadrature modulator also has lower odd-order harmonic distortion compared to class A biased modulators. A plurality of paralleled differential positive coefficient weighted quadrature modulators can be directly operated as a digital modulated power amplifier, thus the modulator, the variable gain amplifier and the power amplifier function are merged together, reducing the area redundancy and power consumption as well as additional noise introduced by multi-stage amplifications in the RF components. In a digital modulated power amplifier, the input signals are digital modulation signals, carrier clock signals, and the output signal is an RF signal at a desired power level, e.g. according to a standard, the output signal being coupled to an antenna through output match networks.

According to an embodiment of a method for amplifying quadrature information signals, the method includes generating differential I-channel and Q-channel signals. The differential I-channel signal is generated at differential output nodes of an I-channel positive coefficient weighted modulator responsive to the state of first and second positive digital modulation signals and first and second complimentary quadrature clock signals input to the I-channel positive coefficient weighted modulator. The differential Q-channel signal is generated at differential output nodes of a Q-channel positive coefficient weighted modulator responsive to the state of third and fourth positive digital modulation signals and third and fourth complimentary quadrature clock signals input to the Q-channel positive coefficient weighted modulator. The positive digital modulation signals input to the I-channel and Q-channel positive coefficient weighted modulators have positive amplitude and the I-channel and Q-channel positive coefficient weighted modulators conduct at approximately half clock cycle or less of the corresponding quadrature clock signals. The differential I-channel and Q-channel signals can be coupled to a load for providing power amplification.

According to an embodiment of a differential quadrature modulator, the modulator includes an I-channel positive coefficient weighted modulator and a Q-channel positive coefficient weighted modulator. The I-channel positive coefficient weighted modulator has differential output nodes configured to output a differential I-channel signal responsive to the state of first and second positive digital modulation signals and first and second complimentary quadrature clock signals input to the I-channel positive coefficient weighted modulator. The Q-channel positive coefficient weighted modulator has differential output nodes configured to output a differential Q-channel signal responsive to the state of third and fourth positive digital modulation signals and third and fourth complimentary quadrature clock signals input to the Q-channel positive coefficient weighted modulator. The positive digital modulation signals input to the I-channel and Q-channel positive coefficient weighted modulators have positive amplitude and the I-channel and Q-channel positive coefficient weighted modulators conduct at approximately half clock cycle or less of the corresponding quadrature clock signals. A digital quadrature modulated differential power amplifier can be formed by coupling a plurality of the differential quadrature modulators to a load.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1illustrates an embodiment of an RF transmitter including a digital quadrature modulated differential power amplifier (DQMPA)100, a baseband processor102, a clock generator circuit104and a clock driver circuit106. The baseband processor102provides in-phase (I) and quadrature (Q) information signals to the DQMPA100for modulation, amplification and transmission. The clock driver circuit106provides quadrature clock signals (0°, 90°, 180° and 270°) to the DQMPA100responsive to clock signals generated by the clock generator circuit104. The clock generation circuit104also provides DAC conversion reconstruction clocks (FS) and a control clock (CC) to the DQMPA100. The DQMPA100modulates and amplifies the baseband in-phase and quadrature information signals responsive to the state of the quadrature clock signals and positive digital modulation signals input to each quadrature positive coefficient weighted modulator (PCWM)108included in the DQMPA100. Each of the positive digital modulation signals input to the quadrature PCWMs108has positive amplitude, thus increasing the power efficiency of the DQMPA100. In one embodiment, the DQMPA100includes digital logic101for converting original digital modulation signals into the positive digital modulation signals input to each PCWM108.

FIG. 2illustrates an embodiment of the quadrature PCWM108included in the DQMPA100. Each quadrature PCWM108is implemented as parallel switched cells and includes an I-channel PCWM200and a Q-channel PCWM202. The I-channel PCWM200and the Q-channel PCWM202each includes four multipliers204-210,212-218and two adders220,222and224,226. Two positive digital modulation signals (m1and m2) and two complimentary quadrature clock signals (R1and R2) are input to the I-channel PCWM200. Two different positive digital modulation signals (m3and m4) and two different complimentary quadrature clock signals (R3and R4) are input to the Q-channel PCWM202. A control signal (Z1, Z2) is also input to the I-channel and Q-channel PCWMs200,202for controlling the operation of impedance compensation circuitry and/or shut-down circuitry coupled to the respective PCWM modulators200,202as described in more detail later herein.

In more detail, the I-channel PCWM modulator200has differential current output nodes (vpi, vni) for outputting a differential I-channel current signal (ip, in) responsive to the state of the positive digital modulation signals m1and m2and the complimentary quadrature clock signals R1and R2input to the I-channel PCWM200. The Q-channel PCWM202also has differential current output nodes (vpq, vnq) for outputting a differential Q-channel current signal (qp, qn) responsive to the state of the positive digital modulation signals m3and m4and the complimentary quadrature clock signals R3and R4input to the Q-channel PCWM202. A digital quadrature modulated output can be provided by merging the current output nodes vpi and vni and current output nodes vpq and vnq.

According to an embodiment, the I-channel and Q-channel PCWMs200,202each have four branches. First and second braches228,230of the I-channel PCWM200generate a first component (vpi) of the differential I-channel signal responsive to the state of the positive digital modulation signals m1and m2and the complimentary quadrature clock signals R1and R2. Third and fourth braches232,234of the I-channel PCWM200similarly generates a second, complimentary component (vni) of the differential I-channel signal also responsive to m1, m2, R1and R2. First and second braches236,238of the Q-channel PCWM202likewise generate a first component (vpq) of the differential Q-channel signal responsive to the state of the positive digital modulation signals m3and m4and the complimentary quadrature clock signals R3and R4. Third and fourth braches240,242of the Q-channel PCWM202generate the complimentary component (vnq) of the differential Q-channel signal also responsive to the state of m3, m4, R3and R4. According to this embodiment, just one of the modulation signals input to the I-channel and Q-channel portions200,202of each quadrature PCWM108is set to a logic high state at any particular point in time to ensure proper operation.

The quadrature clock signals input to each quadrature PCWM108are generated by the clock driver circuit106of the RF transmitter ofFIG. 1and can be expressed as:
R1=casin(ωtxt)+DCb
R2=−casin(ωtxt)+DCb
R3=cacos(ωtxt)+DCb
R4=−cacos(ωtxt)+DCb(1)
where DCbis the DC bias voltage of the clock signals and cais the amplitude of the clock signals. Each of the positive digital modulation signals input to a particular quadrature PCWM108is valid only if its amplitude is larger than or equal to zero, i.e. non-negative, otherwise the modulation signal is set to zero. Differential outputs are used to replace the original modulation signal by adding the positive part of the modulation signal at the other port of the differential output. The positive digital modulation signals are given by:

m⁢⁢1=ma⁢sin⁢(ωm⁢t),if⁢⁢sin⁡(ωm⁢t)⁢>_⁢0=0,otherwisem⁢⁢2=ma⁢sin⁡(ωm⁢t+π),if⁢⁢sin⁡(ωm⁢t+π)⁢>_⁢0=0,otherwisem⁢⁢3=ma⁢cos⁡(ωm⁢t),when⁢⁢cos⁡(ωm⁢t)⁢>_⁢0=0,otherwisem⁢⁢4=ma⁢cos⁡(ωm⁢t),when⁢⁢cos⁡(ωm⁢t+π)⁢>_⁢0=0,otherwise(2)
The positive digital modulation signals m1, m2, m3and m4can be coded as a sum of paralleled bitwise digital signals either in binary or in thermometer-coded form.

In general, for positive coefficient weighted modulation, a modulation signal m(t) can be modified as:
mpcwm(t)=0.5m(t)+0.5|m(t)|  (3)
Differential outputs are used to implement the negative part of the signal. For example, when the original digital modulation signal for the I-channel is a sinusoid, then the I-channel positive modulation signals m1and m2are illustrated inFIG. 3. When ma=1 and DCb=ca=1, i.e., the modulation signals are positive modulation signals and clock signals are DC biased so the modulator RF transistors are operating in class A, then the current output at the adders220,222of the I-channel PCWM200fluctuate as shown inFIG. 4which shows the drain current of the I-channel PCWM200. The average DC drain current is 2/π=0.636 with a peak-to-peak current of 2. Conventional quadrature modulators yield an average DC drain current of 1 and a peak-to-peak current of 2. Thus, when the modulation signals are positive modulation signals and clock signals are DC biased so that the modulator RF transistors are operating in class A, then each quadrature PCWM108included in the DQMPA100has about a 1.57× power efficiency improvement over a conventional quadrature modulator by using positive modulation signals.

If the bias of the clock signals R1-R4input to each quadrature PCWM108included in the DQMPA100is lowered so that the multipliers204-218of the PCWM branches228-242only conduct at half clock cycles, i.e., the clock signals are DC biased so that the modulator RF transistors are operating in class B, then the power efficiency of the quadrature PCWMs108can be further improved as shown inFIGS. 5(a)-5(c).FIG. 5(a) illustrates the modulation signals m1and m2,FIG. 5(b) illustrates the corresponding equivalent complimentary clock signals R1and R2above a DC threshold wherein RF transistors begin to conduct, andFIG. 5(c) illustrates the drain current output by the I-channel PCWM200at current output nodes vpilvni. InFIG. 5(c), the average DC drain current reduces to 4/π2=0.405, yielding a 61% power efficiency improvement over conventional quadrature modulators. The power efficiency of the quadrature PCWMs108can be further increased by reducing the conducting angle of the multipliers204-218even more and increasing the over-drive, but at a cost of higher distortion and drain voltage. In addition, power consumption is scaled as a function of output voltage, as shown inFIG. 5(c), when the conducting angle of the PCWM108is reduced. Utilizing positive coefficient weighted modulation and reduced conducting angles to provide current scaling as disclosed herein yields a highly advantageous solution for power amplification applications, improving the power efficiency at low average power level for wireless standards like OFDM, etc. where peak-to-average-power ratio is high. In contrast, conventional linear power amplifiers have constant power consumption regardless of output voltage/power which is inefficient for low average power level.

The multiplication operation between a modulation signal mx, where x=1,2,3,4, and the corresponding local oscillator clock signal R is performed with parallel switched adders in such a way to yield:

Y=mx·R=(∑k=1N⁢⁢mxk)·R=∑k=1N⁢⁢(mxk·R)(4)
where mxkis either msk, or 0, and msk>0, where mskcan be binary weighted, thermometer-coded, uniformed weighted, non-uniformed weighted, etc. N in equation (4) is preferably large enough to reduce quantization noise by a suitable amount and depends on the particular application. Otherwise, quantization noise may be up-converted into RF frequencies which can cause interference for other receivers in the radio band. For a uniform cell, mskis a constant, and for a non-uniform cell mskmay take different values. The quadrature PCWMs108can be implemented in various ways with or without impedance compensation as disclosed herein.

FIG. 6illustrates an embodiment of the I-channel PCWM200included in each of the quadrature PCWMs108. Those skilled in the art will readily recognize that the Q-channel PCWM202can be implemented in a similar fashion. Each branch228-234of the I-channel PCWM200includes a common source transistor (T1, T4, T6, T8) connected in series with a common gate transistor (T2, T3, T5, T7). The drains of the common source and sources of the common gate transistors for each branch228-234are electrically connected together. The drain of each common gate transistor is connected to one of the output nodes (vpi or vni). The gate of each common gate transistor is connected to a control node of the branch (i.e., the input node for bitwise modulation signal m1kand m2k). The source of each common source transistor is connected to a ground node and the gate of each common source transistor is connected to a clock input node of the branch (i.e., the input node for clock signal vinp or vinn).

The NMOS transistors T2, T3, T5and T7operate in a switch mode responsive to the bitwise modulation signals m1kand m2k. The NMOS transistors T1, T4, T6and T8are RF transistors connected to the complementary local quadrature clock signals vinp and vinn, or in general the clock signals are taken from R1and R2, or R3and R4. The bitwise modulation signals can be created from two binary signals, sign and bk. The sign corresponds to the polarity of the original digital modulation signals, m1, m2, m3and m4, and bkis the original bitwise modulation signals for the I-channel PCWM200. The subscript k, k=1,2, . . . , N, indicates that a plurality of quadrature PCWMs108can be included in a structure such as the DQMPA100ofFIG. 1, and thus indicates the kth quadrature PCWM108. The bitwise modulation signals m1kand m2kcan be created from logic according Table 1 below.

Alternatively, the bitwise modulation signals m1kand m2kfor the kth quadrature PCWM108can be derived as given by:
m1k=sign·bk
m2k=sign ·bk(5)
Of course, the above logic is not the only way to use the PCWM108. Those skilled in the art will readily recognize that other variations of the above logic for using the PCWM108are within the purview of the embodiments disclosed herein. Each instance of the quadrature PCWM108shown inFIG. 1is equivalent to N paralleled cells, J1, J2, . . . , JN, e.g. of a power amplifier structure. The N paralleled cells are subject to gain drop when the number of enabled cells increases as illustrated inFIG. 7(a) and phase shift as illustrated inFIG. 7(b) where N is the number of cells coupled in parallel, and where s is the number of enabled cells, respectively. For cells of equal size, gain drop appears in such a way that when fewer cells are enabled, the gain is higher compared to when more cells are enabled. Gain drop arises because once a cell is disabled the cell has much higher resistance than it does when enabled. A reduction in the load impedance or an increase in the output impedance of the cells can reduce the gain drop. Under extreme conditions, gain drop can be completely solved when the load impedance is zero or the output impedance is infinite. In the former, the output power efficiency is zero, and in the latter it is not possible. Phase shift arises because of the difference in reactance between the on-state impedance and the off-state impedance. Gain drop influences the amplitude of the output signal, and together with phase shift can destroy the EVM (Error Vector Magnitude) of the output signals. Gain drop may be compensated for in the analog or digital domain. However, phase shift compensation is more difficult when commingled with gain drop as it requires a two dimensional compensation technique. In order to avoid two-dimensional compensation and reduce the difficulty associated with unit cell design, it is desirable to minimize the phase shift.

FIG. 8illustrates an embodiment of an I-channel portion of a quadrature PCWM300which includes the I-channel PCWM modulator200shown inFIG. 6optionally coupled to an impedance compensation circuit302which compensates for gain drop and reduce phase shift. The I-channel PCWM modulator200also has shut-down circuits304,306, to reduce clock leakage from clock nodes to the output nodes when the modulator is disabled. Those skilled in the art will readily recognize that a complimentary Q-channel PCWM can also include shut-down circuitry, and optionally have the same impedance compensation circuit. The impedance compensation circuit302is optionally coupled between the I-channel differential output nodes (vpi, vni) of the quadrature PCWM300. For one case, every PCWM modulator200can have its own impedance compensation circuit302, and for other cases, several PCWM modulators200not having impedance compensation circuits and one PCWM modulator200having an impedance compensation circuit are grouped together. The impedance compensation circuit302includes two RC circuits and a control transistor (S5). The first RC circuit includes a capacitor (c1) coupled in parallel with a resistor (r1) between a first terminal of transistor S5and I-channel differential output node vpi. The second RC circuit similarly includes a capacitor (c2) coupled in parallel with a resistor (r2) between a second terminal of transistor S5and I-channel differential output node vni. The control transistor S5electrically connects the first and second RC circuits when the I-channel portion of the quadrature PCWM300is disabled, i.e. when both of the bitwise modulation signals m1kand m2kare logic low as shown in Table 1. Under these conditions, a control signal (Z1k) applied to the gate of transistor S5is in a logic low state, causing PMOS transistor S5to switch on. The control signal Z1kis a function of the sign of binary signal bkas given by:
Z1k=bk(6)
The control signal Z1kapplied to the gate of control transistor S5is in a logic high state to activate control transistor S5if transistor S5is an NMOS transistor instead of a PMOS transistor.

The control transistor S5electrically disconnects the first and second RC circuits when the I-channel portion of the quadrature PCWM300is enabled, i.e. when either of the bitwise modulation signals m1kand m2kis logic high as shown in Table 1. Similar output impedance compensation can be provided for the Q-channel portion of the quadrature PCWM300. Activating the control transistor S5as a function of the operational state of the quadrature PCWM300causes the output impedance of the quadrature PCWM300to remain relatively unchanged in both enabled and disabled states, thus extending the linear region of the gain drop curve shown inFIG. 7(a) and reducing phase shift.

Each shut-down circuit302,304included in the I-channel portion of the quadrature PCWM300is coupled between a pair of the braches308,310and312,314having coupled output nodes. The shutdown circuits304,306electrically connect the output nodes of the common source transistors of the corresponding branches and couple the output nodes to a bias voltage (Vm) when the I-channel portion of the quadrature PCWM300is disabled. Each shutdown circuit304,306includes two series connected shutdown transistors (S1/S2or S3/S4). The source terminal of one shutdown transistor is connected to the output node of the common source transistors of one corresponding branch and the source terminal of the other shutdown transistor is connected to the output node of the common source transistors of the other corresponding branch. The drain terminals of the shutdown transistors are electrically connected together and to the bias voltage Vm.

Operation of the shut-down circuits304,306is described next with reference to the shutdown transistors as PMOS transistors. Those skilled in the art will readily recognize that the same operation can be achieved by reversing the state of the shut-down control signals if the shutdown transistors are NMOS transistors instead of PMOS transistors. During operation, the shut-down circuits304,306are disabled when the control signal Z1kis in a logic high state. When the quadrature PCWM300is disabled, PMOS transistors S1-S4short the floating nodes at the drains of the corresponding RF transistors T1/T4and T6/T8so that parasitic leakage from the clock inputs vine, vine to the RF I-channel output node vpi, vni of the quadrature PCWM300is effectively reduced. Also during the disable state, the floating nodes at the drains of the RF transistors T1, T4, T6and T8are connected to the bias voltage Vm, which provides a weak current leakage to the respective drains of the RF transistors and maintains a certain voltage potential close to the operating voltage when the I-channel portion of the quadrature PCWM300is enabled. In such a way, the shut-down circuits304,306reduce the switching disturbance caused by charging and discharging that occurs during a transition from the enabled state to the disabled state, or vice versa. As mentioned above, shut-down transistors S1-S5can be replaced by NMOS transistors with inverse control logic signaling. Also, additional common gate configured NMOS transistors can be inserted between the drains of NMOS transistors, T2, T3, T5and T7and the output nodes vpi and vni for relaxing the break-down requirements for T2, T3, T5and T7, as stacked transistors. Those skilled in the art will readily recognize that similar shutdown circuitry can be included in the Q-channel portion of the quadrature PCWM300. The impedance compensation and shut-down circuitry improves the gain drop and phase shift performance of the quadrature PCWM cells described herein.

FIG. 9illustrates another embodiment of an impedance compensation circuit400for use with the quadrature PCWM cells described herein. According to this embodiment, each RC circuit (c1/r1and c2/r2) of the impedance compensation circuit400further includes a tunable capacitive device (cv1, cv2) and a tunable resistive device (tune1, tune2) connected in parallel with the resistor (r1, r2) and capacitor (c1, c2) of the corresponding RC circuit. Capacitors c1and c2and resistors r1and r2provide impedance compensation when either the I-channel or Q-channel portion of a quadrature PCWM cell is disabled. Transistors tune1and tune2controlled by a tuning voltage vRtune, behave as variable resistance devices which provide fine tuning for resistance matching. Similarity, varactors cv1and cv2controlled by another tuning voltage, vCtune, behave as variable capacitance devices which provide fine tuning for capacitance matching. Adding the tunable capacitive and resistive devices to the impedance compensation circuit400further reduces the phase shift which can arise when switching between enabled and disabled states.

In normal cases, the output nodes of the quadrature PCWM cell have higher parasitic capacitance when the cell is enabled as compared to when the cell is disabled. In exceptional cases, the cell may have lower parasitic capacitance when the cell is enabled as compared to when the cell is disabled, and the impedance compensation circuit400optionally includes additional capacitors (c3and c4) and an additional NMOS control transistor (S5b). Control transistor S5bcouples the additional capacitance between the I-channel differential output nodes (vpi, vni) of the corresponding quadrature PCWM cell (or Q-channel output nodes) when the I-channel (or Q-channel) portion of the cell is enabled and decouples the additional capacitance when the I-channel (or Q-channel) portion of the cell is disabled. Transistor S5bis controlled by signal Z1kand is complementary to control transistor S5. That is, if S5is on S5bis off and vice-versa. In normal cases, capacitors c3, c4and control transistor S5bare not present, and in exceptional cases, capacitors c1and c2are not present. In either case, the impedance compensation circuit400provides resistive and capacitive fine tuning capability while accounting for parasitic capacitance of the quadrature PCWM cell to which the compensation circuit is coupled. A plurality of quadrature PCWM cells of the kind disclosed herein can be coupled together to form the DQMPA ofFIG. 1.

FIG. 10illustrates an embodiment of the DQMPA100having a plurality of the quadrature PCWMs108directly coupled to a load500. Each of the quadrature PCWMs108includes I-channel and Q-channel PCWM cells200,202of the kind disclosed herein. According to this embodiment, a first differential component (e.g. vpi and vpq) of the I-channel and Q-channel signals output by each of the quadrature PCWMs108are directly connected together to a first terminal of the load500. The second, complimentary component (e.g. vni and vnq) of the differential I-channel and Q-channel signals output by each of the quadrature PCWMs108are likewise directly connected together to a second terminal of the load500. The I and Q channel outputs can be merged by wire connections. However, non-linear crosstalk compensation may be desirable because the I and Q channel outputs can crosstalk with each other, especially when the signal amplitudes are large. Non-linearity caused by output crosstalk and gain drop can be compensated by two-dimensional digital compensation methods.

FIG. 11illustrates another embodiment of the DQMPA100which has a plurality of the quadrature PCWMs108coupled to the load500via a differential power combiner600. Again, each of the quadrature PCWMs108includes I-channel and Q-channel PCWM cells200,202of the kind disclosed herein. According to this embodiment, the differential output nodes (vpi I vni and vpq I vnq) of each quadrature PCWM108is coupled to the load500via the differential power combiner600. In one embodiment, the differential power combiner500includes two two-way Wilkinson power combiners. The first two-way Wilkinson power combiner input ports are coupled to the positive I-channel and Q-channel output nodes (vpi I vpq), and the second Wilkinson power combiner input ports are coupled to the negative I-channel and Q-channel output nodes (vni I vnq). The output port of the differential power combiner600are coupled to the differential load500, i.e., the first input node of the load500is coupled to the output port of the first Wilkinson power combiner, and the second input node of the load500is coupled to the output port of the second Wilkinson power combiner. The Wilkinson power combiners provide isolation between the differential I-channel and Q-channel outputs, hence one-dimensional digital compensation methods are sufficient as the phase shift introduced by impedance change are well compensated by described impedance compensation circuit302,400.

The exploded region represented by the dashed box shown inFIG. 11illustrates one of the Wilkinson power combiners in more detail. The Wilkinson power combiner includes transmission lines TL1and TL2coupled to the differential I-channel or Q-channel outputs as represented by impedance Z0. The transmission lines TL1and TL2are quarter wavelength and have a characteristic impedance of √{square root over (2)}·Zo. Alternatively, the Wilkinson power combiners can be implemented by replacing the transmission lines with a number of LC components such asnetworks.

Each quadrature PCWM108included in the DQMPA100ofFIGS. 10 and 11can have its own impedance compensation circuit302,400of the kind previously disclosed herein. Alternatively, a group of PCWM cells can be coupled to a single impedance compensation circuit302,400. In general, an impedance compensation circuit302,400is shared by Mc basic PCWM cell/cells, where Mc≧1 and is an integer. For the uniform and thermometer-coded case, Mc is a constant. For the non-uniformed thermometer-coded case, Mc can be a variable. That is, among Mc basic PCWM cells, only one PCWM cell has an impedance compensation circuit302,400, and the other PCWM cells do not have an impedance compensation circuit. In affect, the impedance compensation circuit302,400is thus shared by Mc PCWM cells. The impedance compensation circuit302,400can be shared in both the uniform and non-uniform cases. In the non-uniform case the compensation impedance can be controlled by varying the integer Mc. Sharing the impedance compensation circuit302,400among Mc PCWM cells of a DQMPA increases the area efficiency of the DQMPA, particularly when PCWM cell size is small and the size of the components used in the impedance compensation circuit are also very small.

The quadrature clock signals input to the quadrature PCWMs108ofFIGS. 10 and 11are AC coupled and DC biased. The amplitudes of the clock signals can be set by a programmable capacitor attenuation array, e.g. included in or associated with the clock driver circuit106ofFIG. 1. The DC bias can be programmed by a bias DAC, e.g. also included in or associated with the clock driver circuit106ofFIG. 1. Therefore, the over-drive status of the clock signals can be changed. For example, a larger clock signal over-drive voltage and a smaller conducting angle can increase power efficiency at the expense of more spurious harmonic emissions in the radio spectrum. However, the harmonics can be removed from the final load (the antenna), e.g. by filtering. Tuning the over-drive voltage of the local oscillator clock signals can also be used to better match the compensation curves, either in the digital or analog domain.

FIGS. 12(a)-(d) show different embodiments for coupling the load (Za) of an antenna to the output nodes vpx and vnx of the quadrature PCWMs108ofFIGS. 10 and 11. InFIG. 12(a), a network700of balanced differential nodes is used for coupling to a load having antenna impedance Za. The network700includes a capacitor (Ct) and a balun. InFIG. 12(b), a network702of balanced differential nodes is configured in single-ended mode and inFIG. 12(c) a network704is directly AC coupled via capacitors Cc1and Cc2to the load in differential mode.FIG. 12(d) shows a network706that couples the current output nodes vpx and vnx to the load through a filter706or other passive components. For the quadrature PCWM108ofFIG. 11, vpx and vnx inFIGS. 12(a)-12(d) correspond respectively to the first Wilkinson output port and the second Wilkinson output node. Alternatively, vpx and vnx inFIGS. 12(a)-12(d) correspond respectively to the merged outputs vp and vn for each quadrature PCWM108included in the DQMPA100ofFIG. 10.

The output power of the DQMPA100is related to the load impedance, and is preferably optimized to maximize power efficiency. On the other hand, the output voltage of the DQMPA100is preferably kept suitably low to satisfy the linearity requirements for different radio standards. In this case, the output power of a single DQMPA100may not be sufficient. To increase the output power and maintain linearity, multiple DQMPAs100can be used. For example, radio standards such as LTE (Long Term Evolution) mandate spectrum aggregation, meaning multiple DQMPAs100may be needed.

FIG. 13illustrates an embodiment of a system800including a plurality of the DQMPAs100coupled to a load represented by impedance Za. The load is connected to a power combiner802and each of the DQMPAs100is coupled to the power combiner802via a corresponding output network804. The power combiner802can be implemented with passive components, e.g. transformers, and the power combiner802can be either single-ended or differential.

FIG. 14illustrates another embodiment where the DQMPAs100are coupled to the load via Wilkinson power combiners806. Each Wilkinson power combiner806includes a ¼ wavelength transmission line having an impedance (Zc) that is a function of the output impedance (Zo) of the corresponding DQMPA100. Several stages of power combiners can be formed by using a hierarchy structure so that more power couplers can be connected in a tree-like manner. Doing so eases the DC power delivery demand placed on each individual power coupler. Each Wilkinson power combiner806can be either single-ended or differential.

A DQMPA100having N quadrature PCWMs108has acceptable linearity for small signal levels so that the DQMPA100operates within a linear region. However, as input signal amplitude increases close to the compression point of the DQMPA100, the gain drops because of a clamping effect caused by the limited supply voltage. This causes non-linearity as shown inFIG. 15(a). Under these conditions, a pre-distortion function such as the one shown inFIG. 15(b) is applied. The pre-distortion function is the inverse of the DQMPA gain function and compensates for gain drop, and the pre-distortion can be implemented in the digital domain by a Look-Up Table (LUT), yielding a more constant gain function. The output impedance compensation schemes illustrated inFIGS. 8 and 9and previously described herein are less ideally suited to compensate for DQMPA gain drop when the signal amplitude is close to or higher than the compression point of the DQMPA100. However, various techniques are disclosed herein to compensate for this and extend the linear region of the DQMPA gain function, further improving power efficiency.

FIG. 15(c) illustrates one embodiment where non-uniform and thermometer-coded DQMPA cells are employed. According to this embodiment, the size of the individual DQMPA cells can be made larger when the signal level becomes higher. If the gain function in the linear region is suitably flat, it is also possible to use uniform DQMPA cells and compensation cells together, as illustrated inFIG. 15(d), to boost the gain in the non-linear region. Doing so effectively reduces the size of a LUT used for digital pre-distortion. A drop or unevenness in the gain function can also be compensated for in the digital domain, e.g. using either uniform DQMPA cells with a complete digital compensation map as illustrated inFIG. 15(e) or non-uniform cells with digital compensation correction as illustrated inFIG. 15(f).