Patent Document

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     The present invention relates generally to radio frequency (RF) power amplifiers and, more specifically, to an apparatus for improving the efficiency of an RF power amplifier using drain bias adaptation.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     Power dissipation and power efficiency are important operating characteristics of the radio frequency (RF) power amplifier of any RF transmitter. The more efficient the RF power amplifier is, the less expensive the transmitter is to operate, and the cooler and more reliably it runs. Since wireless communication systems of various types have become ubiquitous in society, it is important to maximize the efficiency of RF power amplifiers.  
         [0003]     Unfortunately, much of the efficiency of a conventional RF power amplifier is lost due to the set drain voltage, which is constant regardless of signal level. It is known that for Class-AB amplifiers that drain efficiency rolls off with the square root of output power. This results in a severe efficiency penalty when processing signals with low average power and large peak-to-average power variation, such as CDMA, WCDMA or OFDMA signals.  
         [0004]     For example, in normal operation (e.g., &gt;99% of the time), the average CDMA or WCDMA signal power is low and the RF transmitter exhibits very low efficiency due to the high drain voltage of the RF power amplifier. The efficiency percentage is given by Equation 1 below: 
 
Efficiency(%)=100*( P   OUT /( V   DRAIN   *I   DRAIN )).  [Eqn. 1]
 
         [0005]     However, during large signal peaks (e.g., &lt;1% of the time), the power amplifier operates very efficiently due to the large output power (POUT in Equation 1). Unfortunately, this only occurs for a small fraction of the time. Using a fixed drain voltage, the level of the drain voltage must be set high enough to allow the envelope peaks to be amplified with minimal distortion. This means the drain bias voltage is set at an unnecessarily high level for most (&gt;99%) of the signal envelope period, so that overall drain efficiency is very low.  
         [0006]     Many different techniques for high efficiency RF and microwave amplifiers exist or have been proposed. These techniques include drain bias adaptation (or drain supply modulation) techniques.  FIG. 1  is a schematic diagram illustrating selected portions of conventional RF transmitter  100 , which uses drain bias adaptation (or drain supply modulation) according to the principles of the prior art. RF transmitter  100  comprises delay element  110 , drivers  120  and  130 , RF power amplifier  140 , envelope detector  150 , comparator  160 , and switch  170 . RF power amplifier  140  comprises input impedance (Z in ) matching circuit  141 , output impedance (Z out ) matching circuit  142 , laterally diffused metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistor (LDMOS)  143 , quarter-wavelength (λ/4) drain feed  144  and bypass capacitor (C BP ).  
         [0007]     In  FIG. 1 , it is assumed that up-conversion circuitry (not shown) has already up-converted a baseband signal to an RF level to generate the input signal, RF IN. Envelope detector  150  compares the voltage envelope of RF IN to a predetermined threshold voltage, V T . When the RF IN signal is below the level of V T , comparator  160  generates an output control signal that causes switch  170  to select the low supply voltage, V low , which is thereby applied to RF power amplifier  140 . When the RF IN signal is above the level of V T , comparator  160  generates an output control signal that causes switch  170  to select the high supply voltage, V high , which is thereby applied to RF power amplifier  140 . Thus, when the RF IN signal is small, RF power amplifier  140  operates efficiently due to the low drain supply voltage. When the RF IN signal is large, RF power amplifier  140  operates from the high supply voltage, also with high power efficiency due to the large output power being processed (see Equation 1).  
         [0008]     In the RF transmit path, delay element  110  delays the RF IN signal to compensate for the processing time of envelope detector  150 , comparator  160  and switch  170 . Drivers  120  and  130  boost the power of the RF IN signal to a suitable level to drive RF power amplifier  140 . LDMOS  143  is the power amplification transistor that drives the antenna (not shown) at RF OUT. The drain of LDMOS  143  pulls drain current from either the low supply voltage, V low , or the high supply voltage, V high , through quarter-wavelength (λ/4) drain feed  144 . Low-frequency modulation and noise are shorted to ground after the quarter-wavelength (λ/4) drain feed  144  by bypass capacitor C BP .  
         [0009]     A high efficiency system in which the drain voltage supplied to a MESFET amplifier is switched between a +7 volt supply and a linearly variable 7-12 volt supply according to variations in envelope voltage is disclosed in “Microwave Power Amplifier With ‘Envelope Controlled’ Drain Power Supply,”, C. Buoli et al., 25th European Microwave Conf., September 1995, pp. 31-35. This system formed the basis for the patent “Linear Microwave Power Amplifier with Supply Power Injection Controlled by the Modulation Envelope,” World Intellectual Property Organization, International Publication No. WO 95/34128. However, the patent only covers switching between two fixed voltages, namely, +VA and +VB.  
         [0010]     The same technique is described in “Microwave Power Amplifier Efficiency Improvement with a 10 MHz HBT DC-DC Converter”, G. Hannington et al., IEEE MTT-S Tech. Dig., 1998, pp. 589-592. Hannington uses a DC-DC converter to dynamically modify the RF amplifier drain voltage according to the time-varying envelope of a CDMA signal. The result is even greater efficiency due to the use of a high-efficiency switching regulator, as opposed to the linear regulated modulator disclosed by Bouli et al.  
         [0011]     U.S. Pat. No. 6,492,867 to Bar-David, entitled “Method and Apparatus for Improving the Efficiency of Power Amplifiers Operating Under a Large Peak-To-Average Ratio” describes a system nearly identical to the Bouli patent, with the minor exceptions of a feedback loop for controlling the exact drain voltage and an automatic gain control amplifier for compensating the change in amplifier gain during the period when the drain receives the higher voltage.  
         [0012]     However, these prior art RF power amplifier schemes all suffer from one or more drawbacks. The prior art amplifiers do not disclose a mechanism for discharging the large RF amplifier drain bypass capacitance. In all practical RF amplifiers, it is necessary to place low-frequency bypass capacitors between the RF power transistor drain and ground in order to prevent the low-frequency modulation and noise from interacting with the bias circuitry, thereby degrading adjacent channel power ratio (ACPR), intermodulation distortion (IMD), and associated memory effects (unsymmetrical ACPR/IMD). However, the prior art references do not disclose a method for quickly charging and discharging the bypass capacitance back to the previous voltage level.  
         [0013]     Gain compensation during the period of high drain voltage also is an issue. The Buoli patent (International Publication No. WO 95/34128) does not mention a method of gain compensation. In the Bar-David patent (U.S. Pat. No. 6,492,867), a method of gain compensation during the period of high drain voltage is accomplished using an automatic gain control (AGC) amplifier. However, in commercial RF AGC amplifiers, the full-scale response time can be &gt;500 nanoseconds or more, according to published data sheets (e.g., ADL5330).  
         [0014]     Such a response time is too slow to compensate for the amplifier gain change during the pulsing period, which is only 10 to 100 nanoseconds, depending on modulation bandwidth. The exact timing required to compensate the amplifier gain change has a margin of error in the low nanosecond range, which is extremely difficult to realize using analog methods. The exact gain setting required for compensation is also difficult to meet due to the gain tolerance in AGC amplifiers.  
         [0015]     Delay compensation of the drain modulation circuit also is a problem in the prior art RF power amplifiers. U.S. Pat. No. 6,492,867 makes no mention of a delay line. In International Publication No. WO 95/34128, an RF delay line is used to compensate for the delay of the drain modulation circuitry. However, practical RF delay lines are usually bulky coax cables, expensive filters, or extremely high loss integrated delay lines.  
         [0016]     Therefore, there is a need in the art for an improved RF power amplifier using drain bias adaptation that overcomes the above-described shortcomings of the prior art. In particular, there is a need for a method of low-frequency bypass capacitor charging and discharging in an RF power amplifier using drain bias adaptation. There is a still further need for an RF power amplifier that more perfectly compensates the gain change during the period of high drain voltage. Finally, there is a need for an RF power amplifier using drain bias adaptation that implements a delay element that minimizes loss and is small and inexpensive.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0017]     The invention described herein seeks to improve RF power amplifier efficiency by decreasing the drain voltage during times of low signal power (&gt;99% of the time) and quickly boosting the drain voltage during peaks in the signal (&lt;1% of the time).  
         [0018]     To address the above-discussed deficiencies of the prior art, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a radio frequency (RF) transmitter comprising: 1) a radio-frequency (RF) power amplifier comprising a drive transistor capable of being coupled to an antenna, wherein the RF power amplifier is capable of receiving an input RF signal and generating an output RF signal for driving the antenna; and 2) a drain bias adaptation circuit for supplying drain current to a drain of the drive transistor. According to an advantageous embodiment of the present invention, the drain bias adaptation circuit comprises: i) a first switch comprising a first terminal coupled to the drive transistor drain and a second terminal coupled to a system supply voltage having a level V system ; ii) a second switch comprising a first terminal coupled to the drive transistor drain and a second terminal coupled to a high supply voltage having a level V high  greater than V system ; iii) a first bypass capacitor coupled to the second terminal of the first switch for reducing low-frequency signal components in the drain current when the first switch is closed and the second switch is open; and iv) a second bypass capacitor coupled to the second terminal of the second switch for reducing low-frequency signal components in the drain current when the second switch is closed and the first switch is open.  
         [0019]     According to one embodiment of the present invention, the RF transmitter further comprises a control circuit for opening and closing the first and second switches, wherein the control circuit closes the first switch and opens the second switch when a detected power level, PD, of a transmitter baseband signal is greater than a maximum threshold value.  
         [0020]     According to another embodiment of the present invention, the control circuit opens the first switch and closes the second switch when the transmitter baseband signal is not greater than the maximum threshold value.  
         [0021]     According to still another embodiment of the present invention, the control circuit comprises a power detector capable of receiving digital in-phase (I) data samples and digital quadrature (Q) data samples associated with the transmitter baseband signal and calculating the detected power level, P D , according to P D =(I 2 +Q 2 ) 1/2 .  
         [0022]     According to yet another embodiment of the present invention, the control circuit further comprises a comparator capable of comparing the detected power level, P D , to the maximum threshold value and generating a first control pulse when the detected power level, P D , exceeds the maximum threshold value.  
         [0023]     According to a further embodiment of the present invention, the control circuit further comprises a pulse stretching circuit capable of receiving the first control pulse and generating a stretched control pulse having a minimum predetermined width.  
         [0024]     According to a still further embodiment of the present invention, the control circuit further comprises a switch timing control circuit capable of receiving the stretched control pulse and generating a first switch control signal that opens the first switch and a second switch control signal that closes the second switch after the first switch is opened by the first switch control signal.  
         [0025]     According to a yet further embodiment of the present invention, the switch timing control circuit is further capable of generating a third switch control signal that opens the second switch and a fourth switch control signal that closes the first switch after the second switch is opened by the third switch control signal.  
         [0026]     In one embodiment of the present invention, the control circuit further comprises a gain compensation circuit capable of multiplying the transmitter baseband signal by a gain factor to thereby generate a modified baseband signal that is capable of being upconverted to produce the input RF signal to the RF power amplifier, wherein the gain factor has a first gain value when the detected power level, P D , of the transmitter baseband signal is greater than the maximum threshold value and has a second gain value when the detected power level, P D , of the transmitter baseband signal is not greater than the maximum threshold value.  
         [0027]     In another embodiment of the present invention, the control circuit further comprises a transmit path delay circuit for delaying the modified baseband signal prior to upconverting in order to compensate for time delays associated with the generation of the first, second, third and fourth switch control signals.  
         [0028]     Before undertaking the DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION below, it may be advantageous to set forth definitions of certain words and phrases used throughout this patent document: the terms “include” and “comprise,” as well as derivatives thereof, mean inclusion without limitation; the term “or,” is inclusive, meaning and/or; the phrases “associated with” and “associated therewith,” as well as derivatives thereof, may mean to include, be included within, interconnect with, contain, be contained within, connect to or with, couple to or with, be communicable with, cooperate with, interleave, juxtapose, be proximate to, be bound to or with, have, have a property of, or the like; and the term “controller” means any device, system or part thereof that controls at least one operation, such a device may be implemented in hardware, firmware or software, or some combination of at least two of the same. It should be noted that the functionality associated with any particular controller may be centralized or distributed, whether locally or remotely. Definitions for certain words and phrases are provided throughout this patent document, those of ordinary skill in the art should understand that in many, if not most instances, such definitions apply to prior, as well as future uses of such defined words and phrases.  
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0029]     For a more complete understanding of the present invention and its advantages, reference is now made to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals represent like parts:  
         [0030]      FIG. 1  is a schematic diagram illustrating a representative embodiment of a conventional RF transmitter using drain bias adaptation (or drain supply modulation) according to the principles of the prior art;  
         [0031]      FIG. 2  is a schematic diagram illustrating one embodiment of an improved RF transmitter using drain bias adaptation (or drain supply modulation) according to the principles of the present invention;  
         [0032]      FIG. 3  is a schematic diagram illustrating the drain bias controller in  FIG. 2  in greater detail according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0033]      FIG. 4  is a timing diagram of control signals generated by the drain bias controller in  FIG. 2  in relation to the ideal MOSFET and load currents; and  
         [0034]      FIGS. 5A, 5B  and  5 C illustrate the AM-AM transfer function discontinuity caused by drain voltage switching.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0035]      FIGS. 1 through 5  and the various embodiments used to describe the principles of the present invention in this patent document are by way of illustration only and should not be construed in any way to limit the scope of the invention. Those skilled in the art will understand that the principles of the present invention may be implemented in any suitably arranged radio frequency (RF) power amplifier.  
         [0036]      FIG. 2  is a schematic diagram illustrating one embodiment of improved RF transmitter  200 , which uses drain bias adaptation (or drain supply modulation) according to the principles of the present invention. In one embodiment, RF transmitter  200  may be implemented in a base station of an OFDMA, CDMA or WCDMA wireless network. In an alternate embodiment, RF transmitter  200  may be implemented in a wireless terminal (e.g., cell phone or similar wireless device) capable of accessing an OFDMA, CDMA or WCDMA wireless network.  
         [0037]     RF transmitter  200  comprises drain bias controller  205 , digital-to-analog converter (DAC)  210 , digital-to-analog converter (DAC)  215 , up-converter  220 , driver  225 , RF power amplifier  140 , and drain bias adaptation (DBA) circuit  299  (indicated by a dotted line). DBA circuit  299  comprises buffer  240 , coupling capacitor  241  (C C1 ), isolation and gate drive circuitry  242 , MOSFET  243 , bypass capacitor  244  (C BP1 ), energy capacitor  245  (C E1 ), and inductor  246  (L 1 ). DBA circuit  299  further comprises buffer  250 , coupling capacitor  251  (C C2 ), isolation and gate drive circuitry  252 , MOSFET  253 , bypass capacitor  254  (C BP2 ), storage capacitor  255  (C E2 ), and inductor  256  (L 2 ). As will be explained below in greater detail, MOSFET  243  and MOSFET  253  operate as switches.  
         [0038]     As in prior art  FIG. 1 , RF power amplifier  140  comprises input impedance (Z in ) matching circuit  141 , output impedance (Z out ) matching circuit  142 , LDMOS transistor  143 , quarter-wavelength (λ/4) drain feed  144 , but no longer contains bypass capacitor C BP . Bypass capacitor C BP  has been moved into DBA circuit  299 .  
         [0039]      FIG. 3  is a schematic diagram illustrating drain bias controller  205  in greater detail according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. In an advantageous embodiment, drain bias controller  205  may be implemented as a field programmable gate array (FPGA). Drain bias controller  205  comprises delay element  305 , multiplier  310 , power detector  320 , comparator  330 , pulse stretching circuit  340 , delay element  350 , inverter  360 , delay element  370 , gain compensation circuit  380 , and reference  390 .  
         [0040]     In an exemplary embodiment, modulated baseband data is de-serialized and sent to drain bias controller  205  as 16-bit in-phase (I) data samples and 16-bit quadrature (Q) data samples. In other embodiments, data samples of greater than 16 bits or less than 16 bits may be used. Within drain bias controller  205 , delay element  305  delays the I and Q signals entering the transmit path relative to the signals going to drain bias adaptation (DBA) circuitry  299  in  FIG. 2 . The transmit path of transmitter  200  includes multiplier  310  in  FIG. 3  and DAC  210 , DAC  215 , up-converter  220 , driver  225 , and RF power amplifier  140  in  FIG. 2 .  
         [0041]     The received I and Q data samples are delayed by delay element  305  in drain bias controller  205 . Multiplier  310  then multiplies the delayed I and Q samples from delay element  305  by a factor determined by gain compensation circuit  380  ( FIG. 2 ). DAC  210  and DAC  215  convert the digital I and Q outputs of multiplier  310  to analog I and Q signals. Up-converter  220  then combines and up-converts the analog I and Q signals to generate an RF signal. Driver  225  amplifies the RF signal to a suitable level to drive RF power amplifier  140 . RF power amplifier  140  then amplifies the RF signal to a suitable level for transmission.  
         [0042]     Power detector  320  also receives the incoming digital I and Q data samples and determines (or detects) the magnitude of the digital power level, P D , according to the formula: 
 
P D =√{square root over (I 2 +Q 2 )}  [Eqn. 2]
 
 Comparator  330  then compares the magnitude of the power level at the output of power detector  320  to the predetermined reference (or threshold) level  390  and outputs a high voltage (Logic 1) if the output of power detector  320  exceeds the reference. When the power level at the output of power detector  320  falls below the reference level  390 , comparator  330  outputs a low voltage (Logic 0). Thus, the brief periods when the power level of the I and Q data samples spike higher than the threshold level cause positive pulses at the output of comparator  330 . 
 
         [0043]     Pulse stretching circuit  340  stretches the minimum pulse-width of the output of comparator  330  to, for example, 25 nanoseconds to guarantee MOSFET turn-on for extremely short duration pulses (which otherwise would not fully turn the MOSFETs on). The stretched pulse is applied to the input of delay element  350  and inverter  360 .  
         [0044]     Delay element  350  provides an adjustable time delay that allows the rising or falling edge of output B to become delayed relative to the falling or rising edge of the inverted pulse at output A. Similarly, delay element  370  provides an adjustable time delay that allows the falling or rising edge at output A to be delayed relative to the rising or falling edge at output B. This flexibility in the exact timing of signals A and B is necessary to facilitate more precise control of the currents passing through MOSFETs  243  and  253  and into the amplifier  140 . An example timing relationship is shown in  FIG. 4 .  
         [0045]     As  FIG. 4  shows, output B of drain bias controller  205  is a normally low control signal that pulses high when the I and Q data samples exceed the predetermined threshold power level. Correspondingly, output A of drain bias controller  205  is a normally high control signal that pulses low when the I and Q data samples exceed the threshold power level. During normal conditions, when the I and Q samples are less than the threshold level, output B is low, which turns MOSFET  243  off, and output A is high, which turns MOSFET  253  on.  
         [0046]     Output A of drain bias controller  205  ( FIG. 3 ) is applied to the input of analog buffer  250  ( FIG. 2 ) in order to increase current driving capability. The output of buffer  250  passes through coupling capacitor  251  and isolation and gate drive circuit  252  to enable fast high-side switching of N-channel MOSFET  253 . Output B of drain bias controller  205  is applied to the input of buffer  240  in order to increase current driving capability. The output of buffer  240  passes through coupling capacitor  241  and isolation and gate drive circuit  242  to enable fast high-side switching of N-channel MOSFET  243 . The end result is MOSFET  243  turns on and off very quickly in a manner similar to MOSFET  253 .  
         [0047]     MOSFET  253  is normally on and provides the system voltage, V SYSTEM , to RF power amplifier  140  and presents a very low impedance to the normal DC current flow to RF power amplifier  140 . By moving bypass capacitor  254  from RF power amplifier  140  to the supply side of MOSFET  253 , a low impedance will exist to any unwanted low frequency modulation coming from the drain feed of RF power amplifier  140 .  
         [0048]     When the I and Q data samples are greater than the threshold, the negative-going pulse at output A briefly turns MOSFET  253  off and, at the same time, the positive-going pulse at output B momentarily turns MOSFET  243  on. When MOSFET  243  turns on and MOSFET  253  turns off, voltage from supply V HIGH  and storage capacitor  245  (C E1 ) is applied to the drain feed of RF power amplifier  140  to quickly boost the voltage above the system voltage, V SYSTEM . During the boosting period, bypass capacitor  244  (C BP1 ) provides a low impedance to any low frequency modulation present at the drain feed of RF power amplifier  140 .  
         [0049]     When the I and Q data samples are less than the threshold, a negative-going pulse at output B begins to turn MOSFET  243  off and, at nearly the same time, the positive-going pulse at output B begins to turn MOSFET  253  on. When MOSFET  253  turns fully on, it presents an extremely low impedance to the drain feed of RF power amplifier  140  and any residual high voltage leftover from the pulsing period quickly discharges through MOSFET  253  and is absorbed in the capacitor C E2 .  
         [0050]     As noted previously, gain compensation during the period of high drain voltage is a problem in the prior art. In  FIG. 5A , curve  510  illustrates the transfer function of output power, POUT, versus input power, PIN, for a drain voltage of, for example, +36 volts. Curve  520  illustrates the transfer function for a drain voltage of, for example, +26 volts.  
         [0051]     In  FIG. 5B , curve  530  illustrates the composite AM-AM transfer function that results from switching between the two supply voltages according to the principles of the present invention. At the threshold power level, P Threshold , when the present invention switches from a low-power state (i.e., V SYSTEM ) to high-power state (i.e., V High ), the switching of the drain voltage causes an instantaneous change (i.e., discontinuity) in the slope (gain) of the AM-AM transfer function. Normally, this would result in distortion that shows up as adjacent channel power (ACP) degradation. However, the operation of gain compensation circuit  380  ( FIG. 3 ) compensates for the switching of the drain voltage so that gain is leveled and the effect of the AM-AM transfer function discontinuity is minimized or completely alleviated, as illustrated in  FIG. 5C .  
         [0052]     The present invention achieves improved gain compensation by implementing drain bias controller  205  ( FIG. 3 ) as a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) operating on digital I and Q data. Since the exact timing of the high-voltage pulse duration is maintained within the FPGA, the transmitter I and Q path digital gain is adjusted using gain compensation circuit  380  and multiplier  310  during the same time period. The digital control loop circuitry used to adjust the signal level provides extremely accurate compensation for the LDMOS transistor gain changes due to modulation of the drain voltage.  
         [0053]     In the exemplary embodiment, the exact amount of gain compensation may be pre-programmed into the FPGA using a memory or a look-up table. When RF power amplifier  140  ( FIG. 2 ) receives the high voltage controlled by the positive pulse at output B, gain compensation circuit  380  ( FIG. 3 ) is activated and gain is leveled so that the AM-AM transfer function discontinuity is minimized or completely alleviated.  
         [0054]     As noted previously, delay compensation of the drain modulation circuit is also a problem in the prior art. In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, delay element  305  ( FIG. 3 ) in drain bias controller  205  delays the input I and Q digital data relative to the output A and B data signals. The present invention thus provides digital delay of the carrier envelope to compensate for the drain bias delays, so that the drain modulation is well aligned with the signal envelope variation. The exact amount of delay is created at very low cost, high accuracy and zero insertion loss.  
         [0055]     Although the present invention has been described with an exemplary embodiment, various changes and modifications may be suggested to one skilled in the art by this disclosure. It is intended that the present invention encompass such changes and modifications as fall within the scope of the appended claims.

Technology Category: 5