JP2022114190A - Power amplification apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

To further reduce loss of power synthesis.SOLUTION: A power amplification apparatus includes: a first amplifier 21 for generating a first amplification signal obtained by amplifying an input signal; a second amplifier 22 for generating a second amplification signal obtained by amplifying the input signal; a synthesizer 305 for generating a synthetic signal obtained by synthesizing the first amplification signal and the second amplification signal; a first phase detection circuit 310 for detecting a first phase amount of the first amplification signal inputted to the synthesizer 305; a second phase detection circuit 311 for detecting a second phase amount of the second amplification signal inputted to the synthesizer 305; and a control unit 316 for changing the first phase amount or the second phase amount so that a difference between the first phase amount and the second phase amount is reduced.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

The present invention relates to a power amplification device that amplifies signal power.

A technique is known in which two high-frequency signals distributed by a distributor are amplified by power amplifiers, the signals amplified by the two power amplifiers are combined by a power combiner, and one combined power amplified signal is obtained. (For example, Patent Document 1). In the technique described in Patent Literature 1, a high-frequency signal flows to the detection circuit when there is a difference between the phases or amplitudes of the outputs of the two power amplifiers. In Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2002-100001, a feedback circuit that receives a signal flowing through a detection circuit adjusts the phase so that the output levels of two power amplifiers have a predetermined value in order to reduce the synthesis loss in a power combiner. and correcting part of the amplitude.

JP 2007-129426 A

In the technique described in Patent Document 1, when there is a difference in phase or power between the outputs of the two power amplifiers, a high-frequency signal flows through the detection circuit. Then, the detection accuracy of the phase difference becomes low. Therefore, there is a problem that the accuracy of correcting the phase of the output of the power amplifying section is lowered, and the power combining loss cannot be sufficiently reduced.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a power amplifying device capable of further reducing power combining loss.

A power amplifying device according to a first aspect of the present invention includes a first amplifier that amplifies an input signal to generate a first amplified signal, a second amplifier that amplifies the input signal to generate a second amplified signal, and a combiner for generating a combined signal by combining the first amplified signal and the second amplified signal; a first phase detection circuit for detecting a first phase amount of the first amplified signal input to the combiner; a second phase detection circuit that detects a second phase amount of the second amplified signal input to the combiner; and a first phase amount that reduces a difference between the first phase amount and the second phase amount. or a control unit that changes the second phase amount.

The first amplifier includes a variable phase shifter that changes the phase of the input signal before amplification by a predetermined phase shift amount, and the control section controls the difference between the first phase amount and the second phase amount. The phase shift amount may be changed so that .

A power amplifying device according to a second aspect of the present invention includes: a first combiner for generating a first combined signal by combining a plurality of amplified signals obtained by amplifying an input signal by a plurality of amplifiers; a second combiner for generating a second combined signal by combining a plurality of amplified amplified signals; a third combiner for generating a third combined signal by combining the first combined signal and the second combined signal; a first combined phase detection circuit for detecting a first combined phase amount of the first combined signal input to the third combiner; and a second combined phase of the second combined signal input to the third combiner. and a control for changing the first synthesized phase amount or the second synthesized phase amount so that the difference between the first synthesized phase amount and the second synthesized phase amount is reduced. and

ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, it is effective in reducing the loss of electric power combination more.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the power amplifier apparatus of embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing configurations of a plurality of amplifiers; FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the configuration of a synthesizer; It is a figure which shows the relationship between synthetic|combination loss and a phase difference. 4 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure for controlling the first phase amount and the second phase amount by a control unit;

[Configuration of power amplifier]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a power amplifying device 100 of this embodiment. The power amplifier device 100 includes a signal generator 10 , amplifiers 21 to 24 and a combiner 30 . The power amplifying device 100 amplifies a signal such as a high frequency signal to a predetermined power. The predetermined power is determined, for example, based on the power required by the circuits downstream of the power amplifying device 100 .

A signal generator 10 generates an input signal such as a high frequency signal. The signal generator 10 inputs input signals from the plurality of amplifiers 21 to the amplifier 24 via coaxial cables, for example. An amplifier 21 (corresponding to a first amplifier) amplifies an input signal to generate a first amplified signal. The amplification degree of the amplifier 21 is, for example, approximately 2.3 to 2.7 dB. The amplifier 22 (corresponding to a second amplifier), like the amplifier 21, amplifies the input signal to generate a second amplified signal. Similar to the amplifier 21, the amplifiers 23 and 24 also generate amplified signals.

The combiner 30 generates a power-amplified combined signal by combining the amplified signals generated by the plurality of amplifiers 21 to 24 . The synthesizer 30 detects a first phase amount of the first amplified signal produced by the amplifier 21 and a second phase amount of the second amplified signal produced by the amplifier 22 . Similarly, combiner 30 detects the phase amounts of the amplified signals generated by amplifiers 23 and 24, respectively.

The synthesizer 30 notifies the amplifier 21 of the phase shift amount for changing the first phase amount of the first amplified signal generated by the amplifier 21, as indicated by the dashed line in FIG. Similarly, combiner 30 notifies amplifier 22 of the phase shift amount for changing the second phase amount of the second amplified signal generated by amplifier 22 . The synthesizer 30 notifies the amplifiers 23 and 24 of the phase shift amounts for changing the phase amounts of the amplified signals generated by the amplifiers 23 and 24, respectively.

The synthesizer 30 changes the first phase amount or the second phase amount so that the difference between the detected first phase amount and the detected second phase amount becomes smaller. In this way, the combiner 30 can further reduce power combining loss when combining the first amplified signal and the second amplified signal. Therefore, the combiner 30 does not need to increase the power of the amplified signals generated by the plurality of amplifiers 21 to 24 in order to compensate for the power combining loss, and the heat generated by the combining loss causes the combiner 30 as a whole to become hot. can be prevented from becoming

[Amplifier configuration]
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of a plurality of amplifiers 21-24. The amplifier 21 includes a variable phase shifter 211 , an amplifier section 212 and a signal processing circuit 213 . Variable phase shifter 211 changes the phase of the input signal before amplification by amplification section 212 by a predetermined phase shift amount. Amplifying section 212 generates a first amplified signal by power-amplifying the input signal whose phase has been adjusted by variable phase shifter 211 .

The signal processing circuit 213 causes the variable phase shifter 211 to change the phase of the input signal before being amplified by the amplifying section 212 by a predetermined phase shift amount. The predetermined amount of phase shift is signaled by the combiner 30, for example. The signal processing circuit 213 controls phase adjustment by the variable phase shifter 211 by, for example, inputting a voltage signal corresponding to the phase shift amount notified from the combiner 30 to the variable phase shifter 211 .

The amplifier 22 includes a variable phase shifter 221 , an amplifier section 222 and a signal processing circuit 223 . Variable phase shifter 221 is similar to variable phase shifter 211 . Amplifying section 222 generates a second amplified signal by power-amplifying the input signal phase-adjusted by variable phase shifter 221 . The signal processing circuit 223 is similar to the signal processing circuit 213 .

The amplifier 23 includes a variable phase shifter 231 , an amplifier section 232 and a signal processing circuit 233 . The variable phase shifter 231, the amplification section 232 and the signal processing circuit 233 of the amplifier 23 are the same as the variable phase shifter 211, the amplification section 212 and the signal processing circuit 213 of the amplifier 21, respectively. The amplifier 24 includes a variable phase shifter 241 , an amplifier section 242 and a signal processing circuit 243 . The variable phase shifter 241, the amplification section 242 and the signal processing circuit 243 of the amplifier 24 are the same as the variable phase shifter 211, the amplification section 212 and the signal processing circuit 213 of the amplifier 21, respectively.

[Configuration of combiner]
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the configuration of the synthesizer 30. As shown in FIG. The combiner 30 includes couplers 301 to 304, a first combiner 305, a second combiner 306, a coupler 307, a coupler 308, a third combiner 309, a phase detection circuit 310 to a phase detection circuit 315, and a control section 316. .

The coupler 301 inputs part of the first amplified signal input from the amplifier 21 to the phase detection circuit 310 and inputs the other first amplified signal to the first combiner 305 . The coupler 302 inputs part of the second amplified signal input from the amplifier 22 to the phase detection circuit 311 and inputs the other second amplified signal to the first combiner 305 . The coupler 303 inputs part of the amplified signal input from the amplifier 23 to the phase detection circuit 312 and inputs the other amplified signal to the second combiner 306 . The coupler 304 inputs part of the amplified signal input from the amplifier 24 to the phase detection circuit 313 and inputs the other amplified signal to the second combiner 306 .

The first combiner 305 is, for example, a Wilkinson combiner. A plurality of amplified signals obtained by amplifying input signals by a plurality of amplifiers are input to the first combiner 305 . The first synthesizer 305 generates a first synthesized signal by synthesizing a plurality of input amplified signals. In the example of FIG. 3 , the first combined signal is a signal obtained by combining the first amplified signal generated by the amplifier 21 and the second amplified signal generated by the amplifier 22 . An absorbing resistor 51 is provided in the first combiner 305 . When the first phase amount and the second phase amount do not match in the combination by the first combiner 305, a combination loss occurs. This combined loss is converted into heat by the absorbing resistor 51 .

The second combiner 306 is, for example, a Wilkinson combiner. A plurality of amplified signals obtained by amplifying the input signal by a plurality of amplifiers are input to the second combiner 306 . A second synthesizer 306 generates a second synthesized signal by synthesizing a plurality of input amplified signals. In the example of FIG. 3, the second synthesized signal is a signal obtained by synthesizing the amplified signal generated by the amplifier 23 and the amplified signal generated by the amplifier 24 . An absorbing resistor 61 is provided in the second combiner 306 . The absorbing resistor 61 is similar to the absorbing resistor 51 .

The coupler 307 inputs part of the first combined signal input from the first combiner 305 to the phase detection circuit 314 and inputs the other first combined signal to the third combiner 309 . The coupler 308 inputs part of the second combined signal input from the second combiner 306 to the phase detection circuit 315 and inputs the other second combined signal to the third combiner 309 .

The third combiner 309 is, for example, a Wilkinson combiner. A third combiner 309 generates a third combined signal by combining the first combined signal and the second combined signal. The third combiner 309 outputs the generated third combined signal to an external device (not shown). An absorbing resistor 91 is provided in the third combiner 309 . Absorption resistance 91 is similar to absorption resistance 51 .

[Phase amount detection]
A phase detection circuit 310 (corresponding to a first phase detection circuit) detects a first phase amount of the first amplified signal input to the combiner 30 . A part of the first amplified signal is input to the phase detection circuit 310 by the coupler 301 . Phase detection circuit 310 detects the phase amount of the input signal.

A phase detection circuit 311 (corresponding to a second phase detection circuit) detects the second phase amount of the second amplified signal input to the combiner 30 in the same manner as the phase detection circuit 310 . Similar to the phase detection circuit 310 , the phase detection circuit 312 detects the phase amount of the amplified signal of the amplifier 23 input to the combiner 30 . The phase detection circuit 313 detects the phase amount of the amplified signal of the amplifier 24 input to the combiner 30 in the same manner as the phase detection circuit 310 .

A phase detection circuit 314 (corresponding to a first combined phase detection circuit) detects the first combined phase amount of the first combined signal input to the third combiner 309 in the same manner as the phase detection circuit 310 . A phase detection circuit 315 (corresponding to a second combined phase detection circuit) detects the second combined phase amount of the second combined signal input to the third combiner 309 in the same manner as the phase detection circuit 310 .

[Control of Phase Amount]
The control unit 316 is, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit). The control unit 316 changes the phase amounts of the amplified signals generated by the amplifiers 21 to 24 based on the power detection results from the phase detection circuits 310 to 315 .

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the relationship between combined loss and phase difference. The vertical axis of FIG. 4 indicates the synthesis loss in decibel (dB) value when the first combiner 305, the second combiner 306 and the third combiner 309 combine two signals. The horizontal axis of FIG. 4 indicates the phase difference between the two signals input to the combiner. As shown in FIG. 4, if the phase difference between two signals input to the first combiner 305 or the like is 0 degrees, the combined loss is 0 dB. On the other hand, the larger the phase difference, the larger the combined loss, reaching -20 dB near 180 degrees. The control unit 316 adjusts the phases of the signals so that the phase difference between the two signals input to the first combiner 305 or the like becomes small in order to reduce the combining loss due to combining the signals.

Control section 316 identifies the difference between the first phase amount of the first amplified signal and the second phase amount of the second amplified signal. Control unit 316 changes the phase shift amount of variable phase shifter 211 or variable phase shifter 221 so that the specified difference becomes smaller. In the example of this specification, the control section 316 changes the phase shift amount of the variable phase shifter 211 while the phase shift amount of the variable phase shifter 221 is fixed. The control unit 316 calculates the phase shift amount of the variable phase shifter 211 when the first phase amount and the second phase amount match. The control unit 316 notifies the signal processing circuit 213 of the calculated phase shift amount of the variable phase shifter 211 .

Similarly, the control unit 316 adjusts the phase shift amount of the variable phase shifter 231 or the variable phase shifter 241 so that the difference between the phase amount of the signal amplified by the amplifier 23 and the phase amount of the signal amplified by the amplifier 24 becomes small. change the The control unit 316 changes the phase shift amount of the variable phase shifter 231 while the phase shift amount of the variable phase shifter 241 is fixed. Control section 316 calculates the phase shift amount of variable phase shifter 231 when the phase amount of the signal amplified by amplifier 23 and the phase amount of the signal amplified by amplifier 24 match. The control unit 316 notifies the signal processing circuit 233 of the calculated phase shift amount of the variable phase shifter 231 .

The control unit 316 changes the first combined phase amount or the second combined phase amount so that the difference between the first combined phase amount and the second combined phase amount becomes small. The control unit 316 sets the phase shift amounts of the variable phase shifters 211, 221, 231, and 241 when the first combined phase amount and the second combined phase amount match. Calculate each. More specifically, the control unit 316 changes the first phase amount of the first amplified signal and the second phase amount of the second amplified signal, so that the first amplified signal and the second amplified signal are combined to obtain the first phase amount. A first synthesized phase amount of the synthesized signal is changed.

At this time, the control unit 316 changes the first phase amount and the second phase amount by the same phase shift amount so that a difference between the first phase amount and the second phase amount does not occur. The control unit 316 sets the phase shift amounts of the variable phase shifters 211, 221, 231, and 241 when matching the first combined phase amount and the second combined phase amount. Calculate each. The control unit 316 notifies the calculated phase shift amounts to the signal processing circuit 213, the signal processing circuit 223, the signal processing circuit 233, and the signal processing circuit 243, respectively.

[Processing Procedure for Combining Signals by Combiner]
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure for controlling the first phase amount and the second phase amount by the control unit 316. As shown in FIG. This processing procedure is started, for example, while the first combiner 305 is combining the first amplified signal and the second amplified signal.

First, the control unit 316 acquires the first phase amount detected by the phase detection circuit 310 and the second phase amount detected by the phase detection circuit 311 (S101). The controller 316 identifies the difference between the first phase amount and the second phase amount (S102). The control unit 316 calculates the phase shift amount of the variable phase shifter 211 when the first phase amount and the second phase amount match (S103).

The control unit 316 notifies the signal processing circuit 213 of the calculated phase shift amount of the variable phase shifter 211 (S104). The signal processing circuit 213 causes the variable phase shifter 211 to change the phase of the input signal by the notified phase shift amount. The control unit 316 determines whether or not the user's operation instructing the end of combining the first amplified signal and the second amplified signal has been received (S105).

If the control unit 316 determines that the user's operation for instructing the end of combining the first amplified signal and the second amplified signal has been received (YES in S105), the control unit 316 ends the process. If the control unit 316 determines in S105 that the user's operation instructing the end of combining the first amplified signal and the second amplified signal has not been accepted (NO in S105), the process returns to S101.

[Effect of power amplifier]
The control unit 316 changes the first phase amount or the second phase amount so that the difference between the detected first phase amount and the detected second phase amount becomes smaller. In this way, the control section 316 can further reduce the power combining loss when combining the first amplified signal and the second amplified signal. Therefore, the control unit 316 does not need to increase the power of the amplified signals generated by the plurality of amplifiers 21 to 24 in order to compensate for the power combining loss. can be prevented from becoming

The control unit 316 changes the first phase amount and the second phase amount using the highly accurate detection results of the phase detection circuit 310 and the phase detection circuit 311, thereby changing the first amplified signal and the second amplified signal. Combining loss can be further reduced. As a result, the amount of heat generated by the absorbing resistor is reduced, so that overheating of power amplifying device 100 can be suppressed. In addition, since the phase detection circuit 310 and the phase detection circuit 311 constantly detect the first phase amount and the second phase amount, it is possible to suppress the influence of level fluctuations due to changes in environmental temperature.

Although the present invention has been described above using the embodiments, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the scope described in the above embodiments, and various modifications and changes are possible within the scope of the gist thereof. be. For example, all or part of the device can be functionally or physically distributed and integrated in arbitrary units. In addition, new embodiments resulting from arbitrary combinations of multiple embodiments are also included in the embodiments of the present invention. The effect of the new embodiment caused by the combination has the effect of the original embodiment.

10 signal generator 21 amplifier 22 amplifier 23 amplifier 24 amplifier 30 combiner 51 absorption resistor 61 absorption resistor 91 absorption resistor 100 power amplifier 211 variable phase shifter 212 amplification section 213 signal processing circuit 221 variable phase shifter 222 amplification section 223 signal Processing circuit 231 Variable phase shifter 232 Amplifier 233 Signal processing circuit 241 Variable phase shifter 242 Amplifier 243 Signal processing circuit 301 Coupler 302 Coupler 303 Coupler 304 Coupler 305 First combiner 306 Second combiner 307 Coupler 308 Coupler 309 3 synthesizer 310 phase detection circuit 311 phase detection circuit 312 phase detection circuit 313 phase detection circuit 314 phase detection circuit 315 phase detection circuit 316 control section

Claims (3)

a first amplifier that generates a first amplified signal by amplifying the input signal;
a second amplifier that generates a second amplified signal by amplifying the input signal;
a combiner that generates a combined signal by combining the first amplified signal and the second amplified signal;
a first phase detection circuit for detecting a first phase amount of the first amplified signal input to the combiner;
a second phase detection circuit for detecting a second phase amount of the second amplified signal input to the combiner;
a control unit that changes the first phase amount or the second phase amount so that the difference between the first phase amount and the second phase amount becomes small;
A power amplifier device comprising: The first amplifier includes a variable phase shifter that changes the phase of the input signal before amplification by a predetermined phase shift amount,
The control unit changes the phase shift amount so that a difference between the first phase amount and the second phase amount becomes smaller.
The power amplifier device according to claim 1. a first combiner for generating a first combined signal by combining a plurality of amplified signals obtained by amplifying an input signal by a plurality of amplifiers;
a second synthesizer for generating a second synthesized signal by synthesizing a plurality of amplified signals obtained by amplifying the input signal by a plurality of amplifiers;
a third combiner for generating a third combined signal by combining the first combined signal and the second combined signal;
a first combined phase detection circuit for detecting a first combined phase amount of the first combined signal input to the third combiner;
a second combined phase detection circuit for detecting a second combined phase amount of the second combined signal input to the third combiner;
a control unit that changes the first synthesized phase amount or the second synthesized phase amount such that a difference between the first synthesized phase amount and the second synthesized phase amount is reduced;
A power amplifier device comprising:

Images