Abstract:
A microwave power amplifier includes first and second circuits each having first, second, third and fourth terminals. Each of the first and second circuits has functions of distributing an input signal to the second and third terminals and generating first and second output signals 180° out of phase with each other through the second and third terminals, respectively, adding a first pair of 180° out-of-phase input signals to the second and third terminals and outputting a first resultant signal through the first terminal, and adding a second pair of in-phase input signals to the second and third terminals and outputting a second resultant signal through the fourth terminal. The microwave power amplifier further includes a first amplifier circuit connected between the second terminal of the first circuit and the third terminal of the second circuit, a second amplifier circuit connected between the third terminal of the first circuit and the second terminal of the second circuit, and a feedback circuit connected between the fourth terminal of the first circuit and the first terminal of the second circuit. The first terminal of the first circuit serves as an input terminal of the microwave power amplifier, and the fourth terminal of the second circuit serves as an output terminal of the microwave power amplifier.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention generally relates to a microwave power amplifier using phase inverters, and more particularly to a microwave power amplifier such that a microwave input signal is distributed to unit amplifiers and output signals supplied therefrom are combined. 
     Recently, there has been considerable activity in the development of a microwave range high-output amplifier of the solid-state type. Generally, an input signal is distributed to unit amplifiers, the outputs of which are combined. 
     Referring to FIG. 1A, there is illustrated a conventional microwave power amplifier. An input signal in the microwave range is applied to a directional coupler 1 having a distribution loss of 3 dB and causing a 90° phase difference between two output signals. One of the two output signals from the directional coupler 1 is in phase with the input signal, and the other output signal is 90° out of phase. The two 90° out-of-phase output signals from the directional coupler 1 are respectively applied to unit amplifiers 2 and 3. Output signals from the amplifiers 2 and 3 are combined by a directional coupler 4, which generates an amplified output signal. When the input signal is reflected by the amplifiers 2 or 3, a reflected signal component is absorbed by a terminal resistor provided in each of the directional couplers 1 and 4. Thus, the return loss is small. 
     FIG. 1B illustrates another conventional microwave power amplifier of the Wilkinson type. An input signal is divided into two in-phase signals by a Wilkinson type power divider 5. The two signals from the power divider 5 are individually amplified by unit amplifiers 6 and 7. The output signals from the unit amplifiers 6 and 7 are combined by a Wilkinson type power divider 8 which generates an amplified output signal. 
     It is assumed that output power of each of the unit amplifiers 2, 3, 6 and 7 is represented by P0 (Watt). An insertion loss generated in each of the elements 1, 4, 5 and 8 when a signal passes therethrough once is represented by L1 (dB). In this case, the output power of each of the configurations shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B is 2P0·10 - (L1/10) (W). The output power of an extended configuration such that a circuit identical to the circuit shown in FIG. 1A or 1B is connected in parallel thereto, is 4PO·10 - (L1/10).spsp.z (W). FIG. 2 illustrates output power characteristics of the above-mentioned configurations. FIG. 2 also illustrates the output voltage characteristic of a simplified configuration in which a single unit amplifier is used. The output power of this configuration is P0 (W). 
     However, the conventional microwave power amplifiers shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B have a disadvantage in that a large power loss occurs in each of the elements 1, 4, 5 and 8. The gain of each of the configurations shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B is G0-2L1 (dB) where G0 (dB) is the gain of each of the unit amplifiers 2, 3, 6 and 7. Further, the gain of the aforementioned extended configuration is G0-4L1 (dB), and the gain of the aforementioned simplified configuration is G0 (dB). FIG. 2 also illustrates gain characteristics of the individual configurations. It can be seen from the graph of FIG. 2 that the gain of each conventional configuration is decreased by the loss generated in the directional couplers 1 and 4 or the power dividers 5 and 8. Further, it can be seen from the graph of FIG. 2 that the loss of gain decreases with an increase in the number of signals to be distributed and combined. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is a general object of the present invention to provide an improved microwave power amplifier in which the above-mentioned disadvantages are overcome. 
     A more specific object of the present invention is to provide a microwave power amplifier having an increased gain with high efficiency. 
     The above-mentioned objects of the present invention are achieved by a microwave power amplifier which includes first and second circuits each having first, second, third and fourth terminals. Each of the first and second circuits has the functions of distributing an input signal to the second and third terminals and generating first and second output signals 180° out of phase with each other through the second and third terminals, respectively, adding a first pair of 180° out-of-phase input signals applied to the second and third signals and outputting a first resultant signal through the first terminal, and adding a second pair of in-phase input signals applied to the second and third signals and outputting a second resultant signal through the fourth terminal. The microwave power amplifier further includes a first amplifier circuit connected between the second terminal of the first circuit and the third terminal of the second circuit, a second amplifier circuit connected between the third terminal of the first circuit and the second terminal of the second circuit, and a feedback circuit connected between the fourth terminal of the first circuit and the first terminal of the second circuit. The first terminal of the first circuit serves as an input terminal of the microwave power amplifier, and the fourth terminal of the second circuit serves an output terminal of the microwave power amplifier. 
     Further objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1A is a diagram of a conventional microwave power amplifier; 
     FIG. 1B is a diagram of another conventional microwave power amplifier; 
     FIG. 2 includes various graphs of characteristics of conventional microwave power amplifiers and microwave power amplifiers according to embodiments of the present invention; 
     FIG. 3 is a diagram of a microwave power amplifier according to a first preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 4 is a diagram of a more detailed configuration of the amplifier shown in FIG. 3; 
     FIGS. 5A and 5B are plan views of phase inverters which are applied to the present invention; 
     FIG. 6 is a plan view of a directional coupler used in the phase inverters shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B; 
     FIG. 7 is a diagram of a variation of the microwave power amplifier shown in FIG. 3; 
     FIG. 8 is a diagram of a microwave power amplifier according to a second preferred embodiment of the present invention; and 
     FIGS. 9A through 9C are plan views of alternative phase inverts. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     A description is given of a first preferred embodiment of the present invention with reference to FIG. 3. The microwave power amplifier according to the first embodiment of the present invention includes two four-terminal circuits 10 1  and 10 2 , two unit amplifiers 12 1  and 12 2 , and a feedback circuit 11. The four-terminal circuit 10 1  has four terminals P1, P2, Δ and Σ. An input signal Pin is applied to the terminal Δ and output signals are drawn from the terminals P1 and P2. There is a +90° phase difference between the terminals Δ and P1 and -90° phase difference between the terminals Δ and P2. Thus, there is a 180° phase difference between the terminals P1 and P2, and the signals drawn therefrom are 180° out of phase. The output signal from the terminal P1 is amplified by the unit amplifier 12 1  and applied to a terminal P2 of the four-terminal circuit 10 2 . Similarly, the output signal from the terminal P2 of the four-terminal circuit 10 1  is amplified by the unit amplifier 12 2  and applied to a terminal P1 of the four-terminal circuit 10 2 . The signals applied to the terminals P1 and P2 are combined in phase with each other and are drawn from a terminal Δ thereof. A resultant or feedback signal drawn from the terminal Δ of the four-terminal circuit 10 2  passes through the feedback circuit 11, and is then applied to the terminal Σ of the four-terminal circuit 10 1 . The feedback signal applied to the terminal Σ is distributed to the terminals P1 and P2, from which output signals in phase with each other are drawn. Then the signals drawn from the terminals P1 and P2 of the four-terminal circuit 10 1  pass through the unit amplifiers 12 1  and 12 2  and are then applied again to the terminals P2 and P1 of the four-terminal circuit 10 2 , respectively. The signals applied to the terminals P2 and P1 of the four-terminal circuit 10 2  are combined in phase with each other so that an output signal Pout is drawn from a terminal Σ thereof. It is noted that the input signal Pin passes through each of the unit amplifiers 12 1  and 12 2  two times. Thus, the gain of the microwave power amplifier shown in FIG. 3 is approximately twice the gain of the conventional microwave power amplifier shown in FIG. 1A or FIG. 1B. 
     FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a more detailed configuration of the microwave power amplifier shown in FIG. 3. In FIG. 4, &#34;&#34; indicates and open end of a transmission line, and &#34; &#34; indicates a grounded end of a transmission line. Each of the four-terminal circuits 10 1  and 10 2  is formed by a phase inverter, which will be described in detail later. The unit amplifier 12 1  connected between the terminal P1 of the phase inverter 10 1  and the terminal P2 of the phase inverter 10 2  is composed of an input matching circuit 12a, a field effect transistor (FET) 12b and an output matching circuit 12c in the same way as a conventional unit amplifier. The unit amplifier 12 2  connected between the terminal P2 of the phase inverter 10 1  and the terminal P1 of the phase inverter 10 2  is configured in the same way as the unit amplifier 12 1 . The unit amplifier 12 1  and 12 2  are adjusted so as to present the same gain characteristic and the same phase variation characteristic. It is noted that there is a possibility that the configuration may oscillate when there are differences in characteristics between the unit amplifiers 12 1  and 12 2 . The feedback circuit 11 connected between the terminal Σ of the phase inverter 10 1  and the terminal Δ of the phase inverter 10 2  is formed by a transmission line. 
     FIG. 5A is a diagram of a more detailed configuration of each of the phase inverters 10 1  and 10 2  shown in FIG. 4. The illustrated configuration is proposed in a copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/466,751, filed Jan. 1, 1990, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference. The phase inverter is made up of four directional couplers which are networks each composed of parallel coupled lines. Networks (directional couplers) 35 1 , 35 2 , 35 3  and 35 4  are of the ring coupler type and are arranged into a ring on a dielectric substrate 45. Terminals 30, 31, 32 and 33 corresponding to the aforementioned terminals Δ, P1, Σ and P2 respectively, are provided between adjacent directional couplers among the directional couplers 35 1  -35 4 . 
     As shown in FIG. 6, each of the directional couplers 35 1  -35 4  has a plurality of comb-shaped interdigital transmission lines. The transmission lines are electrically coupled to each other for every other transmission line through conductive jump wires 40. The directional coupler has four terminals 36, 37, 38 and 39. In a directional coupler of the open type, the terminal 39 (couple port) and the terminal 36 (main port) are both open. In a directional coupler of the grounded type, the terminals 36 and 39 are both grounded. In the open type directional coupler, there is a 90° phase difference between the terminal 37 (input port) and the terminal 38 (isolation port) at a center frequency f 0 . In the grounded type directional coupler, there is a -90° phase difference between terminals 37 and 38 at the center frequency f 0 . The directional coupler shown in FIG. 6 itself is known to a person having an ordinary skill in the art. 
     Turning to FIG. 5A, three directional couplers 35 2 , 35 3  and 35 4  are respectively provided between the terminals 31 and 32, 32 and 33, and 33 and 30 and are of the grounded type. The remaining directional coupler 35 1  provided between the terminals 30 and 31 is of the open type. When an input signal is applied to the terminal 30, 180° out-of-phase signals are drawn from the output terminals 31 and 33. Particularly at the center frequency f 0 , there is a +90° phase difference between a terminals 30 and 31, and the -90° phase difference between the terminals 30 and 33. 
     Referring to FIG. 5B, the directional couplers 35 1 , 35 2  and 35 3  are respectively provided between the terminals 30 and 31, 31 and 32, and 32 and 33 and are of the open type. The directional coupler 35 4  provided between the terminals 30 and 33 is of the grounded type. When an input signal is applied to the input terminal 30, 180° out-of-phase signals are drawn from the output terminals 31 and 33. Particularly, at the center frequency f 0 , there is a +90° phase difference between the terminals 30 and 31, and a -90° difference between the terminals 30 and 33. 
     As described previously, the transmission lines are formed by conductive patterns arranged on the dielectric substrate 45. That is, the transmission lines have a microstrip structure. Alternatively, the transmission lines are formed by copalaner waveguides, waveguides or strip lines. 
     Turning to FIG. 4, each of the phase inverters 10 1  and 10 2  has the same arrangement as the phase inverter shown in FIG. 5A. As described previously, the directional coupler 35 1  between the terminals Δ and the terminal P1 is of the open type, and the other directional couplers 35 2 , 35 3  and 35 4  are of the grounded type. When an input signal is applied to the terminal Δ, 180° out-of-phase output signals are drawn from the terminals P1 and P2. When an input signal is applied to the terminal Σ, output signals in phase with each other are drawn from the terminals P1 and P2. When two input signals in phase with each other are respectively applied to the terminals P1 and P2, a resultant output signal is drawn from the terminal Σ. When two 180° out-of-phase input signals are applied to the terminals P1 and P2, a resultant output signal is drawn from the terminal Δ. The above-mentioned operation of each of the phase inverter 10 1  and 10 2  is shown in Table 1. 
     
                       TABLE 1______________________________________Input (output) terminal           Output (input) terminals P1, P2______________________________________Δ         180° out of phaseΣ         in phase______________________________________ 
    
     The input signal Pin applied to the terminal Δ is distributed to the terminals P1 and P2, from which the 180° out-of-phase output signals are drawn. The output signals from the terminals P1 and P2 are amplified by the unit amplifiers 12 1  and 12 2 , and then applied to the terminals P2 and P1 of the phase inverter 10 2 , respectively. Then the signals applied to the terminals P2 and P1 of the phase inverter 10 2  are combined in 180° out-of-phase with each other and the resultant signal is drawn from the terminal Δ thereof. The resultant signal or feedback signal passes through the feedback circuit 11 and is then applied to the terminal Σ of the phase inverter 10 1 , which outputs the signals in phase with each other from the terminals P1 and P2 thereof. The output signals from the terminals P1 and P2 pass through the unit amplifiers 12 1  and 12 2  and are then applied to the terminals P2 and P1 of the phase inverter 10 2 , respectively. The phase inverter 10 2  adds the signals applied to the terminals P2 and P1 and generates the output signal through the terminal Σ thereof. 
     As indicated by the arrows in FIG. 4, the input signal Pin passes through each of the unit amplifiers 12 1  and 12 2  twice. The gain of the microwave power amplifier shown in FIG. 4 is 2G0-4L0 (dB) where L0 (dB) is a loss caused in each of the phase inverters 10 1  and 10 2  obtained when the signal passes therethrough once, and G0 is the gain (dB) of each of the unit amplifiers 12 1  and 12 2 . Thus, the gain of the microwave power amplifier shown in FIG. 4 is approximately twice the gain of the conventional configuration in which the input signal passes through the unit amplifier only once. The output power (W) of the microwave power amplifier shown in FIG. 4 is 2P0·10 - (L0/10) (W) where P0 is the output power of each of the unit amplifiers 12 1  and 12 2 . Thus, the output power of the configuration shown in FIG. 4 is approximately equal to that of the configuration shown in FIG. 1A or FIG. 1B. 
     Alternatively, it is possible to modify the terminal arrangement shown in FIG. 3 as indicated by the parentheses shown in FIG. 3. In the alternative, the input signal Pin applied to the terminal (Σ) is distributed to the terminals (P2) and (Pl) in phase and then amplified by the unit amplifiers 12 1  and 12 2 , respectively. The signals from the unit amplifiers 12 1  and 12 2  are applied to the terminals (P1) and (P2) of the phase inverter 10 2 , and then output through the terminal (Σ) in phase. The resultant signal from the terminal (Σ) passes through the feedback circuit 11 and is then applied to the terminal (Δ) of the phase inverter 10 1 . The signal applied to the terminal (Δ) of the phase inverter 10 1  is distributed to the terminals (P2) and (P1), from which 180° out-of-phase signals are drawn. The signals from the terminals (P2) and (P1) pass through the unit amplifiers 12 1  and 12 2  and are then applied to the terminals (P1) and (P2) of the phase inverter 10 2 , respectively. Then a resultant output signal is drawn from the terminal (Δ) of the phase inverter 10.sub. 2. 
     FIG. 7 is a bock circuit diagram of a variation of the circuit shown in FIG. 4. In FIG. 7, those parts which are the same as those shown in the previous figures are given the same reference numerals. The transmission line 11 forming the feedback circuit shown in FIG. 4 is replaced by a unit amplifier 12 3 . That is, an input terminal of the unit amplifier 12 3  is connected to the terminal Δ of the phase inverter 10 2 , and an output terminal thereof is connected to the terminal Σ of the phase inverter 10 1  The unit amplifier 12 3  is composed of an input matching circuit 12a, an FET 12b and an output matching circuit 12c in the same way as each of the unit amplifiers 12 1  and 12 2 . It is not necessary for the unit amplifier 12 3  to have the same characteristic as each of the unit amplifiers 12 1  and 12 2 . By using the unit amplifier 12 3 , the output power of the microwave power amplifier becomes closer to 2P0. The feedback signal from the phase inverter 10 2  is amplified by the unit amplifier 12 3 . Thus, it becomes possible to obtain a larger level difference between the first and second signals applied to each of the unit amplifiers 12 1  and 12 2  Thus, the output power obtained when the input signal is first supplied to each unit amplifier 12 1  and 12 2  becomes considerably smaller than that obtained when the input signal is supplied thereto for the second time. 
     A description is given of a second preferred embodiment of the present invention with reference to FIG. 8. The second embodiment of the present invention is composed of two phase inverters 10 1c  and 10 2c , two unit amplifiers A1 and A2, and the feedback circuit 11 formed by a transmission line. Each of the unit amplifiers A1 and A2 has the same configuration as the amplifier shown in FIG. 4. 
     The unit amplifier Al is composed of two phase inverters 10 1a  and 10 2a , two unit amplifiers 12 1a  and 12 2a , and a feedback transmission line 11a. Similarly, the unit amplifier A2 is composed of two phase inverters 10 1b  and 10 2b , two unit amplifiers 12 1b  and 12 2b  and a feedback transmission line 11b. The terminal P2 of the phase inverter 10 1c  is connected to the terminal Δ of the phase inverter 10 1a , and the terminal P1 of the phase inverter 10 1c  is connected to the terminal Δ of the phase inverter 10 1b . The terminal P1 of the phase inverter 10 2c  is connected to the terminal Σ of the phase inverter 10 2a , and the terminal P2 of the phase inverter 10 2c  is connected to the terminal Σ of the phase inverter 10 2b . 
     The second embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 8 corresponds to the combination of two amplifiers, each of which is the same as that shown in FIG. 4. Thus, the gain of the amplifier shown in FIG. 8 is 4G0-12L0 (dB), which is approximately four times as large as the gain of the conventional amplifier, G0- 4L1 (dB). On the other hand, the output power of the amplifier shown in FIG. 8 is 4P0·10 - (L0/10).spsp.2 (W), which is almost equal to that of the conventional amplifier. 
     Each of the aforementioned phase inverters may be replaced by a phase inverter shown in FIGS. 9A, 9B or 9C. The phase inverter shown in FIG. 9A is composed of a transmission line 51 having a terminal Δ and a transmission line 52 having terminals Σ, P1 and P2. Two coupling circuits are formed, one of which is coupled between the terminals Δ and P1, and the other which is coupled between the terminals Δ and P2. The phase inverter shown in FIG. 9B is composed of four networks (directional couplers) 53 1 , 53 2 , 53 3  and 53 4 . The network 53 4  between the terminals Δ and P2 is of the grounded type, and the other networks are of the open type. The phase inverter shown in FIG. 9C is composed of four networks 54 1 , 54 2 , 54 3  and 54 4 . The network 54 1  between the terminals Δ and P1 is of the open type, and the other networks are of the grounded type. Alternatively, each of the four-terminal circuit 10 1  and 10 2  may be formed by a magic T or a rat race. Alternatively, the transmission line of the feedback circuit 11c is replaced by a unit amplifier such as shown in FIG. 7. 
     Each of the unit amplifiers 12 1 , 12 2  and 12 3  is not limited to the aforementioned single-end amplifier using an FET. It is possible to use the configuration shown in FIG. 1A or IB. Alternatively, it is possible to configure the unit amplifier using a conventional push-pull amplifier. A filter or a phase shifter may be used for forming the aforementioned feedback circuit 11, 11a or 11b. 
     The present invention is not limited to the specifically described embodiments, and variations and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.