Patent ID: 12244274

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Referring now to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals designate identical or corresponding parts throughout the several views.

A device for amplification of an input signal according to embodiments of the disclosure may be applied to a transmission system for multi-band multi-mode transmission. Accordingly, embodiments of the disclosure will first be described with reference to this example situation. However, it will be appreciated that the present disclosure is not particularly limited to this specific example. Rather, a device for amplification of an input signal according to embodiments of the disclosure may be applied to other example situations and configurations as required.

FIG.1shows an example configuration of a transmission system1100including a device1000for amplification of an input signal according to embodiments of the disclosure. In this example situation, transmission system1100is a transmission system for multi-band multi-mode transmission, and comprises a device1000for amplification of the signal prior to transmission by the transmission system1100. The transmission system illustrated with reference toFIG.1may be located on the user equipment side of a wireless communication network. However, the transmission system may, alternatively, be located on a base station side of the wireless communication network, for example.

Now, referring toFIG.1, the device1000comprises amplification circuitry1004.

In this example, the amplification circuitry1004of device1000is configured in order to provide amplification of an input signal prior to transmission by the transmission system1100. The input signal, for which amplification is desired, is provided to the amplification circuitry1004through connection with an input section1006. The amplified signal, after being amplified by the amplification circuitry1004, is provided by the amplification circuitry1004to an output section1008of the device1000. Furthermore, power is supplied to the amplification circuitry1004through a connection to a power supply1010.

According to embodiments the disclosure, device1000comprises controller circuitry1002configured to control the operation of the device1000. That is, the controller circuitry1002is communicatively coupled to the both the amplification circuitry1004and the power supply1010and is configured to control the operations of these elements of the device1000and transmission system1100as required.

Since, in this example, the device1000is being used in a multi-band multi-mode transmission system1100, the input section1006is connected to a plurality of input terminals1012a,1012b,1012cand1012d. Each of the plurality of input terminals1012is configured to receive an input signal of a given input frequency for provision to the amplification circuitry1004for amplification prior to transmission by the transmission system1100. That is, a first portion of the input terminals1012may be configured to receive signals of a frequency band used by a 4G communication standard, while a second portion of the input terminals1012may be configured to receive signals of a frequency band for 5G communication standard or the like. Alternatively, or in addition, at least a portion of the input terminals1012may be configured to receive signals of a frequency band for 3G communication, or input signals of a frequency band or mode used in 3GPP communication standards or WiFi communication standards in accordance with the situation to which the embodiment of the disclosure is applied.

It will be appreciated that while, in this specific example, four input terminals1012are shown, it will be appreciated that the present disclosure is not particularly limited in this regard. Rather, the number of input terminals required will depend upon the number of frequency modes and bands on which the transmission system1100is configured to operate.

The plurality of input terminals1012are selectively coupled to the input section1006of the device1000. That is, in this example, the plurality of input terminals1012are connected to the input section1006of the device1000by a corresponding plurality of switches1014a,1014b,1014cand1014d. The plurality of switches1014are configured to selectively connect or disconnect the input section1006of the device1000from the corresponding input terminal1012. In certain examples, the plurality of switches1014may be controlled by the controller circuitry1002of the device1000. Alternatively, the switches may be controlled by other processing circuitry associated with the transmission system1100, for example. Furthermore, while a plurality of switches are shown inFIG.1, the present disclosure is not particularly limited in this regard. That is, any switching section may be provided for connecting the plurality of input terminals1012with the input section1006as required in accordance with the situation to which embodiments of the disclosure are applied.

Now, in the example ofFIG.1, the switches1014are configured to connect and disconnect the plurality of input terminals1012from the input section1006of the device1000in accordance with an operation of the transmission system1100. That is, when the transmission system1100is operating on a first frequency band associated with a first input terminal1012a, the corresponding switch1014ais configured to connect said first input terminal1012ato the input section1006. Then, if the transmission system begins operating on a second frequency mode or band associated with a second input terminal1012b, the switch1014ais configured to disconnect the first input terminal1012afrom the input section1006. Subsequently, the switch1014bis configured to connect the second input terminal1012bto the input section1006of the amplification circuitry1004. In this manner, input signals of a range of frequencies may be provided to the amplification circuitry1004for amplification.

Furthermore, in this example, the controller circuitry1002is configured to control the operation of the device1000in accordance with the input signal which is received, such that the amplification circuitry1004provides a level of amplification required to amplify the input signal to a target output power level. That is, the target output power level which is desired at the output section1008of the device1000may depend upon the frequency band of the input signal itself. In other words, signals of different radio frequencies may have different output power requirements. As such, the controller1002is configured to control the operation of the amplification circuitry1004such that the desired level of power output can be produced for the input signal which is received. The control of the amplification circuitry1004by the controller circuitry1002is described in more detail below.

As shown inFIG.1, in this example, two outputs from the amplification circuitry1004are provided. In this example, the first output of the amplification circuitry1004is connected to ground1016. The second output of the amplification circuitry1004is connected to both the power supply1010and the output section1008of the device1000. In this manner, the power supply1010provides power to the amplification circuitry1004for amplification of the input signal. That is, power supply1010provides a bias or supply voltage to the amplification circuitry1004of device1000.

In this example, the power supply1010of the transmission system1100comprises a DC power supply source1010aand a variable output converter1010b. In certain examples, where the transmission system is located in user equipment for example, the DC power supply source1010amay comprise a battery located in the transmission system1100. The DC power supply1010ais operable to provide a DC power of a certain supply voltage. Typically, in user equipment for example, the DC power supply, such as a lithium ion battery or the like, may be operable to provide supply voltage of 3.5V, for example. As shown inFIG.1, the DC power supply source1010ais connected to the variable output converter1010b. The variable output converter1010bis itself connected to the amplification circuitry1004of the device1000.

In this example, the variable output converter1010bof the power supply1010is a DC to DC type converter capable of outputting a voltage of a magnitude either greater than or less than the input voltage magnitude received from the DC power supply source1010a. It will be appreciated that the variable output converter1010bis not particularly limited in this regard. However, in this example, the variable output converter1010bmay be a Buck-Boost converter or the like.

The variable output converter1010bof the power supply1010is further controlled by the controller circuitry1002. That is, the controller is configured to control the variable output converter1010bof the power supply1010such that a desired supply voltage can be provided to the amplification circuitry1004.

Consider a situation, such as shown inFIG.1, whereby the device1000is implemented in a transmission system1100for multi-band multi-mode transmission. In this illustrative example, a signal of a first frequency may be received at the input terminal1006. According to embodiments of the disclosure, the controller circuitry1002is configured to determine, for this input signal, the desired output signal power which is required at the output section1008. That is, as noted above, in a multi-band multi-mode transmission means, the desired output power at the output section1008may depend upon the frequency band or mode of the input signal or distance of the UE terminal from the base station. The determination of the desired output signal power may be made by the controller circuitry1002in insolation or, alternatively, may be made by the controller circuitry1002through reference to a value or database stored in a memory of the device1000or transmission system1100.

Once the desired output signal power has been determined by the controller circuitry1002, the controller circuitry1002may instruct the power supply1010to provide the amplification circuitry1004with a certain supply voltage in order that the amplification circuitry1004may amplify the input signal to the desired output signal power.

The control of the power supply1010by the controller circuitry1002will be described in more detail below.

As such, according to embodiments of the disclosure, the specific operations of one or both of the power supply1010and the amplification circuitry1004are under the control of the controller circuitry1002such that a required level of amplification is provided to the input signal received at the input section1006in order to produce an output signal of the desired output power at the output section1008.

Once the input signal has been amplified by the amplification circuitry1004, the output signal of the amplification circuitry1004is provided to the output section1008of the device1000.

The output section1008is connected to a plurality of switches1018a,1018b,1018cand1018d. The plurality of switches1018are configured to connect the output section1008to a corresponding plurality of output terminals1020a,1020b,1020cand1020d. It will be appreciated that the configuration of the plurality of outputs terminals1020is not particularly limited to the number or configuration of output terminals1020shown inFIG.1. Rather, any number of output terminals1020may be provided in accordance with the number of frequency bands on which the transmission system1100is configured to operate. Typically, the number of output terminals1020will correspond to the number of input terminals1012. Moreover, it will be appreciated that the operation of the plurality of switches1018may be controlled in the manner described above for control of the plurality of switches1014on the input side.

FIG.1therefore illustrates a example of a transmission system1100comprising a device1000for amplification of an input signal according to embodiments of the disclosure, whereby input signals from a range of frequency bands received at the input section1006may be amplified by amplification circuitry1004, under the control of the controlling circuitry1002, to provide an output signals of desired target output power at the output section1008.

The operations of the amplification circuitry1004and power supply1010under the control of the controller circuitry1002of the device1000will now be explained in more detail with reference toFIGS.2,3and4of the present disclosure.

Amplification Circuitry:

As described above, it is desirable that the amplification circuitry1004of the device1000has a wide power bandwidth, such that the amplification circuitry1004can provide efficient power amplification across the full frequency range of input signals which are input to the device1000for amplification, such as the range of frequencies used in a multi-band multi-mode transmission system1100as described with reference toFIG.1above.

The power bandwidth of a power amplification device1004, that is, the frequency range over which the rated power output of the amplifier can be maintained, will be increased when the output impedance of the power amplification device is closer to the load impedance of that device.FIG.2shows the effect of impedance matching on power amplification bandwidth according to embodiments of the disclosure. That is, an illustration of a simulation of frequency against dB single pole impedance matching for a power amplification device1000with the load impedance is shown. In this example, the load impedance has a value of 50Ω. However, the present disclosure is not particularly limited in this regard. Rather, it is the degree of matching between the impedance of the power amplification circuitry1004and the load impedance which is required to provide the wider bandwidth.

Three simulations are shown inFIG.2, whereby the output impedance of the power amplification of the power amplification device is matched to 5Ω, 20Ω and 40Ω respectively using single pole impedance matching which is typically deployed in UE power amplifiers in order to maintain size, high efficiency and reduced component costs.

As can be seen from the simulation illustrated with reference toFIG.2, the bandwidth of the power amplification device becomes wider the closer the output impedance of the power amplification device is matched to the load impedance of 50Ω. That is, when the output impedance of the power amplification is 5Ω the bandwidth of the power amplification device is significantly narrower than the bandwidth of the power amplification device when the output impedance of the power amplification device is closer to the load impedance of 50Ω for example.

Accordingly, in order to increase the bandwidth of the amplification device1004and provide efficient amplification of the input signal, the output impedance of the power amplification device1004should be matched with, or brought closer to, the load impedance of the device1000.

However, in a multi-mode multi-band transmission system as described with reference toFIG.1above, the target power output of the power amplification device1004may vary in accordance with the frequency of the input signal itself. That is, certain frequency bands may require that the transmission system uses a higher transmission power to transmit on those bands.

The inventors have realised that the physical dimensions of the power amplification device are uniquely constrained by the required load impedance the output power of the power amplification device. That is, the physical dimensions of the power amplification device must be specifically constructed in order to achieve the target output power Poutinto a load impedance Rload.

Consider, for example, a situation whereby the power amplification device is a transistor such as a field effect transistor.FIG.3shows an example of a current voltage curve for a field effect transistor according to embodiments of the disclosure. Specifically, a graph of drain to source voltage Vdrainagainst drain current IDSis shown. The maximum value of drain current Imaxis achieved when the gate to source voltage Vgatehas the highest value (depending upon whether the device is depletion or enhancement mode). That is, inFIG.3, different simulations300,304of Vdrainagainst IDSare shown. In the example ofFIG.3, the simulation300is at a lower Vgatethan the simulation302. It will be appreciated that the knee voltage Vkfor the curve at maximum value of Vgatecan be used to calculate the voltage excursion of the transistor as V0−Vk, wherein V0is the input supply voltage to the transistor (such as drain voltage in the case of a field effect transistor).

Accordingly, the maximum power output of the field effect transistor can be calculated using Equation 1:

Pout⁡(ma⁢⁢x)=(V0-Vk)⁢Idmax4(Equation⁢⁢1)

wherein Pout(max)is the maximum output power of the transistor.

However, the maximum current Idmaxwhich a transistor can supply depends upon the physical dimensions of the transistor itself. For example, in the case of a field effect transistor, the maximum current the field effect transistor can supply is given by the equation:
Idmax=KWg(Equation 2)
wherein K is a constant with units A/mm and Wgis the gate width of the transistor. Accordingly, the maximum current Idmaxwhich can be achieved depends on the physical dimension, namely the gate width Wg, of the field effect transistor. Accordingly, given the relationship between power, current and resistance, the gate width can be shown to be governed by Equation 3:

Wg=2K⁢PoutRload(Equation⁢⁢3)

wherein, Poutis the output power of the transistor and Rloadis the load impedance of the transistor. The load impedance is the impedance that results in the maximum output power for the device as calculated in Equation 1 of the present disclosure. Accordingly, the transistor dimension required to achieve a target output power into a given load impedance can be determined. In other words, for any given load impedance there is a single transistor dimension which can provide a target power output into that load resistance.

Of course, while illustrated here with reference to a field effect transistor, it will be appreciated that the above principles apply to other types of transistor (such as a heterojunction bipolar transistor or the like). Moreover, while illustrated here with reference to maximum output power, it will be appreciated that the above principles apply also to other types of situation, such as where power amplifier efficiency or linearity is targeted (rather than maximum output power).

Accordingly, since the impedance of the power amplifier is matched to the load impedance (to provide a wide power bandwidth) and the required output power varies in accordance with the input signal itself, there is a problem in how to provide a single power amplification device which can achieve a efficient amplification over a wide range of output powers and input frequencies.

FIG.4shows an example of the internal configuration of amplification circuitry1004in accordance with embodiments of the disclosure.

In this example, the amplification circuitry1004comprises a plurality of transistors4000a,4000band4000cswitchably connectable through operation of a corresponding plurality of switches4002a,4002band4002c. That is, in this example, the plurality of transistors are arranged such that they may be switched in a parallel fashion in order to vary an effective physical dimension of the amplification circuitry1004. The plurality of switches4002a,4002band4002cof the amplification circuitry1004are configured to be controllable by the controller circuitry1002of the device1000as described with reference toFIG.1above.

According to embodiments of the disclosure, the controller circuitry1002of the device1000is first configured to determine a target output power level of the device1000. As described above, the target output power level may be determined in accordance with the frequency band of the input signal for example or the distance of the UE from the base station. Then, the controller1002is configured to control a state of connection between the plurality of switchable transistors4000of the amplification circuitry1004in order to change an effective physical dimension of the amplification circuitry1004in accordance with a load impedance of an output amplification circuitry1004, in order that the amplification circuitry1004may efficiently amplify the input signal to the target output power level of for the load impedance.

Consider an example situation whereby the plurality of switchable transistors4000of the amplification circuitry1004comprise field effect transistors. In this example situation, the physical dimension of the amplification circuitry1004which may be varied by the controller circuitry1002will be the effective gate width of the amplification circuitry1004. As such, the controller circuitry1002may be configured to determine the required effective gate width of the amplification circuitry1004, through use of Equation 3 of the present disclosure, for example. Tat is, the controller circuitry1002can determine the effective gate width of the amplification circuitry1004which is required in order to efficiently produce the target power output into the load impedance of the device1000, for a given input signal.

Once the effective gate width of the amplification circuitry1004has been determined, the controller circuitry1002is configured to operate the plurality of switches4002between the plurality of transistors4000in order to adaptively connect or disconnect transistors. In this example whereby the plurality of transistors4000comprise field effect transistors, increasing the number of transistors4000which are connected in parallel thus increases the effective gate width of the amplification device1004.

That is, if the controller circuitry1002determines the effective gate width of the amplification device1004shown inFIG.4required to produce the output power is lower than the current effective gate width of the amplification circuitry1004, the controller circuitry1002is configured to disconnect a portion of the plurality of transistors4000. Thus, the effective gate width of the amplification circuitry1004will be decreased. In contrast, if the controller circuitry1002determines that the current effective gate width of the amplification circuitry1004is too low to produce the required output power, the controller circuitry1002is configured to control the switches to increase the number of transistors of the plurality of transistors4000which are connected in parallel.

As such, according to embodiments of the disclosure, effective physical dimension scalable amplification circuitry1004is provided, whereby the effective physical dimension of the amplification circuitry1004can be controlled by the controller circuitry1002in accordance with a power output requirement and the load resistance of the amplification circuitry1004or device1000.

It will be appreciated that the amplification circuitry1004is not particularly limited to the specific example of the internal configuration illustrated with reference toFIG.4. Rather, any internal configuration of amplification circuitry1004comprising a switchable plurality of transistors4000may be provided in accordance with embodiments of the disclosure. For example, any number of transistors4000may be provided within the amplification circuitry1004, and the internal configuration of the amplification1004is not limited to the number of the transistors4000shown inFIG.4. Moreover, the transistors4000may be arranged in any suitable configuration, such as connectable in series and or in parallel, in accordance with the requirements of the situation and the type of transistor used in the amplification circuitry1004.

Furthermore, the plurality of transistors4000may be configured in a manner such that transistor4000ais connectable to transistor4000cindependently of the state of connection of transistor4000c, for example. Moreover, in this situation, the plurality of transistors may be non-uniform and may individually provide a range of physical dimensions (such as a range of gate widths for field effect transistors). That is, the physical dimension of transistor4000amay be different to that of transistor4000band/or transistor4000c. Providing non-uniform switchably connectable transistors in this manner further increases the number of internal configurations of the amplification circuitry1004and thus increases the range of effective gate widths of the amplification circuitry1004which can be adaptively provided by the device1000under the control of the controller circuitry1002.

Variable Power Supply:

In addition to controlling the internal state of the amplification circuitry1004as described above, the controller circuitry1002of the device1000may be configured such that it is operable to control the DC voltage which is supplied to the amplification circuitry1004from the power supply1010.

That is, it will be appreciated that the amplification circuitry1004requires a bias or supply voltage from the power supply1010in order to perform the required amplification of the input signal. However, the supply voltage which is required in order to provide the target power output depends upon load resistance into which the output power must be supplied. As such, the controller circuitry1002may be configured to vary the supply the voltage in accordance with the target power requirement and load resistance of the output of the device1000.

As described with reference toFIG.2above, matching the output impedance of the amplification circuitry1004to the load impedance of the device1000increases the power bandwidth of the amplification circuitry1004, thus improving the efficiency of the power amplification circuitry1004. However, since the impedance of the power amplifier thus remains constant, a higher target output power of the amplification circuitry (when operating on a frequency band requiring a higher power output, for example) requires a higher level of supply voltage to be provided to the amplification circuitry1004.

Consider an example whereby the plurality of transistors of the amplification circuitry1004comprise field effect transistors. The voltage is governed by the equation:
V=IR(Equation 4)
wherein V is the voltage, I is the current and R is the resistance. Using the voltage excursion of the transistor and the definition of max current provided by Equation 2 of the present disclosure, the required operating supply voltage can be determined as:
V0=Vk+KWgRload(Equation 5)
wherein V0is the operating supply voltage, Vkis the knee voltage, K is a constant in units A/mm, Wgis the effective gate width and Rloadis the load impedance of the amplification circuitry1004.

Of course, while illustrated here with reference to a field effect transistor, it will be appreciated that the above principles apply to other types of transistor (such as a heterojunction bipolar transistor or the like) which may be used with the amplification circuitry1004of the device1000in accordance with embodiments of the disclosure.

Accordingly, the controller circuitry1002of device1000is able to determine the supply voltage required to provide the target power output into a load impedance Rloadgiven the effective physical dimension, such as the gate width Wg, of the amplification circuitry1004.

Consider an example situation, whereby, based on the effective physical dimension of the amplification circuitry1004and the load resistance of the output device, the controller circuitry1002determines that a higher target power output is required. In this case, the controller may be configured to determine that the supply voltage must be increased. In the example transmission system1100described with reference toFIG.1above, the controller may thus inform the variable output converter1010bto increase the level of the supply voltage from the DC power supply source1010a.

Receiving the higher level of supply voltage enables the amplification circuitry1004to produce the target power output for the input signal. The amplified signal is then passed to the output section1008of the device for subsequent transmission by the transmission system1100.

Alternatively, consider an example whereby the controller circuitry1002determines that the supply voltage being received by the amplification circuitry1004is too high for the target power output. Setting the supply voltage too high decreases the efficiency of the amplification circuitry1004and device1000. In this case, the controller circuitry1002is configured to control the power supply1010, in particular, the variable output converter1010b, in order to decrease the supply voltage being supplied by the power supply1010to the amplification circuitry1014. Accordingly, an appropriate level of power may be received by the amplification circuitry1004for amplification of the input signal.

As such, according to embodiments of the disclosure, a scalable voltage source is provided which can provided an increased or decreased level of supply voltage to the amplification circuitry1004under the control of the controller circuitry1002, in order to provide sufficient power to the amplification circuitry1004to amplify the input signal to the target output power level into the load impedance for a wide range of frequencies of input signals.

Technical Effect:

The device1000described with reference toFIG.1of present disclosure is thus able to provide an efficient and appropriate level of amplification across the wide range of frequencies for which amplification is required. Furthermore, said amplification can be provided by a single amplification device1004, comprising a plurality of switchably connectable transistors. In other words, a single voltage scalable and physical dimension scalable amplification circuitry1004may be used in order to efficiently provide the desired amplification level for any frequency band or frequency mode of operation.

Moreover, since efficient amplification across a wide frequency range can be provided using a single power amplification circuitry1004, the cost and complexity of producing the device1000for amplification of an input signal is reduced.

Of course, it will be appreciated that the present disclosure is not particularly limited to these advantageous technical effects, there may be others.

Additional Modifications:

In addition to the example configuration described with reference toFIG.1, the device1000according to embodiments of the disclosure may also be provided in the following arrangements.

According to embodiments of the disclosure, the effective physical dimension of the power amplification circuitry1004may be adjusted during operation of the device1000through switching of a plurality of connectable transistors4000. One such type of transistor which may be used according to embodiments of the disclosure is, as described above, a field effect transistor. However, it will be appreciated that the present disclosure is not particularly limited in this regard. Rather, the types and ranges of transistors or amplification devices used in the amplification circuitry may depend upon the specific circumstances and situations to which embodiments of the disclosure are being applied.

Consider the example whereby the device1000is applied to a transmission system such as the transmission system1100described with reference toFIG.1of the present disclosure. As noted above, different frequency bands, and different modes of transmission, used by the transmission system may have different output power requirements which must be met by the device1000. In particular, certain modes and bands for a communication system such as 5G or the like may have particularly high output power requirements. Of course, it will be appreciate that high power output requirements demand a correspondingly high bias or supply voltage be supplied to the amplification circuitry1004.

In these situations, where a higher supply voltage is required, a semiconductor process which can support the high supply voltages may be used in accordance with embodiments of the disclosure. A field effect transistor employing III-V materials, such Gallium Nitride (GaN) or Gallium Arsenide (GaAs), or the like, may be particularly advantageous in these situations. Use of a field effect transistor employing III-V materials such as GaN may permit operation at supply voltages such as 5 to 20 volts. It will be appreciated that the supply voltage is not particularly limited to this range however, and supply voltages below, or indeed in excess, of this range may be used in accordance with embodiments of the disclosure.

Alternatively, the amplification circuitry1004of the present disclosure may comprise a plurality of junction pseudomorphic high electron-mobility transistors (JPHEMTs), PHEMTs or the like. Alternatively, Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect Transistors may be used in accordance with embodiments of the disclosure. Indeed, any plurality of switchable transistors or power amplification devices may be used in accordance with embodiments of the disclosure. For example, Bipolar Junction Transistors, such as heterojunction bipolar transistors, may be used in accordance with embodiments of the disclosure as required.

That is, as noted above, the choice of the plurality of transistors which are used in the amplification circuitry1004will depend upon the situation to which the embodiments of the disclosure are applied, and is not particularly limited in this regard.

In the example described with reference toFIG.1above, a plurality of input and output terminals are provided in the transmission system1110. These input and output terminals may be configured to perform input and output on a plurality of frequency bands and modes. According to embodiments of the disclosure, these input and output terminals are switchably connectable to the input and output sections of the amplification circuitry1004. Furthermore, according to embodiments of the disclosure, a plurality of band specific incremental input matching devices may be provided between the plurality of input terminals1012of the transmission system1100and the input section1006of the amplification circuitry1004of the device1000. Furthermore, according to embodiments of the disclosure, a plurality of band specific incremental matching and filtering devices may be provided between the output section1008of the amplification circuitry1004and the output terminals1020of the transmission system1100.

Moreover, while the plurality of input and output terminals are shown as being part of the transmission system1100inFIG.1, it will be appreciated that the present disclosure is not particularly limited in this regard. That is, according to embodiments of the disclosure, at least one of either the plurality of input terminals and/or the plurality of output terminals may be provided within the device1000itself.

Furthermore, since the power amplification can be provided by a single power amplification device1004, according to embodiments of the disclosure, the entire device1000may be formed on a single integrated circuit chip. This is particularly advantageous since the physical distances between the power amplification circuitry and the corresponding switches can be kept very low. Reducing the physical distances between the components of the device1000in this manner reduces the changes in impedance between the components, thus further improving the efficiency of the device1000.

It will be appreciated that, while inFIG.1, a single amplification circuitry1004is provided in the device1000, the present disclosure is not particularly limited in this regard. Tat is, a plurality of amplification means1004may be provided within a device1000in accordance with the situation to which the embodiments of the disclosure are being applied. For example, in a transmission system whereby transmission is performed on a plurality of frequency bands simultaneously, such as a Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) transmission system or Carrier Aggregation (CA) transmission systems or the like, it may be particularly advantageous to provide a plurality of amplification circuitry1004such that amplification can be provided on a plurality of frequency bands simultaneously.

In this situation, it will be appreciated that each of the individual amplification circuitry1004may be comprise a plurality of switchably connectable transistors4000as described above with reference toFIG.4of the present disclosure, such that an effective physical dimension of each amplification circuitry1004may be individually changed by the controller circuitry1002in accordance with the specific frequency band which that amplification circuitry1004is required to perform amplification on at a given instance of time.

Even in this a transmission means whereby transmission is performed on a plurality of frequency bands simultaneously, the number of individual power amplification circuitries1004which are required may be reduced compared to known power amplification circuitries. That is, since each individual amplification circuitry1004may perform efficient amplification of the input signal across the range of frequency bands, a reduced number of amplification means, equal to the number of frequency bands upon which simultaneous transmission is required to be performed, may be provided.

Furthermore, while the above example has been described with reference to a multi-band multi-mode transmission system, it will be appreciated that the teachings of the present disclosure may be applied more generally to any system which requires amplification of an input signal, or input signals across a range of input frequencies. For example, embodiments of the disclosure may be applied to communication and transmission systems within a networked system such as the Internet of Tings or the like. Moreover, while the above has been described primarily with reference to a user equipment side of transmission, a device1000according to embodiments of the disclosure may be applied more generally to a base station side of the communication system or the like.

Furthermore, according to embodiments of the disclosure, the controller1002may be configured to perform scaling of the supply voltage independently of scaling of the effective physical dimension of the amplification circuitry or visa versa. For example, in a situation whereby the current effective physical dimension of the amplification circuitry1004is sufficiently close to the required effective physical dimension determined by the controller circuitry1002for example, the controller circuitry may be configured to perform control only of the input supply voltage provided by the power supply1010. In other words, where the discrepancy between the impedance of the power amplification means and the load impedance is sufficiently small, effective amplification of the input signal to the target output transmission power in accordance with the load resistance may be performed by performing adjustment of the supply voltage alone.

Alternatively, in certain situations, such as whereby the supply voltage being supplied to the amplification circuitry1004is sufficiently close to the required supply voltage determined by the controller circuitry1002for example, effective amplification of the input signal to the target output transmission power in accordance with the load resistance may be performed by performing adjustment of the effective physical dimension of the amplification circuitry1004alone.

Selectively performing the adjustment of the effective physical dimension of the amplification circuitry1004, and likewise, selectively performing the adjustment of the input supply voltage from the power supply1010, in this manner further improves the efficiency of the operation of the amplification circuitry1004and device1000.

A variable output converter1010b, such as a Buck-Boost converter or the like, may be used in accordance with embodiments of the disclosure to increase or decrease the DC bias voltage being supplied to the amplification circuitry1004of the device1000. As noted above, certain types of semiconductor material may be particularly suited to higher supply voltages. However, the voltage applied across an individual semiconductor device is limited by the physical material properties of the semiconductor, as high voltages can cause breakdown of the semiconductor material.

In situations whereby the level of the supply voltage exceeds the maximum supply voltage of the semiconductor material of the plurality of transistors or amplification devices provided in the amplification circuitry, or indeed exceeds the maximum available supply voltage from the variable voltage supply source or output converter, the architecture of the amplification circuitry1004may be constructed such that the required bias voltage across the amplification circuitry1004can be achieved while maintaining the voltage across each individual transistor within the maximum supply voltage of the semiconductor material or the maximum available supply voltage from the variable voltage supply source or output converter. For example, providing a series stack of transistors, such as field effect transistors, switchably connectable in parallel for a DC connection (or in series for RF) within the amplification circuitry in accordance with embodiments of the disclosure, enables the controller to control the effective physical dimension of the amplification circuitry while enabling higher supply voltages to be provided to the amplification circuitry, since a reduced DC supply voltage may be applied across each of the transistors within the series stack.

In addition to the above described example configurations, more generally, according to embodiments of the disclosure, a device, method and computer program product for amplification of an input signal may be provided as described in detail below with reference toFIGS.5and6of the present disclosure.

Device for Amplification of Input Signal:

FIG.5shows a device for amplification of an input signal in accordance with embodiments of the disclosure. The device5000is a device, such as device1000, for amplification of input signals. Device5000comprises amplification circuitry5004, control circuitry5002and a variable voltage input5006connected to the amplification circuitry. Controller circuitry5002may be a microprocessor or other type of processing circuitry. For the specific situation whereby the device5000is implemented in a UE or the like, the controller5002may comprise at least a portion of a baseband LSI which exists in the UE, for example. In certain examples, controller circuitry5002could be equivalent to controller circuitry1002of device1000, for example.

In this embodiment, the amplification circuitry5004comprises a plurality of switchable transistors. An example of the internal configuration of the amplification circuitry5004is as described with reference toFIG.4above. However, the amplification circuitry5004is not particularly limited in this regard. Rather, any internal configuration of transistors may be provided within the amplification circuitry5004, insofar as a state of connection between the plurality of switchable transistors may be changed under the control of the controller circuitry5004in order to change an effective physical dimension of the amplification circuitry5004.

Furthermore, the variable voltage input5006is connected to the amplification circuitry5004of the device5000. An example of a variable voltage input5006supply source is described with reference toFIG.1above. However, the variable voltage input supply source5006is not particularly limited in this regard. Rather, any such power source capable of providing a variable supply voltage to the amplification circuitry5004under the control of the controller circuitry5002may be used in accordance with embodiments of the disclosure. That is, the voltage supply source itself need not be located within the device5000itself, insofar as the controller circuitry5004of the device5000is able to control the input voltage supplied to the amplification circuitry5004. According to embodiments of the disclosure, this could be achieved through the use of a voltage converter or the like external or internal to device5000.

The controller circuitry5002of the device5000may be communicatively coupled with the amplification circuitry and/or the amplification circuitry either directly or indirectly. According to embodiments of the disclosure, the controller circuitry5002is configured in order to set a target output power level of the device5000. The target output power level of the device5000may, in certain example situations, be set according to frequency band or mode of the input signal or distance of the UE terminal from the base station. The target output power level of the device may be set by the controller in accordance with a received instruction. Alternatively, the target output power level of the device may be set based upon a determination performed by the controller itself.

Subsequently, once the target output power level of the device5000has been set, the controller5002is configured to control at least one of a state of connection between the plurality of switchable transistors of the amplification circuitry5004(to change an effective physical dimension of the amplification circuitry5004) and/or a level of the variable voltage input, in accordance with a load impedance of an output of the amplification circuitry5004. The control is performed by the controller circuitry5002in order that the input signal is amplified to the target power level, for that load impedance.

In this manner, any required level of output power can be delivered into any given load impedance by varying the supply voltage of the device5000and/or the effective physical dimension of the amplification circuitry5004.

Method of Amplification of Input Signal:

FIG.6shows a method of controlling a device for amplification of an input signal in accordance with embodiments of the disclosure. The method steps may be performed by controller circuitry5002of a device such as device5000described with reference toFIG.5above.

The method begins in step S6000and proceeds to step S6002.

In step S6002, the method comprises setting a target output power level of the device. The method of setting the target output power level of the device is not particularly limited. For example, in a multi-band multi-mode transmission system such as that described with reference toFIG.1above, the target output power level may depend upon the frequency of the input signal itself. However, the target output power level may be determined by any appropriate method in accordance with the situation to which embodiments of the disclosure are applied. For example, the target output power level may be determined by the controller circuitry5002in accordance with a transmission requirement or an internal state of the device5000. Alternatively or in addition, the target output power level of the device may be predetermined in advance and retrieved from an internal storage of device5000or controller5002or the like. Alternatively or in addition, the target output power level of the device may be set in accordance with a received instruction. In certain example situations, the target output power level may be set based on a frequency mode or band of operation and/or a distance from the transmission target (such as a basestation or the like).

Once the target output power level has been set, the method may proceed to either S6004or S6006. That is, according to embodiments of the disclosure, the controller may be configured to perform method step S6004and/or method step S6006.

In step S6004, the method comprises controlling a state of connection between the plurality of switchable transistors of the amplification circuitry5004in order to change an effective physical dimension of the amplification circuitry5004. The manner of controlling the state of connection between the plurality of switchable transistors in accordance with embodiments of the disclosure is not particularly limited. For example, the plurality of transistors may be connected by a corresponding plurality of switches as described above with reference toFIG.4. Alternatively, the transistors may be switchable through an alternative mechanism such as individual shorting of the transistors or the like. That is, any such mechanism may be used in accordance with embodiments of the disclosure, provided that the state of connection is controlled in accordance with a load impedance of an output of the amplification circuitry5004, to amplify the input signal to the target output power level for that load impedance.

Once the state of connection between the plurality of switchable transistors of the amplification circuitry5004has been controlled as described above, the method proceeds to either step S6006or step S6008. That is, as noted above, step S6006and/or S6008may be performed by the controller circuitry5002in accordance with embodiments of the disclosure.

In step S6008, following either step S6004or step S6006as described above, the method according to embodiments of the disclosure comprises determining a level of the variable voltage input in accordance with a load resistance of an output of the device5000, required to amplify the input signal to the target output power level. It will be appreciated that the method of determining the level of the variable voltage input is not particularly limited. For example, the method described with reference toFIG.1of the present disclosure may be applied for use with a multi-band multi-mode transmission system.

Once the variable voltage input has been controlled, or indeed directly from step S6006, the method proceeds to, and ends with, step S6008.

Through use of the method performed by the controller5002of the device5000as described above, any required level of output power can be delivered into any given load impedance by varying the supply voltage of the device and/or the effective physical dimension of the amplification circuitry.

Computer Program Product for Amplification of Input Signal:

Furthermore, according to embodiments of the disclosure, the controller circuitry5002may be a microprocessor carrying out computer instructions, or may be a portion of an Application Specific Integrated Circuit. In this situation, computer instructions are stored on a storage medium which may be a magnetically readable medium, optically readable medium or solid state type circuitry. For the specific situation whereby the device5000is implemented in a UE or the like, the computer instructions may be incorporated as software code on the UE central baseband processor, for example. The storage medium may be integrated into the device5000or may be separate to the device5000and connected thereto using either a wired or wireless connection. The computer instructions may be embodied as computer software that contains computer readable code which, when loaded onto the controller circuitry5002, configures the controller circuitry5002to perform the method according to embodiments of the disclosure described with reference toFIG.5above.

Obviously, numerous modifications and variations of the present disclosure are possible in light of the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the disclosure may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein.

In so far as embodiments of the disclosure have been described as being implemented, at least in part, by software-controlled data processing apparatus, it will be appreciated that a non-transitory machine-readable medium carrying such software, such as an optical disk, a magnetic disk, semiconductor memory or the like, is also considered to represent an embodiment of the present disclosure.

It will be appreciated that the above description for clarity has described embodiments with reference to different functional units, circuitry and/or processors. However, it will be apparent that any suitable distribution of functionality between different functional units, circuitry and/or processors may be used without detracting from the embodiments.

Described embodiments may be implemented in any suitable form including hardware, software, firmware or any combination of these. Described embodiments may optionally be implemented at least partly as computer software running on one or more data processors and/or digital signal processors. The elements and components of any embodiment may be physically, functionally and logically implemented in any suitable way. Indeed the functionality may be implemented in a single unit, in a plurality of units or as part of other functional units. As such, the disclosed embodiments may be implemented in a single unit or may be physically and functionally distributed between different units, circuitry and/or processors.

Although the present disclosure has been described in connection with some embodiments, it is not intended to be limited to the specific form set forth herein. Additionally, although a feature may appear to be described in connection with particular embodiments, one skilled in the art would recognize that various features of the described embodiments may be combined in any manner suitable to implement the technique.