Radio frequency power amplification device and radio frequency power amplification method for 5G-NR frequency band

Abstract

The present invention relates to a radio frequency power amplifier device for use in the 5G-NR frequency band, comprising a first phase adjuster, a first power amplifier, a second power amplifier, and a second phase adjuster for amplifying radio frequency signals. The present invention also relates to a radio frequency power amplification method for use in the 5G-NR frequency band. Experiments have shown that the radio frequency power amplifier device and method for use in the 5G-NR frequency band of the present invention can effectively increase the linear power of the radio frequency power amplifier by 2.5 dB, thereby meeting the system requirements of 5G-NR.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention belongs to the field of wireless communication technology, and in particular relates to a radio frequency power amplification device and a radio frequency power amplification method for the 5G-NR frequency band. Background Art

[0002] 5G-NR (5th-Generation New Radio) is a global 5G standard based on a completely new OFDM air interface design. It is also a crucial foundation for next-generation cellular mobile technology, promising ultra-low latency and high reliability. A key advantage of 5G networks is that data transmission rates far exceed those of previous cellular networks, reaching up to 10Gbit / s. This is faster than current wired internet and 100 times faster than the previous 4G LTE (Long Term Evolution) cellular network. Another advantage is lower network latency (faster response time), less than 1 millisecond, compared to 30-70 milliseconds for 4G.

[0003] 5G-NR utilizes an ultra-wide RF transmission bandwidth, reaching 100MHz in the N41 band, which is 10 times the bandwidth of traditional 4G. To enable RF power amplifiers to effectively transmit signals at such a high bandwidth in 5G-NR applications, their linear power must be further improved.

[0004] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of the radio frequency power amplifier device in the prior art. Figure 1 In the embodiment, the RF power amplifier device includes an RF input port P11, an RF output port P12, a power amplifier PA11, a power supply SRC11 for the power amplifier PA11, an input matching network consisting of capacitors C11 and C12, and an inductor L11, and an output matching network consisting of inductors L12 and L13 and capacitors C13, C14, and C15. The input matching network matches the preset impedance value (e.g., 50 ohms) (point 1) of the RF input port P11 to the input impedance point (point 2) of the power amplifier PA11. The output matching network matches the preset impedance value (e.g., 50 ohms) (point 6) of the RF output port P12 in stages (points 5 and 4) and finally to the output impedance point (point 3) of the power amplifier PA11. The power amplifier PA11 can be a currently available amplifier, such as a μA741, LM358, or LM324.

[0005] Currently, power amplifiers for 5G-NR systems rely on conventional power amplifier circuit designs. This approach improves linearity by reducing the output impedance matching point and increasing the power amplifier supply voltage to meet 5G-NR linearity requirements. Reducing the output impedance matching point narrows the power amplifier's output bandwidth, failing to meet the full bandwidth linearity requirements. Increasing the power amplifier supply voltage increases power consumption and reduces reliability. High voltages can make the power amplifier more susceptible to damage.

[0006] As can be seen, the conventional design of reducing the output matching impedance point and increasing the power amplifier supply voltage in existing technologies has very limited effect on increasing linear power. Moreover, due to increased heat generation, reliability is reduced and it cannot meet the requirements of 5G-NR systems. Therefore, the development of a new RF power amplifier device to improve linear power is urgent. Summary of the Invention

[0007] Therefore, we propose a radio frequency power amplifier device and radio frequency power amplification method for the 5G-NR frequency band. For any stage of the amplification circuit of the radio frequency power amplifier device, two phase adjusters are used to respectively perform phase adjustment, signal splitting and phase recovery, and signal merging on the radio frequency signal, which can effectively improve the linear power of the radio frequency power amplifier.

[0008] According to a first aspect of the present invention, a radio frequency power amplification device for a 5G-NR frequency band is provided, comprising a first phase adjuster, a first power amplifier, a second power amplifier, and a second phase adjuster, wherein:

[0009] The first phase adjuster includes a first capacitor, a second capacitor, a first inductor, and a second inductor. The first end of the first capacitor is connected to the first end of the second inductor and the base of the first power amplifier. The second end of the first capacitor is connected to the first end of the first inductor and is configured to receive an input radio frequency signal. The second end of the first inductor is connected to the first end of the second capacitor and the base of the second power amplifier. The second end of the second capacitor and the second end of the second inductor are both grounded.

[0010] The second phase adjuster includes a third inductor, a fourth inductor, a third capacitor and a fourth capacitor. The first end of the third inductor is connected to the emitter of the first power amplifier and the first end of the fourth capacitor, the second end of the third inductor and the first end of the third capacitor are both grounded, the second end of the third capacitor is connected to the emitter of the second power amplifier and the first end of the fourth inductor, and the second end of the fourth inductor is connected to the second end of the fourth capacitor.

[0011] According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for radio frequency power amplification implemented using the radio frequency power amplification device according to claim 1, comprising:

[0012] The first phase adjuster receives an input radio frequency signal and divides the input radio frequency signal into a first signal and a second signal, wherein the first signal and the second signal have a phase difference of 180°;

[0013] The first power amplifier receives the first signal and amplifies the first signal to obtain a processed first signal;

[0014] The second power amplifier receives the second signal and amplifies the second signal to obtain a processed second signal;

[0015] The second phase adjuster receives the processed first signal and the processed second signal, adjusts the phases of the processed first signal and the processed second signal to be consistent, merges the phases, obtains a merged signal, and outputs the merged signal.

[0016] Experiments show that the RF power amplification device and RF power amplification method for the 5G-NR frequency band of the present invention can effectively increase the linear power of the RF power amplifier by 2.5dB, thereby meeting the system requirements of 5G-NR. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] To further explain the features and technical contents of the present invention, please refer to the following detailed description and drawings of the present invention. However, the drawings are only for reference and explanation and are not intended to limit the present invention.

[0018] In the accompanying figure below:

[0019] Figure 1 It is a structural diagram of a radio frequency power amplifier device in the prior art.

[0020] Figure 2 2 is a schematic structural diagram of a radio frequency power amplification device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0021] Figure 3 FIG. 4 is a schematic structural diagram of a radio frequency power amplifying device according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[0022] Figure 4 FIG. 4 is a structural diagram of a radio frequency power amplifying device according to another embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0023] The following describes the embodiments disclosed in the present invention through specific embodiments. Those skilled in the art can understand the advantages and effects of the present invention from the contents disclosed in this specification. The present invention can be implemented or applied through other different specific embodiments, and the details in this specification can also be modified and changed based on different viewpoints and applications without departing from the concept of the present invention. In addition, the drawings of the present invention are only simple schematic illustrations and are not depicted in actual size. The following embodiments will further explain the relevant technical contents of the present invention in detail, but the disclosed contents are not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0024] According to one aspect of the present invention, a radio frequency power amplifier device for the 5G-NR frequency band is proposed. For any stage of the amplification circuit of the radio frequency power amplifier device, two phase adjusters are used to respectively perform phase adjustment, signal splitting and phase recovery, and signal merging on the radio frequency signal, which can effectively improve the linear power of the radio frequency power amplifier.

[0025] Figure 2 FIG is a schematic structural diagram of a radio frequency power amplifying device according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 As shown, the RF power amplifier device includes an RF input port P21, an RF output port P22, a first power amplifier PA21, a power supply SRC21 for the first power amplifier PA21, a second power amplifier PA22, and a power supply SRC22 for the second power amplifier PA22. The voltage of power supplies SRC21 and SRC22 are both Vdc = 4.2 V. The collectors of the first power amplifier PA21 and the second power amplifier PA22 are connected to power supplies SRC21 and SRC22, respectively. The RF power amplifier device also includes a first phase adjuster A21 and a second phase adjuster A22.

[0026] like Figure 2 As shown, the first phase adjuster A21 includes a first capacitor C21, a second capacitor C22, a first inductor L21 and a second inductor L22, the first end of the first capacitor C21 is connected to the first end of the second inductor L22 and the base of the first power amplifier PA21, the second end of the first capacitor C21 is connected to the first end of the first inductor L21, and is used to receive an input RF signal, the second end of the first inductor L21 is connected to the first end of the second capacitor C22 and the base of the second power amplifier PA22, and the second end of the second capacitor C22 and the second end of the second inductor L22 are both grounded.

[0027] like Figure 2As shown, the second phase adjuster A22 includes a third inductor L23, a fourth inductor L24, a third capacitor C23 and a fourth capacitor C24, the first end of the third inductor L23 is connected to the emitter of the first power amplifier PA21 and the first end of the fourth capacitor C24, the second end of the third inductor L23 and the first end of the third capacitor C23 are both grounded, the second end of the third capacitor C23 is connected to the emitter of the second power amplifier PA22 and the first end of the fourth inductor L24, and the second end of the fourth inductor L24 is connected to the second end of the fourth capacitor C24.

[0028] exist Figure 2 In the illustrated embodiment, the first phase adjuster A21 includes a first capacitor C21, a second capacitor C22, a first inductor L21, and a second inductor L22, forming an input matching network, which matches the preset impedance value (e.g., 50 ohms) (point 1) of the RF input port P21 to the input impedance (points 2 and 3) of the first power amplifier PA21 and the second power amplifier PA22, and splits the input signal of the RF input port P21 into two signals, which are respectively input into the first power amplifier PA21 and the second power amplifier PA22, and the phase difference between the two signals is 180°.

[0029] exist Figure 2 In the illustrated embodiment, the third inductor L23, the fourth inductor L24, the third capacitor C23 and the fourth capacitor C24 included in the second phase adjuster A22 form an output matching network, which restores the two signals of the first power amplifier PA21 and the second power amplifier PA22 with a phase difference of 180° to phase consistency, synthesizes the signals into one, and matches the output impedances of the first power amplifier PA21 and the second power amplifier PA22 (points 4 and 5) to the preset impedance value (for example, 50 ohms) (point 6) of the RF output port P22.

[0030] In an optional embodiment, the positions of the first phase adjuster A21 and the second phase adjuster A22 can be interchanged, that is, the second phase adjuster A22 constitutes an input matching network, and the first phase adjuster A21 constitutes an output matching network.

[0031] Figure 3 FIG. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a radio frequency power amplifier according to another embodiment of the present invention. Figure 3 As shown, Figure 2 In comparison, Figure 3In the figure, the RF power amplification device includes not only the RF input port P31, the RF output port P32, the first power amplifier PA31, the power supply SRC31 of the first power amplifier PA31, the second power amplifier PA32, the power supply SRC32 of the second power amplifier PA32, the first phase adjuster A31 and the second phase adjuster A32, but also the first matching circuit M31 and the second matching circuit M32. The first matching circuit M31 includes a fifth capacitor C35 and a fifth inductor L35, and the second matching circuit M32 includes a sixth capacitor C36 and a sixth inductor L36, wherein the first end of the fifth capacitor C35 is connected to the emitter of the first power amplifier PA31, the second end of the fifth capacitor C35 is connected to the first end of the fifth inductor L35, the first end of the third inductor L33 and the first end of the fourth capacitor C34, and the second end of the fifth inductor L35 is grounded; the first end of the sixth capacitor C36 is connected to the emitter of the second power amplifier PA32, the second end of the sixth capacitor C36 is connected to the first end of the sixth inductor L36, the second end of the third capacitor C33 and the first end of the fourth inductor L34, and the second end of the sixth inductor L36 is grounded.

[0032] exist Figure 3 In the illustrated embodiment, the second phase adjuster A32, the first matching circuit M31, and the second matching circuit M32 form an output matching network. The second phase adjuster A32 restores the two signals of the first power amplifier PA31 and the second power amplifier PA32 with a phase difference of 180° to phase consistency, and synthesizes the signals into one signal. The first matching circuit M31 and the second matching circuit M32 respectively match the output impedances of the first power amplifier PA31 and the second power amplifier PA32 (points 4 and 5) to an impedance value (for example, 20 ohms). The second phase adjuster A32 matches the output impedances of the first power amplifier PA31 and the second power amplifier PA32 (points 7 and 8) to a preset impedance value (for example, 50 ohms) (point 6) of the RF output port P32.

[0033] In an optional embodiment, Figure 3 In the embodiment, the RF power amplification device also includes a third matching circuit M33, the third matching circuit M33 includes a seventh capacitor C37 and a seventh inductor L37, the first end of the seventh inductor L37 is connected to the second end of the fourth inductor L34 and the second end of the fourth capacitor C34, the second end of the seventh inductor L37 is connected to the first end of the seventh capacitor C37, and the second end of the seventh capacitor C37 is grounded.

[0034] exist Figure 3In the illustrated embodiment, the second phase adjuster A32, the first matching circuit M31, the second matching circuit M32 and the third matching circuit M33 constitute an output matching network. The second phase adjuster A32 restores the two signals of the first power amplifier PA31 and the second power amplifier PA32 with a phase difference of 180° to phase consistency and combines the signals into one signal. The first matching circuit M31 and the second matching circuit M32 respectively match the output impedances (points 4 and 5) of the first power amplifier PA31 and the second power amplifier PA32 to a first intermediate impedance value (for example, 15 ohms). The second phase adjuster A32 matches the output impedances (points 7 and 8) of the first power amplifier PA31 and the second power amplifier PA32 to a second intermediate impedance value (for example, 30 ohms) (point 6). The third matching circuit M33 matches the output impedance to the preset impedance value (for example, 50 ohms) of the RF output port P32 (point 9).

[0035] It should be noted that, in addition to Figure 3 The three-stage output impedance matching method shown in the figure can also adopt a more-stage output matching method. Moreover, the circuit composition of the first matching circuit M31, the second matching circuit M32 and the third matching circuit M33 is not limited to Figure 3 The specific method given is not limited to Figure 3 As for the device selection, device connection and device quantity shown, as long as the output impedance can be matched to the preset value, those skilled in the art may adopt various circuit structures, which are all within the scope of the disclosure of this application.

[0036] In another optional embodiment, in order to obtain a greater amplification gain, the radio frequency power amplification device may further include more stages of signal amplification components. Figure 4 FIG is a structural diagram of a radio frequency power amplifying device according to another embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 In comparison, Figure 4 In addition to the RF input port P41, the RF output port P42, the first power amplifier PA41, the power supply SRC41 of the first power amplifier PA41, the second power amplifier PA42, the power supply SRC42 of the second power amplifier PA42, the first phase adjuster A41 and the second phase adjuster A42, the RF power amplifier device also includes a first group of power amplifiers PA40. Figure 4 In the embodiment, the first power amplifier group PA40 is a power amplifier. According to an optional embodiment, the first power amplifier group PA40 may include multiple power amplifiers connected in series. The first power amplifier group PA40 is connected to the second end of the first capacitor C41 of the first phase adjuster A41 and the first end of the first inductor L41. The first power amplifier group PA40 amplifies the input RF signal and sends it to the first phase adjuster A41.

[0037] exist Figure 4 In the schematic diagram of the structure of the RF power amplifier device shown, the power amplifier is placed before the input matching network (i.e., the first phase adjuster A41). In an optional embodiment, the power amplifier can also be placed after the output matching network (e.g., the second phase adjuster A42). Thus, optionally, the RF power amplifier device also includes a second group of power amplifiers, which are connected to the second end of the fourth capacitor C44 of the second phase adjuster A42 and the second end of the fourth inductor L44, and are used to amplify the RF signal output after being processed by the second phase adjuster A42. In addition, optionally, the second group of power amplifiers includes a single power amplifier or multiple power amplifiers connected in series.

[0038] In another optional embodiment, the power amplifier may be placed before the input matching network (ie, the first phase adjuster A41 ) and after the output matching network (eg, the second phase adjuster A42 ).

[0039] According to another aspect of the present invention, a radio frequency power amplification method for the 5G-NR frequency band is proposed. For any stage of the amplification circuit of the radio frequency power amplification device, two phase adjusters are used to respectively perform phase adjustment, signal splitting and phase recovery, and signal merging on the radio frequency signal, which can effectively improve the linear power of the radio frequency power amplifier.

[0040] According to a specific embodiment, Figure 2 The radio frequency power amplification device implements the radio frequency power amplification method, comprising the following steps:

[0041] The first phase adjuster A21 receives an input radio frequency signal and divides the input radio frequency signal into a first signal and a second signal, wherein the first signal and the second signal have a phase difference of 180°;

[0042] The first power amplifier PA21 receives the first signal and amplifies the first signal to obtain a processed first signal;

[0043] The second power amplifier PA22 receives the second signal and amplifies the second signal to obtain a processed second signal;

[0044] The second phase adjuster A22 receives the processed first signal and the processed second signal, adjusts the phases of the processed first signal and the processed second signal to be consistent, merges them, obtains a merged signal, and outputs it.

[0045] According to the RF power amplification device and RF power amplification method proposed in the present invention, taking the two N40 and N41 frequency bands of 5G-NR as an example, simulation is performed under the collector voltage Vdc = 4.2V, and the simulation results are shown in Table 1:

[0046]

[0047] Table 1

[0048] It can be seen from Table 1 that the RF power amplification device and the RF power amplification method proposed in the present invention can achieve a 1dB compression point power of more than 35.3dBm, which is about 2.5dB higher than the traditional RF power amplification device architecture.

[0049] Therefore, experiments show that the RF power amplification device and RF power amplification method for the 5G-NR frequency band of the present invention can effectively increase the linear power of the RF power amplifier by 2.5dB, thereby meeting the system requirements of 5G-NR.

[0050] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the present invention. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions and improvements made within the spirit and principles of the present invention should be included in the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A radio frequency power amplifier device for a 5G-NR frequency band, comprising a radio frequency input port, a radio frequency output port, a first phase adjuster, a first power amplifier, a second power amplifier, and a second phase adjuster, wherein: The first phase adjuster includes a first capacitor, a second capacitor, a first inductor, and a second inductor. The first end of the first capacitor is connected to the first end of the second inductor and the base of the first power amplifier, and the second end of the first capacitor is connected to the first end of the first inductor, for receiving the RF signal input by the RF input port. The second end of the first inductor is connected to the first end of the second capacitor and the base of the second power amplifier. The second end of the second capacitor and the second end of the second inductor are both grounded. The first phase adjuster matches the first preset impedance value of the RF input port to the input impedance of the first power amplifier and the second power amplifier, and divides the input RF signal into a first signal and a second signal, wherein the first signal and the second signal have a phase difference of 180°. The second phase adjuster includes a third inductor, a fourth inductor, a third capacitor and a fourth capacitor, the first end of the third inductor is connected to the emitter of the first power amplifier and the first end of the fourth capacitor, the second end of the third inductor and the first end of the third capacitor are both grounded, the second end of the third capacitor is connected to the emitter of the second power amplifier and the first end of the fourth inductor, and the second end of the fourth inductor is connected to the second end of the fourth capacitor and the RF output port, wherein the second phase adjuster matches the output impedance of the first power amplifier and the second power amplifier to the second preset impedance value of the RF output port, and restores the two signals from the first power amplifier and the second power amplifier to be phase-consistent.

2. The radio frequency power amplifying device according to claim 1, further comprising a first matching circuit and a second matching circuit, wherein: The first matching circuit shown includes a fifth capacitor and a fifth inductor, and the second matching circuit includes a sixth capacitor and a sixth inductor, wherein the first end of the fifth capacitor is connected to the emitter of the first power amplifier, the second end of the fifth capacitor is connected to the first end of the fifth inductor, the first end of the third inductor and the first end of the fourth capacitor, and the second end of the fifth inductor is grounded; the first end of the sixth capacitor is connected to the emitter of the second power amplifier, the second end of the sixth capacitor is connected to the first end of the sixth inductor, the second end of the third capacitor and the first end of the fourth inductor, and the second end of the sixth inductor is grounded.

3. The radio frequency power amplifying device according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a third matching circuit, wherein: The third matching circuit includes a seventh capacitor and a seventh inductor, a first end of the seventh inductor is connected to the second end of the fourth inductor and the second end of the fourth capacitor, a second end of the seventh inductor is connected to the first end of the seventh capacitor, and a second end of the seventh capacitor is grounded. 4 . The radio frequency power amplifying device according to claim 1 , further comprising a first group of power amplifiers, wherein the first group of power amplifiers is connected to the second end of the first capacitor and the first end of the first inductor.

5. The radio frequency power amplifying device according to claim 4, wherein: The first group of power amplifiers includes one power amplifier or a plurality of power amplifiers connected in series. 6 . The radio frequency power amplification device according to claim 1 , further comprising a second group of power amplifiers, wherein the second group of power amplifiers is connected to the second end of the fourth capacitor and the second end of the fourth inductor.

7. The radio frequency power amplifying device according to claim 6, wherein: The second group of power amplifiers includes one power amplifier or a plurality of power amplifiers connected in series.

8. A method for radio frequency power amplification using the radio frequency power amplification device according to claim 1, comprising: The first phase adjuster receives an input radio frequency signal and divides the input radio frequency signal into a first signal and a second signal, wherein the first signal and the second signal have a phase difference of 180°; The first power amplifier receives the first signal and amplifies the first signal to obtain a processed first signal; The second power amplifier receives the second signal and amplifies the second signal to obtain a processed second signal; The second phase adjuster receives the processed first signal and the processed second signal, adjusts the phases of the processed first signal and the processed second signal to be consistent, merges the phases, obtains a merged signal, and outputs the merged signal.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein: The RF power amplification device also includes a first group of power amplifiers, which are connected to the second end of the first capacitor of the first phase adjuster and the first end of the first inductor. The method also includes: the first group of power amplifiers amplifies the input RF signal and sends it to the first phase adjuster.

10. The method according to claim 8 or 9, wherein The RF power amplification device also includes a second group of power amplifiers, which are connected to the second end of the fourth capacitor of the second phase adjuster and the second end of the fourth inductor. The method also includes: the second group of power amplifiers amplifies the signal output by the second group of power amplifiers.

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