KR102217515B1 - High power amplifier and controlling method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

A high-output power amplifier according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is a high-output power amplifier, comprising: a power supply unit for supplying power to a control unit; The control unit is directly connected to the signal generator and the high output power amplification module, and controls the operation of the high output power amplification module; And an analysis unit to check the output power of the high output power amplification module.

Description

High output power amplifier and its control method {HIGH POWER AMPLIFIER AND CONTROLLING METHOD THEREOF}

The present disclosure relates to a high output power amplifier and a control method thereof.

The performance of power amplifiers is constantly evolving with the development of new technologies. In the past, high-power power amplifiers were developed from vacuum tube-type power amplifiers (such as Magnetron and Klyst-ron). However, since the vacuum tube-type power amplifier requires a high failure rate and a high operating voltage, reliability and efficiency are deteriorated.

The present disclosure provides a high output power amplifier having high output and high efficiency and a control method thereof.

The present disclosure provides an apparatus and method for having excellent linearity and reducing distortion.

A high-output power amplifier according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is a high-output power amplifier, comprising: a power supply unit for supplying power to a control unit; The control unit is directly connected to the signal generator and the high output power amplification module, and controls the operation of the high output power amplification module; And an analysis unit to check the output power of the high output power amplification module.

A high-output power amplifier according to another embodiment of the present disclosure is a high-output power amplifier, comprising: a power supply unit for supplying power to a control unit; The control unit is directly connected to the signal generator and the high output power amplification module, and controls the operation of the high output power amplification module; And an analysis unit to check the output power of the high output power amplification module, wherein the high output power amplification module further includes a low pass filter (LPF) to reduce harmonic components.

A high-output power amplifier according to another embodiment of the present disclosure is a high-output power amplifier, comprising: a power supply unit for supplying power to a control unit; The control unit is directly connected to the signal generator and the high output power amplification module, and controls the operation of the high output power amplification module; And an analysis unit for checking the output power of the high output power amplification module, wherein the high output power amplification module further includes a low pass filter (LPF) for reducing a harmonic component, and the high output power amplification module includes an X-band for the radar. Based on

A method of controlling a high-output power amplifier according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure includes: receiving an input signal and transmitting it to a high-output power amplifying module; Controlling the operation of the high output power amplification module; And checking the output power of the high output power amplification module.

A method of controlling a high-output power amplifier according to another embodiment of the present disclosure includes: receiving an input signal and transmitting it to a high-output power amplifying module; Controlling the operation of the high output power amplification module; And checking the output power of the high output power amplification module, wherein the high output power amplification module further includes a low pass filter (LPF) for reducing harmonic components.

A method of controlling a high-output power amplifier according to another embodiment of the present disclosure may include: receiving an input signal and transmitting it to a high-output power amplifying module; Controlling the operation of the high output power amplification module; And checking the output power of the high output power amplification module, wherein the high output power amplification module further includes a low pass filter (LPF) for reducing a harmonic component, and the high output power amplification module includes an X-band for the radar. Based on

The present disclosure can provide high output and high efficiency by using a GaN device.

According to the present disclosure, the linearity may be excellent and distortion may be reduced.

1 is a block diagram of an X-band power amplification module (PAM) according to an embodiment of the present disclosure and a diagram showing a PAM budget simulation;
2 is a graph showing an input/output power simulation result according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
3 is a diagram showing a shape of a PAM according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
4 is a block diagram of a PAM according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
5 is a graph showing PAM Isolation according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
6 is a graph showing output power of a PAM according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
7 is a graph showing an unnecessary wave of PAM according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
8 is a graph showing harmonics of a PAM according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
9 is a graph showing a standing wave ratio of a PAM according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; And
10 is a test measurement configuration according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Hereinafter, various embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, this is not intended to limit the technology described in the present disclosure to a specific embodiment, it is to be understood as including various modifications, equivalents, and/or alternatives of the embodiments of the present disclosure. . In connection with the description of the drawings, similar reference numerals may be used for similar elements.

In the present disclosure, expressions such as "have", "may have", "include", or "may include" are the presence of corresponding features (eg, elements such as numbers, functions, actions, or parts). And does not exclude the presence of additional features.

In this disclosure, expressions such as "A or B", "at least one of A or/and B", or "one or more of A or/and B" may include all possible combinations of items listed together. . For example, “A or B”, “at least one of A and B”, or “at least one of A or B” includes (1) at least one A, (2) at least one B, Or (3) it may refer to all cases including both at least one A and at least one B.

Expressions such as "first", "second", "first", or "second" used in the present disclosure may modify various elements regardless of order and/or importance, and one element may be converted to another. It is used to distinguish it from the component, but does not limit the component. For example, a first user device and a second user device may represent different user devices regardless of order or importance. For example, without departing from the scope of the rights described in the present disclosure, a first component may be referred to as a second component, and similarly, a second component may be renamed to a first component.

Some component (eg, a first component) is "(functionally or communicatively) coupled with/to)" to another component (eg, a second component) or " When referred to as "connected to", it should be understood that any of the above-described components may be directly connected to the other components described above, or may be connected through other components (eg, a third component). On the other hand, when a component (eg, a first component) is referred to as being “directly connected” or “directly connected” to another component (eg, a second component), a component different from a component It may be understood that no other component (eg, a third component) exists between the elements.

The expression "configured to (configured to)" used in the present disclosure is, for example, "suitable for", "having the capacity to" depending on the situation. It can be used interchangeably with ", "designed to", "adapted to", "made to", or "capable of". The term "configured to (or set)" may not necessarily mean only "specifically designed to" in hardware. Instead, in some situations, the expression "a device configured to" may mean that the device "can" along with other devices or parts. For example, the phrase “a processor configured (or configured) to perform A, B, and C” means a dedicated processor (eg, an embedded processor) for performing the operation, or by executing one or more software programs stored in a memory device. , May mean a generic-purpose processor (eg, a CPU or an application processor (AP)) capable of performing corresponding operations.

Terms used in the present disclosure are used only to describe a specific embodiment, and may not be intended to limit the scope of other embodiments. Singular expressions may include plural expressions unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. Terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, may have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the technical field described in the present disclosure. Among the terms used in the present disclosure, terms defined in a general dictionary may be interpreted as having the same or similar meaning as the meaning in the context of the related technology, and unless explicitly defined in the present disclosure, an ideal or excessively formal meaning Is not interpreted as. In some cases, even terms defined in the present disclosure cannot be interpreted to exclude embodiments of the present disclosure.

A high-power amplifying device according to various embodiments of the present disclosure includes, for example, a smartphone, a tablet personal computer, a mobile phone, a video phone, and an e-book reader. , Desktop personal computer (desktop personal computer), laptop personal computer (laptop personal computer), netbook computer, workstation, server, personal digital assistant (PDA), portable multimedia player (PMP), MP3 player, mobile It may be included in at least one of a medical device, a camera, or a wearable device.

The performance of power amplifiers is constantly evolving with the development of new technologies. The power amplification module, which started in the form of a vacuum tube in the past, has developed into the form of highly integrated MMIC (Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuit) as it comes to modern times. And, in recent years, methods for increasing the efficiency of power amplifiers using a GaN (Gallium Nitride) device have been studied. GaN can operate at high voltage due to the wide energy gap of 3.4 eV, high current density and power density due to high carrier concentration using polarized charge, and high-speed operation from high electron mobility and saturation speed is possible. It is suitable as a material for high-power, high-efficiency, and compact power amplifier devices.

In particular, radar uses a lot of X-band, and a power amplifier module used in an embodiment of the present disclosure requires high output. Since the radar's output closely affects the radar detection distance, an amplification module with high output performance is required to detect a target over a longer distance. In an embodiment of the present disclosure, a high output power amplification module used in the X-band will be described. It is assumed that 25W is output, the spurious is about -65dBc, the 2nd harmonic is -50dBc, and the 3rd harmonic is -70dBc.

The X-band assumes that the frequency band is about 8 to 12 GHz.

With the recent development of the defense industry, young technologies are being developed to strengthen national defense capabilities. Among them, radar is a device for detecting a target and finding a location. The farther the radar's detection distance is, the more important it is to detect the opponent's fighters and fire them. The principle of radar is to radiate RF (Radio Frequency) signals toward a target, and analyze the signal hitting the target and returning to find out the position and speed information of the object. In other words, a radar with a higher power can identify a farther target. High-power amplifiers to have high output have been developed from vacuum tube power amplifiers (magnetron, klystron, etc.) in the past. The vacuum tube-type power amplifier requires a high failure rate and a high operating voltage, which is disadvantageous in terms of reliability and efficiency. The improvement of this is a power amplifier using a semiconductor device. It has a great advantage because it can be designed and manufactured in a relatively low power voltage and small area. In addition, semiconductor devices have better linearity than vacuum tube power amplifiers, and have less distortion due to harmonic components and mutual transformations related to them, so that effective design can be achieved. Among semiconductor devices, GaN (Gallium Nitride) has a higher band gap characteristic than silicon devices, and thus can have high efficiency and high output.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, an amplifier is configured using a GaN device. A total of three amplifiers are used, and harmonics are reduced by using a low pass filter (LPF) to reduce nonlinearity from the final output.

In addition, a control board for controlling the amplification module of the embodiment of the present disclosure is produced to generate a Pulse Repetition Interval (PRI) and a Pulse Width (PW) through RS-232 communication, and provide built-in test (BIT) information of the module. Play the role of receiving. In the design process, it can be designed in the form of a module including several functions to satisfy the target specifications. An example of the target items may be shown in Table 1 below.

Although amplifiers of various bands are being developed, in an embodiment of the present disclosure, a radar X-band high power amplification module (PAM) will be described. Through various verifications, the part to be reflected in the design was derived. In an embodiment of the present disclosure, a full simulation to be applied to an X-band PAM for radar was performed, fabrication and testing were performed accordingly, and finally results were analyzed and final considerations were presented.

1 is a block diagram of an X-band power amplification module (PAM) according to an embodiment of the present disclosure and a diagram showing a PAM budget simulation. Based on the following <Equation 1> for the simulation result to satisfy the target specification, the required power amplification output can be calculated as about 44dBm.

In the above <Equation 1>, P _t is the transmission power, P _r is the carrier power, G _t is the antenna transmission gain, G _r is the antenna carrier gain, σ is the RCS (radar cross section), and the R to be calculated is relative to the target. It's the street. Here, the RCS indicates the amount of reflection at the moment when the radar detects a target by using an electromagnetic wave, the amount of reflection at the moment when the electromagnetic wave is reflected to the target, in a unit of a prescribed plane area. The RCS changes according to the shape, size, material, observation direction, and radar operating frequency of the target, and affects the strength and detection probability of the radar received signal. Therefore, if the radar is operated using the optimum frequency at which the RCS value of each target is maximum, the probability of radar detection for the target can be increased.

The high-output power amplifier according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is applied to a transmit/receive (T/R) module that generates transmit power output from a final antenna channel. To this end, a value obtained by dividing the number of antenna channels by 44 dBm, which is the output of the high-output power amplifier according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, enters the input of the antenna T/R module and affects the final Pt (transmission power). A total of 3 stages can be used to satisfy the 44dBm output of the high-power power amplifier. The front two stages can use a CMOS (Complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor) amplifier, and the last amplifier can use a high-power amplifier using GaN devices. Transmitting and receiving terminals are located in opposite directions to ensure physical isolation. In order to reduce the frequency components outside the band used by the PAM, a filter was used to remove them. When a coupler is added to monitor the input/output of the circuit, the output loss can be expected to be about 0.5dB. It is configured to operate in the power saturation region through circuit simulation, and after sweeping, the input/output value is checked, and the final output power value and the output use range according to the input can be checked, which can be shown as a result in FIG. 2 is a graph showing an input/output power simulation result according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

The input value of P1dB is confirmed to be about 8dBm, and when the input is swept from -20dBm to 15dBm, the output value is about 44dBm. 3 shows a shape of a PAM according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, and FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a PAM according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

PAM circuit blocks include coupler 1 (401), AMP 1 (403), attenuating unit 405, AMP 2 (407), high-power amplifier (HPA) 409, BPF 411, coupler 2 (413), etc. Includes.

The coupler 1 (401) is used for monitoring the signal level of the transmission input, and by checking the state of the RF signal and power amplifier input from the outside, it is possible to determine whether or not the module is malfunctioning with a malfunction BIT.

The PAM circuit block uses three amplifiers, such as AMP 1 (403), AMP 2 (407), and HPA (409). Here, the AMP 1 403 and AMP 2 407 may use, for example, a CMOS amplifier, and the HPA 409 may use a high-order amplifier using a GaN element.

The BPF 411 performs filtering to reduce nonlinearity and reduce harmonic components.

The coupler 2 413 may be used for monitoring the output of the HPA 409. For example, the coupler 2 413 may generate a fault BIT when the transmission power drops due to a fault in the HPA 409 to determine whether there is a fault.

The circuit was implemented and measured in the same way as the simulation block diagram. 5 to 9 show examples of measured waveforms.

5 is a graph showing PAM Isolation according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

6 is a graph showing output power of a PAM according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

7 is a graph showing unnecessary waves of PAM according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

8 is a graph showing harmonics of PAM according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

9 is a graph showing a standing wave ratio of a PAM according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

The waveforms measured in FIGS. 5 to 9 can be represented as in <Table 2>.

It can be seen that most of the results are similar to those expected in the simulation stage.

10 is a test measurement configuration diagram according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

The signal generator 1001 may generate an X-band signal according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

The power supply unit 1003 may supply power to the PAM port control unit 1005.

The PAM port controller 1005 may control the PAM through a user interface computer, for example, a Graphical User Interface (GUI) of the notebook 1011 after manufacturing a jig including a cooling plate for PAM measurement. The input of the PAM applies 8dBm of input power through the signal generator 1001 to a wide band (100kHz ~ 40GHz) that can generate a signal of the X-band, and the output is checked in the network and spectrum analysis unit 1009. I can. When checking the output, the voltage standing wave ratio (VSWR) and the cable loss of the test environment may use a network analysis unit, for example, and a spectrum analysis unit may be used for the output, harmonics, unwanted waves, and flatness. When checking the output, since the output power of the PAM is high, it can be applied to the measuring instrument through the attenuation unit 1007 to protect the measuring instrument. In addition, the network and spectrum analysis unit 1009 may check the output with reference to the result values of FIGS. 5 to 9.

The signal generator 1001 may receive or generate an input signal and transmit it to the PAM port controller 1005. The PAM port controller 1005 may control the operation of the high output power amplification module PAM. The operation of the high output power amplification module (PAM) will be described with reference to FIG. 4. The network and spectrum analysis unit 1009 may check the output power of the high output power amplification module.

The high output power amplification module may further include an LPF to reduce harmonic components. The high-output power amplification module may include two complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) amplifiers and one high-power amplifier using a semiconductor device (GaN).

It can be seen that most of the results are similar to the simulation results. There is a loss of the line during manufacturing, but since it was reflected in the budget simulation stage, the output can be measured almost the same. The output droop is secured by inserting a capacitor to maintain the output during the operation period, and spurious waves are generated by the used power switching circuit, but can be measured within the target performance. This part can be sufficiently secured by tuning the circuit. It is designed to operate in the saturation region to obtain a stable output in response to input changes. Harmonic performance was secured by using the 2nd rejection ratio -30dBc filter of the X-band for the output. As shown in Table 3 below, it can be expressed by comparing the target performance and similar products.

It is advantageous for electrical characteristics that circuits are designed to be symmetrical based on input/output. In addition, line loss should be considered when the output of the amplification module enters the input of the next stage. From an electrical point of view, the active elements used inside the PAM should be used in a linear section. When used in the saturation region, the harmonic component appears high, so it is necessary to clearly select the target performance during design. When performing a performance test, you should be able to check the switch control and operation through the notebook GUI (Graphical User Interface). If it is impossible to check through the GUI, it may be advantageous to insert a test point (TP) into a printed circuit board (PCB) and check the operation for each section. Since several active devices and switches are used in PAM, these parts are essential for debugging. Of course, it is also possible to implement RF/analog BIT and check after signal processing with the control board.

In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the contents from M&S for the radar X-band high-power amplification module to the actual production and measurement results are described. When used in aviation, it is possible to consider the surrounding environment that occurs when actually mounted on aviation.

Therefore, in order to design a module having an EMI shielding function or a temperature compensation function that satisfies the MIL-STD-461F and MIL-STD-810G standards, the size of the circuit can be increased. Accordingly, physical connectors and mechanical considerations may increase. Therefore, it is necessary to design the environmental factors and performance in consideration of motivation. Complementary matters generated through this PAM design process are summarized and the amplification module to be developed later will be more optimized and robust design.

The results of the embodiments of the present disclosure are summarized as follows. In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the overall budget design of the PAM and input/output power and characteristics of a circuit unit were checked through a circuit design program. As a result of measurement after production, the target performance output level 44dBm or more, output flatness 1dB or less, unwanted wave -60dBc or less, harmonics 2nd, 3rd -40dBc or less, standing wave ratio 1.5:1 are all satisfied, and the actual measured value is output level 44.69dBm Above, output flatness of 0.65, unwanted wave -65.54dBc, harmonics 2nd -54dBc, 3rd -73dBc, standing wave ratio of 1.3:1 can be measured.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the radar X-band high-power amplifier may be widely used as a module for amplifying an RF signal for radar.

The above-described contents may be modified and modified without departing from the essential characteristics of the present disclosure by those of ordinary skill in the technical field to which the present disclosure belongs. Accordingly, the embodiments of the present disclosure are not intended to limit the technical idea, but to describe it, and the scope of the technical idea of the present disclosure is not limited by these embodiments. The scope of protection of the present disclosure should be interpreted by the following claims, and all technical ideas within the scope equivalent thereto should be construed as being included in the scope of the present disclosure.

Claims (18)

In the high output power amplifier,
A signal generator for receiving a signal and transmitting it to the high output power amplification module;
A control unit connected directly to the signal generation unit and the high output power amplification module, and controlling an operation of the high output power amplification module; And
It includes an analysis unit to check the output signal of the high output power amplification module,
The high output power amplification module,
A first coupler configured to monitor a level of a signal input to the high output power amplification module to monitor an input signal of the high output power amplification module, and to generate a fault bit by checking a state of the input signal;
A first amplifier that is a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) amplifier that amplifies the signal output from the first coupler;
An attenuator for attenuating the signal amplified by the first amplifier;
A second amplifier that is a CMOS amplifier that amplifies the signal attenuated by the attenuation unit;
A third amplifier which is a high-power amplifier using a GaN element that amplifies the signal amplified by the second amplifier;
A filter for reducing nonlinearity and harmonic components by filtering the signal amplified by the third amplifier; And
And a second coupler configured to monitor the level of the signal output from the filter to monitor the output signal of the high-power amplification module, and to generate a fault bit by checking the level of the output signal.
The method of claim 1,
An input value of the high output power amplification module is -20 to 15 dBm, and an output value of the high output power amplification module is 44 dBm or less.
The method of claim 1,
The high output power amplification module is used in the X-band, the maximum power in the X-band is 25W, the unwanted wave is -65 dB, the second harmonic is -50 dBc, the third harmonic is -70 dBc, and the High-power amplifier, characterized in that the X-band is 8 to 12 GHz.
delete delete delete delete delete delete In the control method of a high output power amplifier,
Receiving an input signal and transmitting it to a high output power amplification module;
Controlling the operation of the high output power amplification module; And
Including the process of checking the output signal of the high output power amplification module,
The process of controlling the operation of the high output power medium width module,
Monitoring the input signal of the high output power amplifying module by monitoring the level of the signal input to the high output power amplifying module through a first coupler, and generating a fault bit by checking the state of the input signal;
Amplifying a signal output from the first coupler through a first amplifier that is a CMOS (Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor) amplifier;
Attenuating the signal amplified by the first amplifier through an attenuator;
Amplifying the signal attenuated by the attenuating unit through a second amplifier that is a CMOS amplifier;
Amplifying the signal amplified by the second amplifier through a third amplifier that is a high-power amplifier using a GaN element;
Filtering the signal amplified by the third amplifier through a filter to reduce nonlinearity and harmonic components; And
A control method of a high-power amplifier comprising the step of monitoring the level of the signal output from the filter through a second coupler to monitor the output signal of the high-power amplifying module, and generating a fault bit by checking the level of the output signal .
The method of claim 10,
An input value of the high output power amplification module is -20 to 15 dBm, and an output value of the high output power amplification module is 44 dBm or less.
The method of claim 10,
The high output power amplification module is used in the X-band, the maximum power in the X-band is 25W, the unwanted wave is -65 dB, the second harmonic is -50 dBc, the third harmonic is -70 dBc, and the X-band is 8 to 12 GHz, characterized in that the control method of the high power power amplifier. delete delete delete delete delete delete

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