Power amplification circuit, radio frequency generation device, and communication system

Abstract

Provided in the present embodiment are a power amplification circuit, a radio frequency generation device, and a communication system, which are applied in the technical field of wireless communications. The power amplification circuit comprises a first master amplification circuit, a second master amplification circuit, a first slave amplification circuit, a second slave amplification circuit, a first coupler, a second coupler, a first combiner and a second combiner, wherein a signal achieves an inter-frequency power division characteristic after passing through the first coupler and the second coupler; and the bandwidths of the first master amplification circuit and the second master amplification circuit are less than the bandwidths of the first slave amplification circuit and the second slave amplification circuit. The design difficulty is reduced by means of the narrow banding of master amplification circuits. By means of the design of combiners, constant impedance of two master amplification circuits is realized, such that the main amplification circuits are designed relatively independently and are easily replaced with other efficient architectures, so as to achieve a larger back-off amount. The present embodiment can facilitate the design of power amplifiers of large bandwidth, large back-off amount and high efficiency.

Description

A power amplifier circuit, radio frequency generation device and communication system

[0001] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the State Intellectual Property Office on November 9, 2023, with application number 202311494131.5 and application name “A power amplifier circuit, radio frequency generation device and communication system”, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

[0002] The present application relates to the field of wireless communication technology, and in particular to a power amplifier circuit, a radio frequency generation device, and a communication system. Background Art

[0003] In wireless communication applications, data information is carried on radio frequency (RF) signals through modulation techniques, and wireless communication between the transmitter and receiver is achieved by transmitting RF signals. To ensure communication quality, RF signals are typically amplified before transmission. However, with the advancement of wireless communication technology, RF modulation techniques have become increasingly complex, resulting in an increase in the peak-to-average ratio (PAR) of the output RF signals. To improve the efficiency of the output RF signals, power amplifiers must have a certain amount of power back-off.

[0004] As communication systems evolve toward higher speeds and lower latency, the bandwidth of communication signals continues to increase. Because communication signal frequency bands are fragmented, power amplifiers typically need to be designed to operate concurrently across multiple frequency bands. For broadband multi-band amplifiers, VBW is a key factor influencing broadband concurrency, and controlling VBW in broadband amplifiers presents significant design challenges. Furthermore, improving back-off efficiency and expanding operating bandwidth are conflicting requirements in power amplifier design, both of which present significant design challenges. Therefore, designing a power amplifier with high back-off, high efficiency, and high power and broadband performance is a challenging task.

[0005] Summary of the Invention

[0006] The embodiments of the present application provide a power amplifier circuit, a radio frequency generation device, and a communication system, which realize a power amplifier design with high back-off, high efficiency, high power, and wide bandwidth.

[0007] To achieve the above objectives, the embodiments of the present application adopt the following technical solutions:

[0008] In a first aspect, a power amplifier circuit is provided, which includes a first main amplifier circuit, a second main amplifier circuit, a first slave amplifier circuit, a second slave amplifier circuit, a first coupler, a second coupler, a first combiner, and a second combiner. In the first coupler and the second coupler, an isolation path is formed between the first end and the second end, a straight-through path is formed between the first end and the fourth end, and there is a 90° phase difference between the radio frequency signals output from the third end and the fourth end. The bandwidth of the first main amplifier circuit and the second main amplifier circuit is smaller than the bandwidth of the first slave amplifier circuit and the second slave amplifier circuit. The third end of the first coupler is coupled to the second end of the second coupler through the first slave amplifier circuit; the fourth end of the first coupler is coupled to the first end of the second coupler through the second slave amplifier circuit. The output end of the first main amplifier circuit is coupled to the first end of the first combiner; the third end of the second coupler is coupled to the second end of the first combiner; the output end of the second main amplifier circuit is coupled to the first end of the second combiner; and the fourth end of the second coupler is coupled to the second end of the second combiner. The first end of the first coupler and the input end of the first main amplifier circuit are used to input a first radio frequency signal; the second end of the first coupler and the input end of the second main amplifier circuit are used to input a second radio frequency signal; the first radio frequency signal and the second radio frequency signal have different frequency bands; the third ends of the first combiner and the second combiner are used to output a radio frequency composite signal.

[0009] In some examples, the coupler can be a cross-broadside coupler, a branch line coupler, or a parallel broadside coupler, etc. Taking the branch line coupler as an example, the third end and the fourth end of the coupler output RF signals with a phase shift of 180° and a phase shift of 90°, respectively. Taking the cross-broadside coupler as an example, the third end and the fourth end of the coupler output RF signals with a phase shift of 90° and no phase shift, respectively. These couplers can all satisfy the phase difference of 90° between the third end and the fourth end. In actual applications, whether the connection relationship of the coupler is the connection relationship recorded in this solution is determined based on the port position connection of the coupling end, the straight-through end, etc., rather than determining the connection relationship by the relative connection direction between the ports on the same side of the coupler.

[0010] In an embodiment of the present application, first, by setting the bandwidth of the first main amplifier circuit and the second main amplifier circuit to be smaller than the bandwidth of the first slave amplifier circuit and the second slave amplifier circuit. By narrowing the bandwidth design of the two main paths, the two main paths can be decomposed into two narrow-bandwidth power amplifier units. When the hardware design bandwidth is reduced, the narrowband impedance convergence is more friendly, which is conducive to improving the ultimate performance and can solve the problem of deterioration of power, efficiency and linear performance in concurrent scenarios. Second, the signal phase is controlled by the first coupler and the second coupler to produce in-phase synthesis and reverse cancellation, thereby realizing the heterogeneous power division characteristics. Compared with the scheme of using heterogeneous power dividers to divide the RF signals between different frequency bands, it can have better out-of-band isolation and smaller insertion loss, improve the efficiency of the design scheme, and improve the linear performance of the link. Third, the RF signals of different frequency bands are divided into two RF signals, the first RF signal and the second RF signal, and the dual output architecture of the two-way output of the second coupler can avoid the problems of large insertion loss and poor linearity caused by the use of broadband isolators. At the same time, since the width isolator itself also has design difficulties, the design difficulty can also be reduced on the basis of avoiding the use of width isolators. Fourth, the power-sharing structure consisting of a master and slave path can increase the power amplifier's back-off and improve efficiency, thereby achieving energy-saving characteristics while reducing solution costs. The embodiments of the present application, through the above approach, can more easily achieve a power amplifier design with large back-off, large bandwidth, and high operating efficiency.

[0011] In one possible embodiment, the first combiner and the second combiner are circulators; in the circulator, the RF signal is transmitted in the direction of flow through the first end, the second end, and the third end of the circulator, and will not be transmitted in the reverse direction; the third end of the first combiner is used to output the first RF synthetic signal; the third end of the second combiner is used to output the second RF synthetic signal; the first RF synthetic signal is a synthetic signal of the first RF signal; the second RF synthetic signal is a synthetic signal of the second RF signal. In the embodiment of the present application, the impedance of the circulator is not constant and can be designed accordingly according to actual design requirements. Using a circulator as the first combiner and the second combiner can keep the main amplifier circuit relatively independent, which is convenient for design. It is also easier to carry out structural expansion design of multiple amplification branches.

[0012] In one possible implementation, when a circulator is used as the first combiner and the second combiner, the minimum on-state operating power point of the first master amplifier circuit is less than the minimum on-state operating power point of the first slave amplifier circuit; the minimum on-state operating power point of the second master amplifier circuit is less than the minimum on-state operating power point of the first slave amplifier circuit; and the minimum on-state operating power point of the first slave amplifier circuit is less than, equal to, or greater than the minimum on-state operating power point of the second slave amplifier circuit.

[0013] Exemplarily, when the minimum on-operating power point of the first slave amplifier circuit is equal to the minimum on-operating power point of the second slave amplifier circuit, the first master amplifier circuit, the second master amplifier circuit, the first slave amplifier circuit, and the second slave amplifier circuit can form an architecture of different-frequency power division through the second coupler. Specifically, when the first slave amplifier circuit and the second slave amplifier circuit are turned on at the same time, the two slave amplifier circuits form a balanced amplifier circuit. At this time, the two slave amplifier circuits will simultaneously transmit the first RF signal and the second RF signal to the first end and the second end of the second coupler. In the above manner, when the minimum on-operating power point of the first slave amplifier circuit is equal to the minimum on-operating power point of the second slave amplifier circuit, the power synthesis of the first RF signal and the second RF signal can be achieved based on the coupler, and the first RF synthesized signal and the second RF synthesized signal with different frequency bands can be output after different-frequency power division based on the coupler.

[0014] Exemplarily, when the minimum on-operating power point of the first slave amplifier circuit is less than the minimum on-operating power point of the second slave amplifier circuit, the first master amplifier circuit can form a CLMA-doherty architecture with the first slave amplifier circuit and the second slave amplifier circuit. The second master amplifier circuit can also form a CLMA-doherty architecture with the first slave amplifier circuit and the second slave amplifier circuit. Specifically, the first master amplifier circuit, the first slave amplifier circuit and the second slave amplifier circuit can achieve power synthesis based on a circulator to obtain a first RF synthesized signal. The second master amplifier circuit, the first slave amplifier circuit and the second slave amplifier circuit can also achieve power synthesis using a circulator to obtain a second RF synthesized signal. Due to the phase shift effect brought about by the first coupler, there is a phase difference between the RF signals on the first slave amplifier circuit and the second slave amplifier circuit, which causes the first RF signals inputted by the first end and the second end of the second coupler to cancel each other out at the fourth end of the second coupler, so that the fourth end of the second coupler only outputs the second RF synthesized signal corresponding to the second RF signal. At the same time, the second RF signals inputted by the first end and the second end of the second coupler will cancel each other out at the third end of the second coupler, so that the third end of the second coupler only outputs the first RF synthesized signal corresponding to the first RF signal.

[0015] The difference between the case where the minimum on-state operating power point of the second slave amplifier circuit is equal to or greater than the minimum on-state operating power point of the second slave amplifier circuit and the case where the minimum on-state operating power point of the first slave amplifier circuit is less than the minimum on-state operating power point of the second slave amplifier circuit lies in the different order in which the two slave amplifier circuits are turned on. For relevant technical principles, please refer to the description of the aforementioned embodiment where the minimum on-state operating power point of the first slave amplifier circuit is less than the minimum on-state operating power point of the second slave amplifier circuit, and will not be repeated here.

[0016] In one possible embodiment, the first combiner and the second combiner are inter-frequency power splitters. The first and third ends of the first and second combiners serve as branching ends of the inter-frequency power splitters. The second ends of the first and second combiners serve as combining ends of the inter-frequency power splitters. The first end of the first combiner bandpasses the first RF signal and band-rejects the second RF signal; the third end of the first combiner bandpasses the second RF signal and band-rejects the first RF signal; the second end of the first combiner bandpasses the first and second RF signals; and the third end of the first combiner outputs a second composite RF signal. The first end of the second combiner bandpasses the second RF signal and band-rejects the first RF signal; the third end of the first combiner bandpasses the first RF signal and band-rejects the second RF signal; the second end of the second combiner bandpasses the first and second RF signals; and the third end of the second combiner outputs a first composite RF signal. The first composite RF signal is a composite signal of the first RF signal; and the second composite RF signal is a composite signal of the second RF signal. In the embodiment of the present application, by using different-frequency power splitters as the first combiner and the second combiner, the flow direction of the first RF signal and the second RF signal can be changed, thereby reducing the transmission insertion loss, making the power amplifier circuit easier to design and expand.

[0017] For example, when a different-frequency power divider is used as the first combiner and the second combiner, the minimum on-operating power point of the first main amplifier circuit is less than the minimum on-operating power point of the first slave amplifier circuit; the minimum on-operating power point of the second main amplifier circuit is less than the minimum on-operating power point of the first slave amplifier circuit; the minimum on-operating power point of the first slave amplifier circuit can be less than, equal to, or greater than the minimum on-operating power point of the second slave amplifier circuit. Taking the case where the minimum on-operating power point of the first slave amplifier circuit can be equal to the minimum on-operating power point of the second slave amplifier circuit as an example, the first main amplifier circuit can form an SLMBA architecture with the first slave amplifier circuit and the second slave amplifier circuit. The second main amplifier circuit can also form an SLMBA architecture with the first slave amplifier circuit and the second slave amplifier circuit. The RF signals of two different frequency bands are subjected to frequency division processing by the first coupler and the second coupler, and are output from the third end and the fourth end of the second coupler respectively.

[0018] In one possible implementation, at least one of the first main amplifier circuit, the second main amplifier circuit, the first slave amplifier circuit, and the second slave amplifier circuit is a power combining circuit; the power combining circuit includes multiple amplification branch circuits. In the embodiment of the present application, because a first combiner and a second combiner are used, the load impedance of the main amplifier circuit is constant and relatively independent. Therefore, one or more of the first main amplifier circuit and the second main amplifier circuit can be designed as a power combining circuit, or the first slave amplifier circuit and the second slave amplifier circuit. When designed as a power combining circuit, the power back-off of the power amplifier circuit can be increased.

[0019] Exemplarily, the power synthesis circuit includes at least one of the following: a Doherty circuit, an inverse Doherty circuit, an asymmetric Doherty circuit, an LMBA circuit, an SLMBA circuit, a balun voltage-type synthesis circuit, a Chireix amplifier circuit, and an out-of-phase modulation amplifier circuit.

[0020] In one possible embodiment, the power amplifier circuit further includes a shunt circuit; the shunt circuit is configured to: input a first RF signal and a second RF signal, and output the first RF signal to the input end of the first main amplifier circuit and the first end of the first coupler, respectively; and output the second RF signal to the input end of the second main amplifier circuit and the second end of the first coupler, respectively. In this embodiment of the present application, the first RF signal and the second RF signal can be input through the shunt circuit, and multiple first and second RF signals can be obtained by shunting for power sharing and power combining.

[0021] In one possible embodiment, the branching circuit includes a first power divider and a second power divider. The combining end of the first power divider is used to input a first RF signal; the first branch end and the second branch end of the first power divider are respectively used to output one channel of the first RF signal. The combining end of the second power divider is used to input a second RF signal; the first branch end and the second branch end of the second power divider are respectively used to output one channel of the second RF signal. In this embodiment of the present application, the first RF signal and the second RF signal can be input respectively through two power dividers, and the first RF signal and the second RF signal can be respectively branched.

[0022] In one possible embodiment, the branch circuit includes a first inter-frequency power divider and a second inter-frequency power divider. The combining end of the first inter-frequency power divider is used to input a first RF signal and a second RF signal; the first branch end of the first inter-frequency power divider outputs a first RF signal; and the second branch end of the first inter-frequency power divider is used to output a second RF signal. The combining end of the second inter-frequency power divider is used to input a first RF signal and a second RF signal. The first branch end of the second inter-frequency power divider outputs a first RF signal; and the second branch end of the second inter-frequency power divider is used to output a second RF signal. In an embodiment of the present application, RF signals including the first RF signal and the second RF signal can be input through two inter-frequency power dividers, and each inter-frequency power divider performs inter-frequency power division to output the first RF signal and the second RF signal.

[0023] In one possible embodiment, the branching circuit includes a third inter-frequency power splitter, a third power splitter, and a fourth power splitter. The first branch end and the second branch end of the third inter-frequency power splitter are coupled to the combining end of the third power splitter and the combining end of the fourth power splitter, respectively. The combining end of the third inter-frequency power splitter is used to input a first RF signal and a second RF signal. The first branch end of the third inter-frequency power splitter is used to output the first RF signal. The second branch end of the third inter-frequency power splitter is used to output the second RF signal. The first branch end and the second branch end of the third power splitter are respectively used to output one channel of the first RF signal. The first branch end and the second branch end of the fourth power splitter are respectively used to output one channel of the second RF signal. In this embodiment of the present application, the inter-frequency power splitter can be used to perform inter-frequency power splitting on the RF signal including the first RF signal and the second RF signal, and then output the first RF signal and the second RF signal to the third power splitter and the fourth power splitter, respectively. The third power splitter splits the input first RF signal into multiple channels. The fourth power splitter splits the input second RF signal into multiple channels.

[0024] In one possible implementation, the first RF signal and the second RF signal include RF signals of one or more sub-bands. In an embodiment of the present application, a RF signal with a relatively large bandwidth can be split into a plurality of first RF signals and second RF signals with relatively small bandwidths. The convergence of the impedance design is more friendly under a smaller relative bandwidth, and the efficiency of each amplification branch can be further improved, thereby improving the fallback efficiency and full-load efficiency of the power amplifier circuit. In addition, splitting the traditional wide-band main amplifier circuit into a plurality of RF signals with relatively small bandwidths can avoid the problem of difficult VBW design in concurrent scenarios and will not cause deterioration of concurrent performance.

[0025] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a radio frequency generation device, which includes a radio frequency generation circuit and a power amplifier circuit as described in the first aspect above; the radio frequency generation circuit is used to output a radio frequency signal to the power amplifier circuit; and the power amplifier circuit is used to perform power synthesis amplification based on the radio frequency signal.

[0026] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a communication system, which includes a baseband processing device and a radio frequency generation device described in the second aspect above; the baseband processing device is used to output a baseband signal to the radio frequency generation device; the radio frequency generation device is used to obtain a radio frequency signal based on the baseband signal and perform power synthesis amplification on the radio frequency signal.

[0027] In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a chip system comprising at least one processor and at least one interface circuit. At least one processor and at least one interface circuit may be interconnected via lines. The processor is used to support the chip system to implement the various functions or steps in the above embodiments, and at least one interface circuit may be used to receive signals from other devices (such as communication interfaces, radio frequency generation circuits, power amplifier circuits, antennas, etc.), or to send signals to other devices (such as communication interfaces, radio frequency generation circuits, power amplifier circuits, antennas, etc.). The chip system may include a chip and may also include other discrete devices. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0028] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a power amplifier;

[0029] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0030] FIG3 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0031] FIG4 is a schematic structural diagram of a first power amplifier circuit provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0032] FIG5 is a schematic structural diagram of a second power amplifier circuit provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0033] FIG6 is a schematic structural diagram of a third power amplifier circuit provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0034] FIG7 is a schematic structural diagram of a fourth power amplifier circuit provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0035] FIG8 is a schematic structural diagram of a fifth power amplifier circuit provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0036] FIG9 is a first structural diagram of a sixth power amplifier circuit provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0037] FIG10 is a schematic structural diagram of a coupler;

[0038] FIG11 is a second structural diagram of another sixth power amplifier circuit provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0039] FIG12 is a third structural diagram of a sixth power amplifier circuit provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0040] FIG13 is a schematic diagram of input power-current variation of the sixth power amplifier circuit shown in FIG11 according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0041] FIG14 is a schematic diagram of input power-voltage variation of the sixth power amplifier circuit shown in FIG11 according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0042] FIG15 is a schematic diagram of input power-impedance variation of the sixth power amplifier circuit shown in FIG11 provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0043] FIG16 is a schematic diagram of input power-efficiency variation of the sixth power amplifier circuit shown in FIG11 according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0044] FIG17 is a fourth structural diagram of a sixth power amplifier circuit provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0045] FIG18 is a schematic diagram of input power-current variation of the sixth power amplifier circuit shown in FIG17 provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0046] FIG19 is a schematic diagram of input power-voltage variation of the sixth power amplifier circuit shown in FIG17 provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0047] FIG20 is a schematic diagram of input power-impedance variation of the sixth power amplifier circuit shown in FIG17 provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0048] FIG21 is a schematic diagram of input power-efficiency variation of the sixth power amplifier circuit shown in FIG17 provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0049] FIG22 is a fifth structural diagram of a sixth power amplifier circuit provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0050] FIG23 is a schematic diagram of input power-current variation of the sixth power amplifier circuit shown in FIG22 provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0051] FIG24 is a schematic diagram of input power-voltage variation of the sixth power amplifier circuit shown in FIG22 provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0052] FIG25 is a schematic diagram of input power-impedance variation of the sixth power amplifier circuit shown in FIG22 provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0053] FIG26 is a schematic diagram of input power-efficiency variation of the sixth power amplifier circuit shown in FIG22 provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0054] FIG27 is a sixth structural diagram of a sixth power amplifier circuit provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0055] FIG28 is a seventh structural diagram of a sixth power amplifier circuit provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0056] FIG29 is a structural diagram eight of yet another sixth power amplifier circuit provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0057] FIG30 is a ninth structural diagram of another sixth power amplifier circuit provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0058] It should be noted that the terms "first", "second", etc. involved in the embodiments of the present application are only used to distinguish features of the same type and cannot be understood as indicating relative importance, quantity, order, etc.

[0059] The terms "exemplary" or "for example" in the embodiments of this application are used to indicate examples, illustrations, or descriptions. Any embodiment or design described in this application as "exemplary" or "for example" should not be construed as being preferred or advantageous over other embodiments or designs. Rather, the use of words such as "exemplary" or "for example" is intended to present the relevant concepts in a concrete manner.

[0060] The terms "coupling" and "connection" involved in the embodiments of this application should be understood in a broad sense. For example, they may refer to a physical direct connection, or an indirect connection achieved through electronic devices, such as a connection achieved through resistors, inductors, capacitors or other electronic devices.

[0061] First, some basic concepts involved in the embodiments of this application are explained:

[0062] Power amplifier: Figure 1 shows the basic structure of a power amplifier. In the figure, a gate bias circuit P1 is provided at the gate of the amplifying power transistor M, and a drain bias circuit P2 is provided at the drain of the amplifying power transistor M. Gate bias circuit P1 and drain bias circuit P2 control the bias between the gates of the amplifying power transistor M, keeping the amplifying power transistor M in its power amplification state. In this state, the amplifying power transistor M can amplify the input signal. Depending on the gate voltage configuration of the power transistor, the minimum power point at which the power transistor turns on varies, and the power state it is in also varies. The operating states of the amplifier can be categorized as Class A, Class B, Class AB, and Class C. Class A power amplifiers offer the best linearity and are suitable for amplifying small DC signals. Class B power amplifiers operate in half-cycle mode. Single-ended Class B power amplifiers generate significant nonlinear distortion and are rarely used for RF power amplification. They are typically used for audio power amplification, using a push-pull configuration consisting of two Class B power amplifiers to generate positive and negative half-cycles. A Class AB power amplifier is a combination of a Class A power amplifier and a Class B power amplifier. Class AB power amplifiers offer efficiency and linearity between Class A and Class B power amplifiers and are widely used in power amplification of RF signals. In the embodiments of this application, Class C power amplifiers are further categorized by their minimum operating power point, for example, into shallow Class C, Class C, and deep Class C. This categorization is used in the embodiments of this application only to represent the differences between multiple Class C power amplifiers.

[0063] Power Amplifier Back-off: With the advancement of wireless communication technology, RF signal modulation techniques have become increasingly complex, increasing the peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR) of the output RF signal. The RF signal input to the power amplifier is a modulated signal obtained by modulating data information onto a carrier signal. The amount of power back-off is related to the PAPR of the modulated signal.

[0064] Power amplifier efficiency: The efficiency of a power amplifier can be measured by the drain efficiency of the power transistor M. This refers to the ratio of the system's drain DC current converted to the RF signal actually output by the power amplifier. The efficiency of a power amplifier decreases as the output power decreases.

[0065] An embodiment of the present application provides a communication system. As shown in FIG2 , the communication system 10000 includes a baseband processing device 1000 and a radio frequency generation device 2000. The baseband processing device 1000 is coupled to the radio frequency generation device 2000. The baseband processing device 1000 is configured to output a baseband signal to the radio frequency generation device 2000. The radio frequency generation device 2000 is configured to derive a radio frequency signal from the baseband signal and perform power synthesis amplification on the radio frequency signal.

[0066] As shown in Figure 3, RF generation device 2000 includes RF generation circuit 100 and power amplifier circuit 200. The output terminal of RF generation circuit 100 is coupled to power amplifier circuit 200. RF generation circuit 100 is configured to output RF signals to power amplifier circuit 200, which in turn performs power synthesis and amplification based on the RF signals.

[0067] For example, the radio frequency generation device 2000 may be a remote radio unit (RRU) or an active antenna unit (AAU), etc. The baseband processing device 1000 may be a building base band unit (BBU), etc.

[0068] With the advancement of wireless communication technology, the amount of data and information required to be carried by RF signals has rapidly increased. This has led to an increase in the bandwidth requirements for RF signals. To ensure the efficiency of high-peak-to-average ratio RF signal amplification, it is necessary to maximize power back-off. The power amplifier (PA) consumes the most power in the transmitter, and maintaining high efficiency under conditions of significant power back-off is a major challenge. Furthermore, in PA design, improving back-off efficiency and expanding operating bandwidth are conflicting requirements, both of which present significant design challenges. Designing PAs with high power, wide bandwidth, large back-off, and high efficiency has always been a challenge in the industry, primarily due to the following difficulties: First, from the perspective of high-efficiency PA design, improving back-off efficiency and expanding operating bandwidth are in conflict. Most PA architectures require a balance between bandwidth and efficiency, making it difficult to achieve the desired efficiency. Second, from the perspective of high-power PA design, the PA's power transistors have smaller matching impedances and greater parasitic parameters, which can severely impact the design solution. Difficulty 3: From the perspective of designing wideband, multi-band power amplifiers, video bandwidth (VBW) is a key factor affecting broadband concurrency, and controlling the VBW of wideband amplifiers presents significant design challenges. Difficulty 4: The output of the power amplifier in a base station requires an isolator to protect the amplifier's performance from downstream impedance mismatches. The performance of the output isolator of a high-power, wideband amplifier significantly impacts output insertion loss, linearity, and other performance characteristics.

[0069] In some possible implementations, the power amplifier circuit 200 may be a first power amplifier of a Doherty architecture. As shown in FIG4 , the first power amplifier circuit 200A includes a main amplifier branch 210A, a slave amplifier branch 220A, and an impedance inversion line 230A. The main amplifier branch 210A operates in Class B or Class AB, and the slave amplifier branch 220A operates in Class C. When the signal power of the input RF signal is relatively low, the main amplifier branch 210A is turned on to operate. When the signal power of the input RF signal is relatively high, the slave amplifier branch 220A is turned on to operate. When the slave amplifier branch 220A is turned on, the impedance of the junction between the main amplifier branch 210A and the slave amplifier branch 220A is inverted with the impedance of the main amplifier branch 210A through the impedance inversion line 230A, thereby achieving power synthesis of the RF signals output by the two branches under load pull. The Doherty architecture and its variant architecture shown in FIG4 can maintain good power fallback and work efficiency in single-frequency or dual-frequency signal amplification. However, to achieve a larger back-off within the architecture shown in Figure 4, it is necessary to increase the number of impedance inversion lines 230A and slave amplification branches 220A, which increases the device cost and area of ​​the first power amplifier circuit 200A. Furthermore, when the number of slave amplification branches 220A reaches a certain level, the amplification gain coefficient of the first power amplifier circuit 200A decreases. Furthermore, the impedance inversion line 230A has a certain frequency response, which limits the bandwidth, making broadband design extremely difficult for engineers.

[0070] In some possible implementations, the power amplifier circuit 200 may be a second power amplifier based on a load modulated balanced amplifier (LMBA) architecture or a sequential load modulated balanced amplifier (SLMBA) architecture. As shown in FIG5 , the second power amplifier circuit 200B may include two balanced couplers 210B, two balanced amplifier circuits 220B, and a control amplifier circuit 230B. The third and fourth ends of the front-stage balanced coupler 210B are respectively coupled to the input ends of the two balanced amplifier circuits 220B, and are coupled to the first and second ends of the rear-stage balanced coupler 210B through the output ends of the two balanced amplifier circuits 220B. The output end of the control amplifier circuit 230B is coupled to the third end of the rear-stage balanced coupler 210B. The fourth end of the rear-stage balanced coupler 210B serves as the output end of the second power amplifier circuit 200B. In some examples, the two balanced amplifier circuits 220B are master amplifiers operating in class AB, and the control amplifier circuit 230B is a slave amplifier operating in class C. In this case, the second power amplifier circuit 200B is a power amplifier based on LMBA. In some examples, the two balanced amplifier circuits 220B are slave amplifiers operating in class C, and the control amplifier circuit 230B is a master amplifier operating in class AB. In this case, the second power amplifier circuit 200B is a power amplifier based on SLMBA. In the embodiment shown in Figure 5, the third and fourth ends of the balanced coupler 210B of the front stage output two RF signals with a phase difference of 90°. The two RF signals are power amplified by the balanced amplifier circuit 220B and then output to the balanced coupler 210B of the back stage. The RF signal output by the control amplifier circuit 230B coupled to the balanced coupler 210B of the subsequent stage can control the balanced coupler 210B of the subsequent stage to adjust the amplitude and phase of the three RF signals, so that each frequency band can obtain the best load pulling effect, and output the power-synthesized RF signal from the fourth end of the balanced coupler 210B of the subsequent stage. However, in the design of the scheme shown in Figure 5, first, in order to meet the current base station needs, a power ratio scheme in which the working power of the slave amplifier is higher than the working power of the master amplifier is often used, and the efficiency pit problem caused by this cannot be ignored. Second, VBW control is very difficult in broadband scenarios, and in concurrent scenarios, the problem of deterioration of its power, efficiency, and linear performance still exists. Third, the balanced coupler is used as the output power synthesis unit in the architecture, and its power capacity is a major challenge in the current high-power power amplifier design. Fourth, it is difficult to achieve good performance with a broadband isolator connected to the output of a single-output power amplifier solution.

[0071] In some possible implementations, the power amplifier circuit 200 may be a third power amplifier circuit based on a dual-band, single-output Doherty architecture with slave-based sharing. As shown in FIG6 , the third power amplifier circuit 200C includes a first single-frequency main amplifier circuit PA1, a second single-frequency main amplifier circuit PA2, a dual-band shared slave amplifier circuit PA3, a first impedance inverter network INV1, and a second impedance transformation network INV2. The first single-frequency main amplifier circuit PA1 operates in Class AB and is used to power amplify RF signals in the first frequency band. The second single-frequency main amplifier circuit PA2 operates in Class AB and is used to power amplify RF signals in the second frequency band. The dual-band shared slave amplifier circuit PA3 operates in Class C and is used to power amplify RF signals in the first and second frequency bands. The output of the first single-frequency main amplifier circuit PA1 and the output of the second single-frequency main amplifier circuit PA2 are each coupled to the output of the dual-band shared slave amplifier circuit PA3 through a first impedance inverter network INV1, and then coupled to the second impedance transformation network INV2. Among them, the first single-frequency main amplifier circuit PA1 and the dual-frequency shared slave amplifier circuit PA3 can form a Doherty architecture for the first frequency band through the corresponding first impedance inverter network INV1 and the second impedance conversion network INV2. The second single-frequency main amplifier circuit PA2 and the dual-frequency shared slave amplifier circuit PA3 can form a Doherty architecture for the second frequency band through the corresponding first impedance inverter network INV1 and the second impedance conversion network INV2. The embodiment of the present application can avoid the problem of the main path entering the saturation zone prematurely due to the interaction of concurrent signals in the concurrent scenario through the third power amplifier circuit 200C as shown in Figure 6, and solves the saturation power, efficiency and linear deterioration problems of the concurrent scenario. However, in the design of high-power broadband power amplifiers, the open-circuit characteristics of the slave amplifier circuit will add great difficulty to the design. In addition, the output of the broadband single-output solution needs to be connected to a broadband isolator, and the current design of broadband isolators is difficult to achieve good performance.

[0072] In some possible implementations, the power amplifier circuit 200 may be a fourth power amplifier circuit based on a dual-band, dual-output Doherty architecture with slave sharing. As shown in FIG7 , the fourth power amplifier circuit 200D includes a first single-frequency main amplifier circuit PA1, a second single-frequency main amplifier circuit PA2, a dual-band shared slave amplifier circuit PA3, two first impedance inversion networks INV1, two second impedance variation networks INV2, a front-stage inter-frequency power splitter F1, and a rear-stage inter-frequency power splitter F2. The first single-frequency main amplifier circuit PA1 and the second single-frequency main amplifier circuit PA2 each operate in Class AB, while the dual-band shared slave amplifier circuit PA3 operates in Class C. The two branch terminals of the front-stage inter-frequency power splitter F1 respectively input RF signals of the first and second frequency bands, while the combining terminal of the front-stage inter-frequency power splitter F1 outputs RF signals of the first and second frequency bands to the input terminal of the dual-band shared slave amplifier circuit PA3. The dual-band shared slave amplifier circuit PA3 outputs the amplified RF signals in the first and second frequency bands to the combining end of the subsequent inter-frequency power splitter F2. The outputs of the first and second single-frequency main amplifier circuits PA1 and PA2 are each coupled to a first impedance inverter network INV1, and then coupled to the two branch ends of the subsequent inter-frequency power splitter F2 through the corresponding first impedance inverter network INV1. One branch end of the subsequent inter-frequency power splitter F2 outputs the RF signal in the first frequency band to the first impedance inverter network INV1 corresponding to the first single-frequency main amplifier circuit PA1, where it forms a Doherty architecture with the corresponding second impedance transformation network INV2 for power combination of the RF signal in the first frequency band. The other branch end of the subsequent inter-frequency power splitter F2 outputs the RF signal in the second frequency band to the first impedance inverter network INV1 corresponding to the second single-frequency main amplifier circuit PA2, where it forms a Doherty architecture with the corresponding second impedance transformation network INV2 for power combination of the RF signal in the second frequency band. In the embodiment of the present application, a heterodyne power divider is used in the architecture shown in FIG7 to realize dual output from different frequency bands of the amplifier circuit. In this broadband dual-output solution, the power amplifier output signal in the communication system can be connected to the antenna using two narrowband isolators, reducing the impact of the broadband isolator on the link performance. However, in this architecture, the heterodyne power divider must not only meet the heterodyne power division characteristics, but also participate in the load pulling of the radio frequency signals in the two frequency bands, which increases the design difficulty. At the same time, its insertion loss will also cause the performance of the solution to degrade, making the design more difficult. In addition, the open-circuit characteristic problem of the amplifier circuit is still a design difficulty.

[0073] In some possible implementations, the power amplifier circuit 200 may be a fifth power amplifier circuit based on a circulator load modulated amplifier (CLMA). As shown in FIG8 , the fifth power amplifier circuit 200E includes a first single-frequency main amplifier circuit PA1, a second single-frequency main amplifier circuit PA2, a dual-frequency shared slave amplifier circuit PA3, an inter-frequency power splitter F3, a first-band circulator C1, and a second-band circulator C2. The first single-frequency main amplifier circuit PA1 and the second single-frequency main amplifier circuit PA2 each operate in Class AB, while the dual-frequency shared slave amplifier circuit PA3 operates in Class C. The output end of the dual-frequency shared slave amplifier circuit PA3 outputs the amplified RF signals of the first and second frequency bands to the combining end of the inter-frequency power splitter F3. The amplified RF signal of the first frequency band is output to the first end of the first-band circulator C1 via one branch end of the inter-frequency power splitter F3, and the amplified RF signal of the second frequency band is output to the first end of the second-band circulator C2 via the other branch end of the inter-frequency power splitter F3. The third end of the first-band circulator C1 inputs the RF signal of the first frequency band after main-path amplification from the first single-frequency main amplifier circuit PA1. The third end of the second-band circulator C2 inputs the RF signal of the second frequency band after main-path amplification from the second single-frequency main amplifier circuit PA2. Because the signal transmission inside the circulator is directional, the RF signal of the first frequency band after power synthesis can be output from the second end of the first-band circulator C1, and the RF signal of the second frequency band after power synthesis can be output from the second end of the second-band circulator C2. In the architecture shown in Figure 8 of the present application, a circulator is used as a combiner for power synthesis, because the impedance of the isolation end of the circulator is constant, and its impedance will not change with the change of load traction, which can effectively avoid the open-circuit characteristic problem of the slave path. However, in this architecture, the design of the different-frequency power divider F3 needs to take into account indicators such as out-of-band suppression and insertion loss, and the design is relatively difficult.

[0074] In some possible implementations, the power amplifier circuit 200 may be a sixth power amplifier with a multi-frequency, multi-output structure that implements inter-frequency power division using a coupler. As shown in FIG9 , the sixth power amplifier circuit 200F includes a first master amplifier circuit 210F, a second master amplifier circuit 220F, a first slave amplifier circuit 230F, a second slave amplifier circuit 240F, a first coupler 250F, a second coupler 260F, a first combiner 270F, and a second combiner 280F. In the first coupler 250F and the second coupler 260F, a direct path is formed between the first and fourth ends, a direct path is formed between the second and third ends, an isolation path is formed between the first and second ends, and an isolation path is formed between the third and fourth ends. The RF signals output from the third and fourth ends have a 90° phase difference.

[0075] In some examples, the coupler can be a cross-broadside coupler, a branch line coupler or a parallel broadside coupler, etc. Taking the branch line coupler as an example, the third end and the fourth end of the coupler output RF signals with a phase shift of 180° and a phase shift of 90°, respectively. Taking the cross-broadside coupler as an example, the third end and the fourth end of the coupler output RF signals with a phase shift of 90° and no phase shift, respectively. These couplers can all satisfy the phase difference of 90° between the third end and the fourth end. In actual applications, whether the connection relationship of the coupler is the connection relationship recorded in this solution is determined based on the port position connection of the coupling end, the straight-through end, etc., rather than determining the connection relationship by the relative connection direction between the ports on the same side of the coupler. The subsequent embodiments of this application are all explained based on the principle of the branch line coupler. As shown in Figure 10, an example structure of a branch line coupler is shown. In the figure, there is a straight-through path between the first end and the fourth end of the coupler, and a straight-through path between the second end and the third end of the coupler; there is an isolation path between the first end and the second end of the coupler, and the third end and the fourth end of the coupler are isolation paths. The two ends of the through-path are mutually through-ends, the two ends of the isolation path are mutually isolated ends, and the two ends connected by the through-path and the isolation path are mutually coupled ends. Therefore, the first end and the second end of the coupler are mutually isolated ends, and the first end and the fourth end of the coupler are mutually through-ends. Between the two ends of the through-end, the signal transmission is phase-shifted by 90°. Between the two ends of the coupled end, the signal is output after being phase-shifted by 180°. At the two ends of the isolated end, the signals are canceled, so that the signals of each other at the isolated ends cannot be output. The bandwidth of the first main amplifier circuit 210F and the second main amplifier circuit 220F is smaller than the bandwidth of the first slave amplifier circuit 230F and the second slave amplifier circuit 240F. Wherein:

[0076] The third end of the first coupler 250F is coupled to the second end of the second coupler 260F through the first slave amplifying circuit 230F; the fourth end of the first coupler 260F is coupled to the first end of the second coupler 260F through the second slave amplifying circuit 240F.

[0077] The output end of the first main amplifier circuit 210F is coupled to the first end of the first combiner 270F; the third end of the second coupler 260F is coupled to the second end of the first combiner 270F; the output end of the second main amplifier circuit 220F is coupled to the first end of the second combiner 280F; and the fourth end of the second coupler 260F is coupled to the second end of the second combiner 280F.

[0078] The first end of the first coupler 250F and the input end of the first main amplifier circuit 210F are used to input a first RF signal; the second end of the first coupler 250F and the input end of the second main amplifier circuit 220F are used to input a second RF signal; the first RF signal and the second RF signal have different frequency bands; the third ends of the first combiner 270F and the second combiner 280F are used to output a composite RF signal.

[0079] For example, as shown in FIG9 , taking the first end of the first coupler 250F as the input end, when a first RF signal is input to the first end, the third end of the first coupler 250F, acting as the coupling end of the first end, outputs the first RF signal with a phase shift of 180°. The fourth end of the first coupler 250F, acting as the through-end of the first end, outputs the first RF signal with a phase shift of 90°. The two RF signals are respectively transmitted through the first slave amplifier circuit 230F and the second slave amplifier circuit 240F to the second coupler 260F. The first end of the second coupler 260F receives the first RF signal with a phase shift of 90°, and the fourth end of the second coupler 260F receives the first RF signal with a phase shift of 180°, while the third end of the second coupler 260F receives the first RF signal with a phase shift of 270°. The second end of the second coupler 260F receives the first RF signal with a phase shift of 180°, and the fourth end of the second coupler 260F receives the first RF signal with a phase shift of 360°, while the third end of the second coupler 260F receives the first RF signal with a phase shift of 270°. Therefore, at the fourth end of the second coupler 260F, there will be a 180° first RF signal and a 360° first RF signal. The two first RF signals have opposite phases and will cancel each other out. At the third end of the second coupler 260F, there will be two 270° first RF signals. The two 270° first RF signals will be superimposed to form a single 270° first RF signal. Therefore, when the first RF signal is input from the first end of the first coupler 250F, only one first RF signal with a phase shift of 270° will be output from the third end of the second coupler 260F. Similarly, when the second RF signal is input from the second end of the first coupler 250F, only the second RF signal with a phase shift of 270° will be output from the fourth end of the second coupler 260F. Therefore, a different-frequency power splitting structure can be formed by the first coupler 250F and the second coupler 260F.

[0080] In the embodiment of the present application as shown in Figure 9, first, by setting the bandwidth of the first main amplifier circuit 210F and the second main amplifier circuit 220F to be smaller than the bandwidth of the first slave amplifier circuit 230F and the second slave amplifier circuit 240F. By narrowing the bandwidth design of the two main paths, the two main paths can be decomposed into two narrow-bandwidth power amplifier units. When the hardware design bandwidth is reduced, the narrowband impedance convergence is more friendly, which is conducive to improving the ultimate performance. In addition, in the concurrent scenario, the two main amplifier circuits operate in their respective frequency bands, avoiding the VBW problem, and solving the problem of deterioration of power, efficiency, and linear performance in the concurrent scenario. Second, based on the first coupler 250F and the second coupler 260F to form a heterogeneous power splitting structure, compared with the solution of using a heterogeneous power splitter F3 to split the RF signals between different frequency bands, it can have better out-of-band isolation and smaller insertion loss, improve the efficiency of the design solution, and improve the linear performance of the link. Third, the RF signals of different frequency bands are divided into two RF signals, a first RF signal and a second RF signal, and the dual output architecture of the two outputs of the second coupler 260F can avoid the problems of large insertion loss and poor linearity caused by the use of broadband isolators. Fourth, the power sharing structure composed of the main path and the slave path can improve the back-off rate of the power amplifier and improve the power consumption efficiency, so as to achieve the energy-saving characteristics of the power amplifier while reducing the cost of the solution. As shown in Figure 9, the embodiment of the present application can more easily realize the design of a power amplifier with large back-off amount, large bandwidth and high working efficiency.

[0081] In some possible implementations, as shown in FIG11 , the first combiner 270F and the second combiner 280F are circulators; within the circulator, the RF signal is transmitted in the direction of flow through the first end 1, the second end 2, and the third end 3 of the circulator. The third end of the first combiner 270F is used to output a first RF synthesized signal; the third end of the second combiner 280F is used to output a second RF synthesized signal; the first RF synthesized signal is a synthesized signal of the first RF signal; the second RF synthesized signal is a synthesized signal of the second RF signal. In an embodiment of the present application, the first combiner 270F and the second combiner 280F are set between the second coupler 260F by using a circulator. The impedance of the circulator is stable, which can avoid the influence of impedance transformation when power synthesis is performed between different amplification branches, so that the design of the main amplifier circuit is independent of each other, and it is easier to expand each branch into a structure of multiple amplifier circuits to expand and obtain a larger power fallback.

[0082] In some examples, in the embodiment shown in FIG11 , the minimum on-operating power point of the first master amplifier circuit 210F is less than the minimum on-operating power point of the first slave amplifier circuit 230F; the minimum on-operating power point of the second master amplifier circuit 220F is less than the minimum on-operating power point of the first slave amplifier circuit 230F; and the minimum on-operating power point of the first slave amplifier circuit 230F is less than the minimum on-operating power point of the second slave amplifier circuit 240F. In the embodiment of the present application, according to the design of the sixth power amplifier circuit 200F, when the input RF signal is at different power stages, the corresponding amplifier circuit is turned on for power synthesis. Therefore, each amplifier circuit corresponds to a minimum on-operating power point. We use the size relationship of the minimum on-operating power points to represent the order in which different amplifier circuits are turned on as the power of the input RF signal changes.

[0083] For example, when the minimum on-state operating power point of the first slave amplifier circuit 230F is lower than the minimum on-state operating power point of the second slave amplifier circuit 240F, taking the sixth power amplifier circuit 200F as an example where only the first RF signal is input, the first master amplifier circuit 210F operates in Class AB, the first slave amplifier circuit 230F and the second slave amplifier circuit 240F can operate in Class C, and the second master amplifier circuit 220F can be considered off. Because the minimum on-state operating power point of the first slave amplifier circuit 230F is lower than the minimum on-state operating power point of the second slave amplifier circuit 240F, the first slave amplifier circuit 230F can be considered to operate in shallow Class C and the second slave amplifier circuit 240F in deep Class C. In this case, the first master amplifier circuit 210F is located at the isolated port of the first combiner 270F, acting as a circulator, and together with the first slave amplifier circuit 230F and the second slave amplifier circuit 240F, forms the aforementioned principle based on the CLMA architecture. The phase of the first RF signal output by the second slave amplifier circuit 240F is 90° greater than that of the first RF signal output by the first slave amplifier circuit 230F. The first slave amplifier circuit 230F and the second slave amplifier circuit 240F form a DHT architecture-based working mechanism, and the first RF signal is output only at the third end of the second coupler 260F.

[0084] Figure 13 shows the current changes in each amplifier branch as the power of the input first RF signal changes, under the embodiment shown in Figure 11. Figure 14 shows the voltage changes in each amplifier branch as the power of the input first RF signal changes, under the embodiment shown in Figure 11. Figure 15 shows the impedance changes in each amplifier branch as the power of the input first RF signal changes, under the embodiment shown in Figure 11. In the figure, lines ①, ②, and ③ represent the first master amplifier circuit 210F, the first slave amplifier circuit 230F, and the second slave amplifier circuit 240F, respectively. Figure 16 shows the power efficiency obtained by varying the parameters in Figures 13, 14, and 15, under the embodiment shown in Figure 11. In the figure, the normalized level represents the signal power range of the input RF signal. As shown in Figures 13, 14, 15, and 16, when the first RF signal is in the low power range, the first slave amplifier circuit 230F and the second slave amplifier circuit 240F are turned off, leaving only the first master amplifier circuit 210F on. As the signal power of the input first RF signal reaches the power saturation point in the low power range. When the first RF signal is in the medium power range, the second slave amplifier circuit 240F is turned off, the first master amplifier circuit 210F and the first slave amplifier circuit 230F are turned on, and the first master amplifier circuit 210F maintains a saturated working state, while the first slave amplifier circuit 230F tends to voltage saturation as the power of the input first RF signal increases, reaching a high-efficiency working state. When the first RF signal is in the high power range, the first master amplifier circuit 210F, the first slave amplifier circuit 230F and the second slave amplifier circuit 240F work simultaneously, and as the power of the input first RF signal increases, the second slave amplifier circuit 240F gradually reaches maximum working efficiency. As can be seen from Figure 16, the sixth power amplifier circuit 200F shown in Figure 11 can have three power saturation points, have a large power back-off amount and can maintain a high working efficiency at the power saturation point to achieve the purpose of energy saving. For the relevant effect diagram of the second RF signal, please refer to the effect diagram of the first RF signal, and no further details will be given here.

[0085] For example, when the minimum on-operating power point of the first slave amplifier circuit 230F is less than the minimum on-operating power point of the second slave amplifier circuit 240F, the technical principle and beneficial effects of the sixth power amplifier circuit 200F only inputting the second RF signal can be described by referring to the aforementioned relevant content of only inputting the first RF signal, which will not be repeated here.

[0086] For example, when the minimum on-state operating power point of the first slave amplifier circuit 230F is less than the minimum on-state operating power point of the second slave amplifier circuit 240F, taking the sixth power amplifier circuit 200F as an example where the first RF signal and the second RF signal are simultaneously input, after the first RF signal and the second RF signal are transmitted through the first coupler 250F and the second coupler 260F, the first RF signal amplified by the first slave amplifier circuit 230F and the second slave amplifier circuit 240F will be offset at the fourth end of the second coupler 260F and synthesized at the third end, thereby outputting the first RF signal at the third end of the second coupler 260F. Similarly, the second RF signal amplified by the first slave amplifier circuit 230F and the second slave amplifier circuit 240F will also be output at the fourth end of the second coupler 260F. Therefore, in the architecture shown in Figure 9, the first RF signal and the second RF signal of different frequency bands can be transmitted in the sixth power amplifier circuit 200F without affecting each other. The first slave amplifier circuit 230F and the second slave amplifier circuit 240F can serve as power amplifiers shared by the first RF signal and the second RF signal. Under this architecture, the design of the first main amplifier circuit 210F and the second main amplifier circuit 220F can be narrow-bandwidth. This solution can more easily realize a multi-band, wide-bandwidth, large-backoff, and high-efficiency power amplifier. In some examples, as shown in Figure 12, when the minimum operating power points of the first slave amplifier circuit 230F and the second slave amplifier circuit 240F are different, to improve the performance of the inter-frequency power splitting function, a first isolation circuit ISO1 can be coupled to the third end of the second coupler 260F, and a second isolation circuit ISO2 can be coupled to the fourth end of the second coupler 260F. The first isolation circuit ISO1 is used to open the first RF signal and short the second RF signal. The second isolation circuit ISO2 is used to open the second RF signal and short the first RF signal. By providing the first isolation circuit ISO1 and the second isolation circuit ISO2, signals in another frequency band can be absorbed, thereby improving the inter-frequency power splitting characteristics. In some examples, to ensure signal transmission quality, impedance matching networks can be provided in different amplification branches. 12 , an output matching network OMN may be provided between the first and second slave amplifier circuits 230F, 240F, and the second coupler 260F, respectively. An input matching network IMN may also be provided between the first coupler 250F and the first and second slave amplifier circuits 230F, 240F, respectively.

[0087] For example, in the embodiment shown in FIG11 , the minimum on-operating power point of the first master amplifier circuit 210F is less than the minimum on-operating power point of the first slave amplifier circuit 230F; the minimum on-operating power point of the second master amplifier circuit 220F is less than the minimum on-operating power point of the first slave amplifier circuit 230F; and the minimum on-operating power point of the first slave amplifier circuit 230F is equal to the minimum on-operating power point of the second slave amplifier circuit 240F.

[0088] For example, when the minimum on-state operating power point of the first slave amplifier circuit 230F is greater than the minimum on-state operating power point of the second slave amplifier circuit 240F, as the input RF signal power increases, the first slave amplifier circuit 230F is turned on later than the second slave amplifier circuit 240F. In this solution, the turn-on order of the first slave amplifier circuit 230F and the second slave amplifier circuit 240F is opposite to that when the minimum on-state operating power point of the first slave amplifier circuit 230F is less than the minimum on-state operating power point of the second slave amplifier circuit 240F. For a detailed description, please refer to the description when the minimum on-state operating power point of the first slave amplifier circuit 230F is greater than the minimum on-state operating power point of the second slave amplifier circuit 240F, and will not be repeated here.

[0089] In some possible implementations, as shown in FIG17 , the first and third ends of the first and second combiners 270F and 280F serve as branching ends of an inter-frequency power splitter; the second ends of the first and second combiners 270F and 280F serve as combining ends of the inter-frequency power splitter. The first end of the first combiner 270F performs a bandpass for the first RF signal and a bandstop for the second RF signal; the third end of the first combiner 270F performs a bandpass for the second RF signal and a bandstop for the first RF signal; the second end of the first combiner 270F performs a bandpass for the first and second RF signals; and the third end of the first combiner 270F is configured to output a second composite RF signal. The first end of the second combiner 280F presents a bandpass for the second RF signal and a band-rejection for the first RF signal; the third end of the first combiner 270F presents a bandpass for the first RF signal and a band-rejection for the second RF signal; the second end of the second combiner 280F presents a bandpass for the first RF signal and the second RF signal; the third end of the second combiner 280F is used to output the first RF composite signal.

[0090] For example, in the embodiment shown in FIG17 , the minimum on-state operating power point of the first master amplifier circuit 210F is lower than the minimum on-state operating power point of the first slave amplifier circuit 240F; the minimum on-state operating power point of the second master amplifier circuit 220F is lower than the minimum on-state operating power point of the first slave amplifier circuit 240F; and the minimum on-state operating power point of the first slave amplifier circuit 240F can be lower than, equal to, or higher than the minimum on-state operating power point of the second slave amplifier circuit 240F. In this case, the first master amplifier circuit 210F and the second master amplifier circuit 220F operate in Class AB, while the first slave amplifier circuit 230F and the second slave amplifier circuit 240F operate in Class C.

[0091] For example, taking the sixth power amplifier circuit 200F as inputting only the first RF signal, as shown in FIG17 , the second master amplifier circuit 220F is turned off, the first master amplifier circuit 210F operates in Class A, and the first slave amplifier circuit 230F and the second slave amplifier circuit 240F operate in Class C. The first combiner 270F is a different-frequency power splitter. The first end of the first combiner 270F bandpasses the first RF signal and band-rejects the second RF signal; the third end of the first combiner 270F bandpasses the second RF signal and band-rejects the first RF signal; and the second end of the first combiner 270F bandpasses the first RF signal and the second RF signal. The first end of the second combiner 280F bandpasses the second RF signal and band-rejects the first RF signal; the third end of the second combiner 280F bandpasses the first RF signal and band-rejects the second RF signal; and the second end of the second combiner 280F bandpasses the first RF signal and the second RF signal. The output signal of the first main amplifier circuit 210F is coupled to the first end of the first combiner 270F, flows through the second end of the first combiner 270F to the third end of the second coupler 260F, and is combined with the first slave amplifier circuit 230F and the second slave amplifier circuit 240F by the second coupler 260F. The signal is then output from the fourth end of the second coupler 260F to the second combiner 280F, which is an inter-frequency power splitter. It then flows from the second end of the second combiner 280F to the third end and is output. At this point, the first main amplifier circuit 210F, the first slave amplifier circuit 230F, and the second slave amplifier circuit 240F can form an SLMBA architecture. Figure 18 shows the current changes generated by each amplifier branch as the power of the input first RF signal changes under the embodiment shown in Figure 17. Figure 19 shows the voltage changes generated by each amplifier branch as the power of the input first RF signal changes under the embodiment shown in Figure 17. Figure 20 shows the impedance changes generated by each amplifier branch as the power of the input first RF signal changes under the embodiment shown in Figure 17. FIG21 is a schematic diagram of power efficiency obtained under the embodiment shown in FIG17 as a result of parameter changes in FIG18, FIG19, and FIG20. In the figure, line ① represents the first master amplifier circuit 210F, and line ② represents the first slave amplifier circuit 230F and the second slave amplifier circuit 240F, which function as balanced amplifiers. As shown in FIG18, FIG19, FIG20, and FIG21, when the first RF signal is in the low-power range, only the first master amplifier circuit 210F is turned on. The first RF signal is transmitted from the first master amplifier circuit 210F to the first end of the first combiner 270F, and is output from the second end of the first combiner 270F to the third end of the second coupler 260F. The first RF signal is then output from the fourth end of the second coupler 260F. After receiving the first RF signal, the second end of the second combiner 280F outputs the first RF signal from the third end of the second combiner 280F.When the first RF signal is in the high power range, the first master amplifier circuit 210F, the first slave amplifier circuit 230F, and the second slave amplifier circuit 240F are simultaneously turned on and output the first RF composite signal from the third terminal of the second combiner 280F. For the relevant effect diagram of the second RF signal, refer to the effect diagram of the first RF signal and will not be repeated here.

[0092] Exemplarily, when the minimum on-state operating power point of the first slave amplifier circuit 240F is equal to the minimum on-state operating power point of the second slave amplifier circuit 240F, the first slave amplifier circuit 240F and the second slave amplifier circuit 240F are turned on simultaneously. When the minimum on-state operating power point of the first slave amplifier circuit 240F is lower than the minimum on-state operating power point of the second slave amplifier circuit 240F, as the input RF signal power increases, the first slave amplifier circuit 240F is turned on before the second slave amplifier circuit 240F. When the minimum on-state operating power point of the first slave amplifier circuit 240F is lower than the minimum on-state operating power point of the second slave amplifier circuit 240F, as the input RF signal power increases, the first slave amplifier circuit 240F is turned on after the second slave amplifier circuit 240F.

[0093] For example, when the sixth power amplifier circuit 200F in the embodiment shown in FIG17 only inputs the second RF signal, the description of the technical principle and technical effect can refer to the relevant description of the embodiment shown in FIG17 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0094] For example, in the embodiment shown in FIG17 , when the sixth power amplifying circuit 200F inputs the first RF signal and the second RF signal at the same time, the RF signals in two different frequency bands do not affect each other.

[0095] In the embodiment of the present application, as shown in FIG17 , the bridge and inter-frequency power divider structures achieve a different input and output process for the amplified first RF signal than that of a conventional power amplifier. By changing the transmission direction of the main RF signal and the composite RF signal, insertion loss can be reduced, power amplification performance can be improved, and the sixth power amplifier circuit 200F can be more easily expanded to achieve high power, high bandwidth, high back-off, and high efficiency.

[0096] For example, in the architectures shown in Figures 11 and 17 , at least one of the first master amplifier circuit 210F, the second master amplifier circuit 220F, the first slave amplifier circuit 230F, and the second slave amplifier circuit 240F can be expanded into a power combining circuit; the power combining circuit includes multiple amplification branch circuits. By expanding the power combining circuit structure, the back-off range of the sixth power amplifier circuit 200F can be further increased.

[0097] Exemplarily, the power synthesis circuit includes at least one of the following: a Doherty circuit, an inverse Doherty circuit, an asymmetric Doherty circuit, an LMBA circuit, an SLMBA circuit, a balun voltage-type synthesis circuit, a Chireix amplifier circuit, and an out-of-phase modulation amplifier circuit.

[0098] For example, the first main amplifier circuit 210F in the architecture shown in FIG11 is a power combining circuit, and the power combining circuit is an amplifier circuit of a Doherty architecture. As shown in FIG22 , the minimum on-state operating power point of the first main amplifier circuit 210F is less than the minimum on-state operating power point of the first slave amplifier circuit 230F, and the minimum on-state operating power point of the first slave amplifier circuit 230F is less than the minimum on-state operating power point of the second slave amplifier circuit 240F. At the same time, the first main amplifier circuit 210F includes a main amplifier 211F and a slave amplifier 212F. The minimum on-state operating power point of the main amplifier 211F is less than the minimum on-state operating power point of the slave amplifier 212F. Therefore, the main amplifier 211F can be defined as operating in class AB, the slave amplifier 212F as operating in shallow class C, the first slave amplifier circuit 230F as operating in class C, and the second slave amplifier circuit 240F as operating in deep class C, under the embodiment shown in FIG22 . FIG23 shows the current changes generated by each amplifier branch as the power of the input first RF signal changes. Figure 24 shows the voltage changes in each amplifying branch as the power of the input first RF signal changes, under the embodiment shown in Figure 22. Figure 25 shows the impedance changes in each amplifying branch as the power of the input first RF signal changes, under the embodiment shown in Figure 22. Figure 26 is a schematic diagram of the power efficiency obtained by varying the parameters of Figures 23, 24, and 25, under the embodiment shown in Figure 22. In the figure, lines ①, ②, ③, and ④ represent the main amplifier 211F of the first main amplifying circuit 210F, the slave amplifier 212F of the first main amplifying circuit 210F, the first slave amplifying circuit 230F, and the second slave amplifying circuit 240F, respectively. As shown in Figures 23, 24, 25, and 26, when only the first RF signal is input to the sixth power amplifying circuit 200F: when the first RF signal is in the low power range, only the main amplifier 211F is turned on. As the power of the input first RF signal increases, the voltage of the branch containing the main amplifier 211F reaches saturation. When the first RF signal is in the low-medium power range, the main amplifier 211F and the slave amplifier 212F are turned on. As the power of the input first RF signal increases, the voltage of the branch containing the main amplifier 211F remains constant, while the current saturates. Both the voltage and current of the slave amplifier 212F approach saturation. When the first RF signal is in the medium-high power range, the main amplifier 211F, the slave amplifier 212F, and the first slave amplifier circuit 230F are all turned on, and the voltage of the first slave amplifier circuit 230F approaches saturation.When the first RF signal is in the high power range, the master amplifier 211F, the slave amplifier 212F, the first slave amplifier circuit 230F, and the second slave amplifier circuit 240F are all turned on. The second slave amplifier circuit 240F performs load-pull modulation on the first slave amplifier circuit 230F. As the power of the input first RF signal increases, the first slave amplifier circuit 230F and the second slave amplifier circuit 240F gradually reach power saturation. For the relevant effect diagrams of the second RF signal, refer to the effect diagrams of the first RF signal and are not repeated here.

[0099] For example, as shown in FIG22 , in the first main amplifier circuit 210F, a first RF signal can be split into a 0° first RF signal and a 90° first RF signal via a coupler cou, and inputted into the main amplifier 211F and the slave amplifier 212F, respectively. For example, the first RF signal can also be inputted into the main amplifier 211F and the slave amplifier 212F, respectively, and a phase compensation line can be provided in the upstream stage of the slave amplifier 212F so that the slave amplifier 212F can receive the 90° phase-shifted first RF signal.

[0100] In an embodiment of the present application, a first combiner 270F and a second combiner 280F are used in the architecture shown in Figures 11 and 17. The first combiner 270F and the second combiner 280F make the impedance of the first main amplifier circuit 210F and the second main amplifier circuit 220F constant and the design relatively independent. In this case, in the embodiments shown in Figures 11 and 17, at least one of the first main amplifier circuit 210F, the second main amplifier circuit 220F, the first slave amplifier circuit 240F, and the second slave amplifier circuit 240F can be expanded into a power synthesis circuit. By expanding the power synthesis circuit structure, the back-off amount of the sixth power amplifier circuit 200F can be further expanded. Figure 22 above is an example diagram of expanding the first main amplifier circuit 210F in the embodiment shown in Figure 11 to a larger power back-off amount structure. Regarding the relevant technical principles and technical effects of expanding at least one of the second main amplifier circuit 220F, the first slave amplifier circuit 240F, and the second slave amplifier circuit 240F in the embodiment shown in Figure 11 into a power synthesis circuit, as well as the relevant technical principles and technical effects of expanding at least one of the first main amplifier circuit 210F, the second main amplifier circuit 220F, the first slave amplifier circuit 240F, and the second slave amplifier circuit 240F in the embodiment shown in Figure 17 into a power synthesis circuit, reference may be made to the relevant description of the embodiment of Figure 20 above, and no further details will be given here.

[0101] In some possible implementations, as shown in FIG27 , based on the embodiments shown in FIG9 , FIG11 , FIG17 and FIG22 , the sixth power amplifier circuit 200F further includes a shunt circuit 290F; the shunt circuit 290F is configured to: input a first RF signal and a second RF signal, and output the first RF signal to the input end of the first main amplifier circuit 210F and the first end of the first coupler 250F, respectively, and output the second RF signal to the input end of the second main amplifier circuit 220F and the second end of the first coupler 250F, respectively.

[0102] In some examples, as shown in FIG28 , a splitter circuit 290F includes a first power splitter 291F and a second power splitter 292F. The combining end of the first power splitter 291F is used to input a first RF signal. The first splitter end and the second splitter end of the first power splitter 291F are each used to output a first RF signal. The combining end of the second power splitter 292F is used to input a second RF signal; the first splitter end and the second splitter end of the second power splitter 292F are each used to output a second RF signal.

[0103] In some examples, as shown in FIG29 , the branch circuit 290F includes a first inter-frequency power divider 293F and a second inter-frequency power divider 294F. The combining end of the first inter-frequency power divider 293F is used to input the first RF signal and the second RF signal; the first branch end of the first inter-frequency power divider 293F outputs one first RF signal; and the second branch end of the first inter-frequency power divider 293F outputs one second RF signal. The combining end of the second inter-frequency power divider 294F is used to input the first RF signal and the second RF signal; the first branch end of the second inter-frequency power divider 294F outputs one first RF signal; and the second branch end of the second inter-frequency power divider 294F outputs one second RF signal. For example, as shown in FIG29 , the first RF signal and the second RF signal output by the first inter-frequency power divider 293F can be provided to the first main amplifier circuit 210F and the first coupler 250F, respectively. The first RF signal and the second RF signal output by the second inter-frequency power splitter 294F can be provided to the second main amplifier circuit 220F and the first coupler 250F, respectively. For example, the first RF signal and the second RF signal output by the first inter-frequency power splitter 293F can also be provided to the first main amplifier circuit 210F and the second main amplifier circuit 220F, respectively. The first RF signal and the second RF signal output by the second inter-frequency power splitter 294F are output to the first coupler 250F.

[0104] In some examples, as shown in FIG30 , the splitting circuit 290F includes a third inter-frequency power splitter 295F, a third power splitter 296F, and a fourth power splitter 297F. The first splitting end and the second splitting end of the third inter-frequency power splitter 295F are coupled to the combining end of the third power splitter 296F and the combining end of the fourth power splitter 297F, respectively. The combining end of the third inter-frequency power splitter 295F is used to input a first RF signal and a second RF signal; the first splitting end of the third inter-frequency power splitter 295F is used to output the first RF signal; and the second splitting end of the third inter-frequency power splitter 295F is used to output the second RF signal. The first splitting end and the second splitting end of the third power splitter 296F are used to output one first RF signal; and the first splitting end and the second splitting end of the fourth power splitter 297F are used to output one second RF signal.

[0105] In the embodiment of the present application, the sixth power amplifier circuit 200F can split the input first RF signal and the input second RF signal into multiple paths through a branch circuit 290F and output them to different amplification branches for use. The branching method can adopt the embodiments shown in Figures 28, 29, and 30 above, or other branching methods can be adopted, which are not limited by this application.

[0106] In some possible implementations, the first RF signal and the second RF signal include RF signals of one or more sub-bands. In some examples, the first RF signal may be located in the low three-band (e.g., 700 MHz, 800 MHz, and 900 MHz), and the second RF signal may be located in the middle three-band (e.g., 1.8 GHz, 2.1 GHz, and 2.6 GHz). Alternatively, the first RF signal and / or the second RF signal may also be located in other frequency bands. In some examples, the first RF signal may include the first of the low three-band, and the second RF signal may include the other two of the low three-band. Alternatively, the first RF signal may include two of the low three-band, and the second RF signal may include the remaining one of the third frequency. In some examples, the first RF signal may be located in the dual-band of 1.8 GHz and 2.1 GHz in the middle three-band, and the second RF signal may be located in the single-band of 2.6 GHz in the middle three-band. In the embodiment of the present application, by dividing one main path into two designs with relatively smaller bandwidths, for example, the relative bandwidth of the middle three-band is 40%, and the middle three-band is divided into a dual-band of 1.8 GHz and 2.1 GHz (relative bandwidth 18%) and a single-band of 2.6 GHz (relative bandwidth 3%). This makes the impedance design more convergent at a smaller relative bandwidth, further improving the efficiency of each amplification branch, thereby improving the back-off efficiency and full-load efficiency of the sixth power amplifier circuit 200F.

[0107] The embodiments of the present application provide a power amplifier circuit, a radio frequency generation device and a communication system. First, in the power amplifier circuit, a dual coupler is used which is equivalent to a different-frequency power splitting structure. When a combiner is coupled with two main amplifier circuits to realize dual output, the design difficulty of the broadband isolator can be avoided. Second, the different-frequency power splitting structure based on the bridge equivalent can avoid the problem of poor out-of-band suppression and high design difficulty brought about by the use of different-frequency power splitters. Third, the bandwidth of the main circuit is designed to be smaller than the bandwidth of the power-sharing slave circuit, so that the main circuit can be decomposed from the broadband power amplifier, effectively solving the multi-frequency concurrent VBW design problem existing in the power amplifier circuit, and improving the concurrent efficiency and linearity. Fourth, the design of decomposing the original main circuit into two main circuits with relatively smaller bandwidths reduces the relative bandwidth of each main circuit, making the convergence of the impedance design better, and can further improve the efficiency of each design unit, thereby improving the fallback efficiency and full-load efficiency. Fifth, use a different-frequency power splitter or circulator as a combiner to achieve relative stability between the master and slave paths, so that the slave paths and / or slave paths in the solution can also be expanded to obtain a power amplification architecture with a larger back-off amount.

[0108] The embodiment of the present application also provides a chip system, which includes at least one processor and at least one interface circuit. The at least one processor and the at least one interface circuit can be interconnected via lines. The processor is used to support the chip system to implement the various functions or steps in the above method embodiment, and the at least one interface circuit can be used to receive signals from other devices (such as communication interfaces, radio frequency generation circuits, power amplifier circuits, antennas, etc.), or to send signals to other devices (such as communication interfaces, radio frequency generation circuits, power amplifier circuits, antennas, etc.). The chip system may include chips and may also include other discrete devices.

[0109] The controller involved in the embodiments of the present application may be a chip. For example, it may be a field programmable gate array (FPGA), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a system on chip (SoC), a central processor unit (CPU), a network processor (NP), a digital signal processor (DSP), a microcontroller unit (MCU), a programmable logic device (PLD), or other integrated chips.

[0110] It should be understood that in the various embodiments of the present application, the size of the serial numbers of the above-mentioned processes does not mean the order of execution. The execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of the present application.

[0111] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the modules and algorithm steps of each example described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are performed in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional and technical personnel can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of this application.

[0112] Those skilled in the art will clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the systems, devices and modules described above can refer to the corresponding processes in the aforementioned method embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0113] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, devices, and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are merely illustrative. For example, the division of modules is only a logical function division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods, such as multiple modules or components can be combined or integrated into another device, or some features can be ignored or not executed. Another point is that the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed can be through some interfaces, indirect coupling or communication connection of devices or modules, which can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0114] Modules described as separate components may or may not be physically separate, and components shown as modules may or may not be physical modules, that is, they may be located on a single device or distributed across multiple devices. Some or all of these modules may be selected to achieve the objectives of this embodiment based on actual needs.

[0115] In addition, the functional modules in the various embodiments of the present application may be integrated into one device, or each module may exist physically separately, or two or more modules may be integrated into one device.

[0116] In the above embodiments, it can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When implemented using a software program, it can be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When loading and executing computer program instructions on a computer, the process or function according to the embodiment of the present application is generated in whole or in part. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable devices. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from a website, computer, server or data center to another website, computer, server or data center by wired (such as coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (such as infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) mode. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that a computer can access or a data storage device such as a server or data center that contains one or more media that can be integrated. The available medium may be a magnetic medium (eg, a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (eg, a DVD), or a semiconductor medium (eg, a solid state disk (SSD)).

[0117] The communication system in the embodiments of the present application may be a device for implementing wireless communication functions, such as a terminal or a chip that can be used in a terminal. The terminal may be a UE, an access terminal, a terminal unit, a terminal station, a mobile station, a mobile station, a remote station, a remote terminal, a mobile device, a wireless communication device, a terminal agent, or a terminal device in a 6G network or a future evolved public land mobile network (PLMN). The access terminal may be a cellular phone, a cordless phone, a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a handheld device with wireless communication capabilities, a computing device or other processing device connected to a wireless modem, an in-vehicle device or a wearable device, a virtual reality (VR) terminal device, an augmented reality (AR) terminal device, a wireless terminal in industrial control, a wireless terminal in self-driving, a wireless terminal in remote medical care, a wireless terminal in a smart grid, a wireless terminal in transportation safety, a wireless terminal in a smart city, a wireless terminal in a smart home, etc. Optionally, the electronic device and the transmitting device may be mobile or fixed.

[0118] In one possible implementation, the communication system, baseband processing device, and radio frequency generation device in the embodiments of the present application may be a network device that communicates with a terminal device. The network device may include a transmission and reception point (TRP), a base station, a remote radio unit (RRU) or a baseband unit (BBU) (also referred to as a digital unit (DU)) of a separate base station, a satellite, a drone, a broadband network gateway (BNG), an aggregation switch, a non-3GPP access device, a relay station, or an access point.

[0119] In addition, the base station can be a base transceiver station (BTS) in a global system for mobile communication (GSM) or code division multiple access (CDMA) network, an NB (Node B) in wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA), an eNB or eNodeB (evolutionary NodeB) in LTE, a wireless controller in a cloud radio access network (CRAN) scenario, or a base station in a 5G communication system (such as a next-generation node B (gNodeB, gNB)), or a base station in a future evolution network, etc., and is not specifically limited here.

[0120] In addition, the communication architecture and business scenarios described in the embodiments of the present application are intended to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application. Ordinary technicians in this field can know that with the evolution of the communication architecture and the emergence of new business scenarios, the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application are also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0121] The above are only specific embodiments of the present application, but the scope of protection of this application is not limited thereto. Any changes or substitutions that can be easily conceived by a person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in this application should be included in the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, the scope of protection of this application should be based on the scope of protection of the claims.

Claims

1. A power amplifier circuit, characterized in that: The invention comprises a first main amplifier circuit, a second main amplifier circuit, a first slave amplifier circuit, a second slave amplifier circuit, a first coupler, a second coupler, a first combiner and a second combiner; in the first coupler and the second coupler: an isolation path is formed between the first end and the second end, a through path is formed between the first end and the fourth end, and a phase difference of 90° is formed between the radio frequency signals outputted from the third end and the fourth end; the bandwidth of the first main amplifier circuit and the second main amplifier circuit is smaller than the bandwidth of the first slave amplifier circuit and the second slave amplifier circuit; wherein: The third end of the first coupler is coupled to the second end of the second coupler through the first slave amplifier circuit; the fourth end of the first coupler is coupled to the first end of the second coupler through the second slave amplifier circuit; The output end of the first main amplifier circuit is coupled to the first end of the first combiner; the third end of the second coupler is coupled to the second end of the first combiner; the output end of the second main amplifier circuit is coupled to the first end of the second combiner; the fourth end of the second coupler is coupled to the second end of the second combiner; The first end of the first coupler and the input end of the first main amplifier circuit are used to input a first radio frequency signal; the second end of the first coupler and the input end of the second main amplifier circuit are used to input a second radio frequency signal; the first radio frequency signal and the second radio frequency signal have different frequency bands; the third ends of the first combiner and the second combiner are used to output a radio frequency composite signal.

2. The power amplifier circuit according to claim 1, characterized in that: The first combiner and the second combiner are circulators; in the circulators, the RF signal is transmitted in the direction of flow through the first end, the second end and the third end of the circulator, and will not be transmitted in the reverse direction; the third end of the first combiner is used to output a first RF synthetic signal; the third end of the second combiner is used to output a second RF synthetic signal; the first RF synthetic signal is a synthetic signal of the first RF signal; and the second RF synthetic signal is a synthetic signal of the second RF signal.

3. The power amplifier circuit according to claim 2, characterized in that: The minimum start-up operating power point of the first master amplifier circuit is less than the minimum start-up operating power point of the first slave amplifier circuit; The minimum start-up operating power point of the second master amplifier circuit is less than the minimum start-up operating power point of the first slave amplifier circuit; The minimum start-up operating power point of the first slave amplifier circuit is less than, equal to or greater than the minimum start-up operating power point of the second slave amplifier circuit.

4. The power amplifier circuit according to claim 1, characterized in that: The first combiner and the second combiner are inter-frequency power splitters; the first end and the third end of the first combiner and the second combiner are branch ends of the inter-frequency power splitters; the second end of the first combiner and the second combiner is a combining end of the inter-frequency power splitters; The first end of the first combiner presents a band pass for the first RF signal and a band stop for the second RF signal; the third end of the first combiner presents a band pass for the second RF signal and a band stop for the first RF signal; the second end of the first combiner presents a band pass for the first RF signal and the second RF signal; the third end of the first combiner is used to output a second RF composite signal; The first end of the second combiner presents a band pass for the second RF signal and a band stop for the first RF signal; the third end of the first combiner presents a band pass for the first RF signal and a band stop for the second RF signal; the second end of the second combiner presents a band pass for the first RF signal and the second RF signal; the third end of the second combiner is used to output a first RF composite signal; The first RF composite signal is a composite signal of the first RF signal; the second RF composite signal is a composite signal of the second RF signal.

5. The power amplifier circuit according to claim 4, characterized in that: The minimum start-up operating power point of the first master amplifier circuit is less than the minimum start-up operating power point of the first slave amplifier circuit; The minimum start-up operating power point of the second master amplifier circuit is less than the minimum start-up operating power point of the first slave amplifier circuit; The minimum start-up operating power point of the first slave amplifier circuit is less than, equal to or greater than the minimum start-up operating power point of the second slave amplifier circuit.

6. The power amplifier circuit according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: At least one of the first main amplifier circuit, the second main amplifier circuit, the first slave amplifier circuit and the second slave amplifier circuit is a power synthesis circuit; the power synthesis circuit includes a plurality of amplification branch circuits.

7. The power amplifier circuit according to claim 6, characterized in that: The power synthesis circuit includes at least one of the following: a doherty circuit, an inverse doherty circuit, an asymmetric doherty circuit, an LMBA circuit, an SLMBA circuit, a balun voltage type synthesis circuit, a chireix amplifier circuit and an out-of-phase modulation amplifier circuit.

8. The power amplifier circuit according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that: The power amplifier circuit also includes a shunt circuit; the shunt circuit is used to: input the first RF signal and the second RF signal, and output the first RF signal to the input end of the first main amplifier circuit and the first end of the first coupler respectively, and output the second RF signal to the input end of the second main amplifier circuit and the second end of the first coupler respectively.

9. The power amplifier circuit according to claim 8, characterized in that: The branching circuit includes a first power divider and a second power divider; The combining end of the first power divider is used to input the first radio frequency signal; the first branching end and the second branching end of the first power divider are respectively used to output one channel of the first radio frequency signal; The combining end of the second power divider is used for inputting the second radio frequency signal; The first branch end and the second branch end of the second power divider are respectively used to output one channel of the second radio frequency signal.

10. The power amplifier circuit according to claim 8, characterized in that: The branching circuit includes a first different-frequency power divider and a second different-frequency power divider; The combining end of the first inter-frequency power divider is used to input the first radio frequency signal and the second radio frequency signal; the first branching end of the first inter-frequency power divider outputs one channel of the first radio frequency signal; The second branch end of the first inter-frequency power divider is used to output one channel of the second radio frequency signal; The combining end of the second inter-frequency power divider is used to input the first radio frequency signal and the second radio frequency signal; the first branching end of the second inter-frequency power divider outputs one channel of the first radio frequency signal; The second branch end of the second different-frequency power divider is used to output one channel of the second radio frequency signal.

11. The power amplifier circuit according to claim 8, characterized in that: The branching circuit includes a third different-frequency power divider, a third power divider and a fourth power divider; the first branching end and the second branching end of the third different-frequency power divider are respectively coupled with the combining end of the third power divider and the combining end of the fourth power divider; wherein: The combining end of the third inter-frequency power divider is used to input the first radio frequency signal and the second radio frequency signal; the first branching end of the third inter-frequency power divider is used to output the first radio frequency signal; and the second branching end of the third inter-frequency power divider is used to output the second radio frequency signal; The first branch end and the second branch end of the third power divider are respectively used to output one channel of the first radio frequency signal; The first branch end and the second branch end of the fourth power divider are respectively used to output one channel of the second radio frequency signal.

12. The power amplifier circuit according to any one of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that: The first radio frequency signal and the second radio frequency signal include radio frequency signals of one or more sub-frequency bands.

13. A radio frequency generating device, characterized in that: It comprises a radio frequency generating circuit and a power amplifier circuit as described in any one of claims 1 to 12; the radio frequency generating circuit is used to output a radio frequency signal to the power amplifier circuit; the power amplifier circuit is used to perform power synthesis amplification according to the radio frequency signal.

14. A communication system, characterized in that: comprising a baseband processing device and a radio frequency generating device as claimed in claim 13; The baseband processing device is used to output a baseband signal to the radio frequency generating device; the radio frequency generating device is used to obtain a radio frequency signal according to the baseband signal, and perform power synthesis amplification on the radio frequency signal.

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