Disclosure of Invention
The embodiment of the invention provides a power detection circuit, a power amplifier module and a radio frequency front end framework, which can realize the power detection function in a wide power range and are beneficial to improving the linearity of detection power and output voltage.
In order to solve the above technical problem, in a first aspect, the present invention provides a power detection circuit, including an envelope amplifier circuit and a plurality of current proportional amplifying circuits;
the input ends of the plurality of current proportional amplifying circuits are all connected with a radio frequency input signal RFin, the output ends of the plurality of current proportional amplifying circuits are connected to the input end of the envelope amplifier circuit in parallel, wherein the starting voltages of at least two current proportional amplifying circuits are different from each other, so that the at least two current proportional amplifying circuits are started in sequence along with the gradual increase of the radio frequency input signal RFin, and each current proportional amplifying circuit amplifies the radio frequency input signal RFin after being started and outputs a current amplifying signal; the envelope amplifier circuit is used for converting the current amplification signal into a voltage value and outputting the voltage value, so that a power detection function is realized.
The starting voltages of all the current proportional amplifying circuits are different, so that all the current proportional amplifying circuits are sequentially started along with the gradual increase of the radio frequency input signal RFin.
The current proportion amplifying circuit comprises a first transistor Q1, a second transistor Q2, a first resistor R1, a second resistor R2, a third resistor R3, a fourth resistor R4, a fifth resistor R5 and a first capacitor C1;
one end of the first resistor R1 is an input end of the current proportional amplifying circuit, and is used for inputting the radio frequency input signal RFin, the other end of the first resistor R1 is connected to the collector of the first transistor Q1 through the first capacitor C1, the emitters of the first transistor Q1 and the second transistor Q2 are both grounded, the base of the first transistor Q1 is connected with the base of the second transistor Q2 through the fourth resistor R4, the collector of the first transistor Q1 is connected to a first voltage source Vcc1 through the second resistor R2, the third resistor R3 is connected between the collector and the base of the first transistor Q1, the collector of the second transistor Q2 is connected with the first voltage source Vcc1 through the fifth resistor R5, the collector of the second transistor Q2 is the output end of the current proportion amplifying circuit and is connected with the input end of the envelope amplifier circuit; the values of the first capacitors C1 of the different current proportional amplifying circuits are different, so that the starting voltages of the current proportional amplifying circuits are different from each other.
The current proportion amplifying circuit further comprises a second capacitor C2, one end of the second capacitor C2 is connected with the base of the second transistor Q2, and the other end of the second capacitor C2 is grounded.
The current proportion amplifying circuits share the same first resistor R1, and the current proportion amplifying circuits share the same fifth resistor R5.
The number of the current proportion amplifying circuits is 3.
Wherein the envelope amplifier circuit comprises a third transistor Q3, a sixth resistor R6, a seventh resistor R7 and a third capacitor C3;
a base of the third transistor Q3 is an input terminal of the envelope amplifier circuit, a collector of the third transistor Q3 is connected to a second voltage source Vcc2, the sixth resistor R6 is connected in parallel with the third capacitor C3, one end of the parallel connection is connected to an emitter of the third transistor Q3, the other end of the parallel connection is grounded, one end of the seventh resistor R7 is connected to an emitter of the third transistor Q3, and the other end of the seventh resistor R7 is an output terminal of the envelope amplifier circuit.
Wherein the envelope amplifier circuit further comprises a first diode D1, a second diode D2, and a third diode D3;
the cathode of the first diode D1 is connected with the other end of the seventh resistor R7, and the anode of the first diode D1 is grounded; the anode of the second diode D2 is connected to the other end of the seventh resistor R7, the cathode of the second diode D2 is connected to the anode of the third diode D3, and the cathode of the third diode D3 is grounded.
In a second aspect, the present invention further provides a power amplifier module, which includes a power amplifier and a power detection circuit connected to the power amplifier, where the power detection circuit is the power detection circuit described in any one of the above.
In a third aspect, the present invention further provides a radio frequency front end architecture, including the power amplifier module described above.
Has the advantages that: the power detection circuit comprises an envelope amplifier circuit and a plurality of current proportion amplifying circuits; the input ends of the plurality of current proportional amplifying circuits are all connected with a radio frequency input signal RFin, the output ends of the plurality of current proportional amplifying circuits are connected in parallel to the input end of the envelope amplifier circuit, the starting voltages of at least two current proportional amplifying circuits are different from each other, so that the at least two current proportional amplifying circuits are started in sequence along with the gradual increase of the radio frequency input signal RFin, and each current proportional amplifying circuit amplifies the radio frequency input signal RFin after being started and outputs a current amplifying signal; the envelope amplifier circuit is used for converting the current amplification signal into a voltage value and outputting the voltage value, so that a power detection function is realized.
Detailed Description
Referring to the drawings, wherein like reference numbers refer to like elements, the principles of the present invention are illustrated as being implemented in a suitable computing environment. The following description is based on illustrated embodiments of the invention and should not be taken as limiting the invention with regard to other embodiments that are not detailed herein.
Referring to fig. 1 and 2, a power detection circuit 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes an envelope amplifier circuit 11 and a plurality of current scaling circuits 12.
The input ends of the plurality of current proportional amplifying circuits 12 are all connected to a radio frequency input signal RFin, the output ends of the plurality of current proportional amplifying circuits 12 are connected in parallel to the input end of the envelope amplifier circuit 11, wherein the starting voltages of at least two current proportional amplifying circuits 12 are different from each other, so that the at least two current proportional amplifying circuits 12 are sequentially started as the radio frequency input signal RFin gradually increases, and each current proportional amplifying circuit 12 amplifies the radio frequency input signal RFin after being started and outputs a current amplified signal RF. The envelope amplifier circuit 11 is configured to convert the current amplification signal into a voltage value Vout and output the voltage value Vout, thereby implementing a power detection function. Therefore, in the power detection circuit 100 of the present invention, the plurality of current proportional amplifying circuits 12 are sequentially turned on along with the gradual increase of the rf input signal RFin, so as to achieve the purpose of widening the power detection range.
In some embodiments of the present invention, the starting voltages of all the current scaling circuits 12 are different, so that all the current scaling circuits 12 are sequentially started as the radio frequency input signal RFin gradually increases.
It can be understood that the input terminals of all the current scaling circuits 12 are connected to the input signal RFin, and therefore all the current scaling circuits 12 are connected in parallel with the radio frequency input signal RFin, and the "sequential start" described herein does not mean that a plurality of current scaling circuits are sequentially started according to the arrangement order of fig. 1, but means that the plurality of current scaling circuits are sequentially started according to the arrangement relation of the starting voltage from small row to large row, the starting voltage is small, the starting voltage is first, and the starting voltage is large, and then the starting voltage is last.
The current proportional amplifying circuit 12 includes a first transistor Q1, a second transistor Q2, a first resistor R1, a second resistor R2, a third resistor R3, a fourth resistor R4, a fifth resistor R5, and a first capacitor C1.
One end of the first resistor R1 is an input end of the current proportional amplifying circuit 12, and is used for inputting the radio frequency input signal RFin, and the other end of the first resistor R1 is connected to the collector of the first transistor Q1 through the first capacitor C1, that is, the collector of the first transistor Q1 is configured to receive the detected radio frequency input signal RFin.
The emitters of the first transistor Q1 and the second transistor Q2 are both grounded, the base of the first transistor Q1 is connected to the base of the second transistor Q2 through the fourth resistor R4, the collector of the first transistor Q1 is connected to a first voltage source Vcc1 through the second resistor R2, the third resistor R3 is connected between the collector and the base of the first transistor Q1, the collector of the second transistor Q2 is connected to the first voltage source Vcc1 through the fifth resistor R5, and the collector of the second transistor Q2 is the output terminal of the current proportional amplifier circuit 12 and is connected to the input terminal of the envelope amplifier circuit 11. The current proportional amplifying circuit 12 is configured to amplify an input radio frequency input signal RFin, so as to output a current amplified signal RF.
In the embodiment of the present invention, the first resistor R1 and the first capacitor C1 are connected in series to the collector of the first transistor Q1, and may be used as a tap network, and are directionally coupled to the current proportional circuit structure, wherein the values of the first resistor R1 and the first capacitor C1 may be set according to the tap rate, so as to maintain the performance of the power amplifier under test.
Further, the values of the first capacitors C1 of different current proportional amplifying circuits 12 are different, so that the starting voltages of the current proportional amplifying circuits 12 are different from each other. The start voltage refers to a load voltage of a series branch where the first capacitor C1 is located, and may also be understood as a start voltage of the first transistor Q1 and the second transistor Q2, different load voltages determine the on states of the transistors in the current proportional amplifying circuit 12, the load voltage is used for starting the transistors in the current proportional amplifying circuit 12, and the magnitude of each load voltage is related to the magnitude of the first capacitor C1 in the tap network, so that by setting different values of the first capacitor C1, the load voltages of the current proportional amplifying circuits 12 may be different, and further, the on states of the corresponding transistors are different. Wherein, the larger the first capacitor C1, the larger the load voltage.
When the radio frequency input signal RFin gradually increases, the voltage of the first capacitor C1 increases, and the circuit proportional amplifying circuits connected with the first capacitor C1 are sequentially in the states of opening, linear region and saturation region, so that the plurality of current proportional amplifying circuits 12 can keep linear relation with the size of the RFin signal, thereby realizing the power detection function with wide power range, and being beneficial to improving the linearity of the detected power and the output voltage.
The second resistor R2 and the fifth resistor R5 are voltage dividing resistors of collectors of the first transistor Q1 and the second transistor Q2, respectively, and may be used to adjust voltages of the collectors of the two transistors, that is, the second resistor R2 with different resistance values and the fifth resistor R5 with different resistance values may be used to make voltages of the collectors of the corresponding transistors different. The third resistor R3 and the fourth resistor R4 can adjust the collector currents of the first transistor Q1 and the second transistor Q2, i.e., change the current amplification signal RF output by the current ratio circuit 12.
Further, the current proportional amplifying circuit 12 further includes a second capacitor C2. One end of the second capacitor C2 is connected to the base of the second transistor Q2, and the other end of the second capacitor C2 is grounded. The second capacitor C2 is used to filter the carrier component of the rf input signal RFin, and can be set to a corresponding value according to the operating frequency of the detected power amplifier.
As shown in fig. 1, the number of the current proportional amplifying circuits 12 may be 3, or in other embodiments, may be 4 or more, which is not limited herein.
With continued reference to fig. 1, the envelope amplifier circuit 11 includes a third transistor Q3, a sixth resistor R6, a seventh resistor R7, and a third capacitor C3.
A base of the third transistor Q3 is an input terminal of the envelope amplifier circuit 11, a collector of the third transistor Q3 is connected to a second voltage source Vcc2, the sixth resistor R6 is connected in parallel with the third capacitor C3, one end of the parallel connection is connected to an emitter of the third transistor Q3, the other end of the parallel connection is grounded, one end of the seventh resistor R7 is connected to an emitter of the third transistor Q3, and the other end of the seventh resistor R7 is an output terminal of the envelope amplifier circuit 11 for outputting a voltage value.
Therefore, in this embodiment, the base of the third transistor Q3 receives the current output signals RF from the three current proportional amplifying circuits 12, and when the current proportional amplifying circuits 12 are turned on in a time-sharing manner, the voltage Vout output by the envelope amplifier circuit 11 also changes. The second voltage source Vcc2 is used to provide a voltage greater than the amplitude of the current amplified signal RF, so the third transistor Q3 acts as a variable gain envelope amplifier that can effectively amplify the three received current output signals RF. The parallel connection of the sixth resistor R6 and the third capacitor C3 forms a low-pass impedance filter that converts the envelope of the output signal at the base of the third transistor Q3 from current to voltage while the rf component is divided into the seventh resistor R7.
Further, the envelope amplifier circuit 11 further includes a first diode D1, a second diode D2, and a third diode D3.
The cathode of the first diode D1 is connected with the other end of the seventh resistor R7, and the anode of the first diode D1 is grounded; the anode of the second diode D2 is connected to the other end of the seventh resistor R7, the cathode of the second diode D2 is connected to the anode of the third diode D3, and the cathode of the third diode D3 is grounded. Through the first to third diodes, an electrostatic protection effect can be achieved, and the power detection circuit 100 is protected from being damaged by static electricity.
Referring to fig. 2, in another embodiment of the power detection circuit 100 of the present invention, the plurality of current scaling circuits 12 may share the same first resistor R1, and the plurality of current scaling circuits 12 may share the same fifth resistor R5. As shown in fig. 2, the rf input signal RFin passes through a first resistor R1 and then is transmitted to the second capacitors C2 of the three current scaling circuits 12, and the first voltage source Vcc1 passes through a fifth resistor R5 and then is transmitted to the collectors of the second transistors Q2 of the three current scaling circuits 12. By sharing the first resistor R1 and the fifth resistor R5, cost savings can be achieved.
The embodiment of the present invention further provides a power amplifier module, which includes a power amplifier and a power detection circuit, wherein an input end of the power detection circuit is connected to an output end of the power amplifier, and is configured to detect an output power of the power amplifier, where the power detection circuit may be the power detection circuit in any of the above embodiments, and an input end of the power detection circuit is an input end of the current proportional amplifying circuit.
The embodiment of the present invention further provides a radio frequency front end architecture, including the power amplifier module described in the foregoing embodiment.
The principles and embodiments of the present invention have been described herein using specific examples, which are provided only to help understand the method and the core concept of the present invention; meanwhile, for those skilled in the art, according to the idea of the present invention, there may be variations in the specific embodiments and the application scope, and in summary, the content of the present specification should not be construed as a limitation to the present invention.