A gain boost amplifier with Z-type and PreY-type LLREN

Abstract

This invention belongs to the field of wireless communication technology and relates to amplifiers in wireless communication systems. Specifically, it provides a gain boost amplifier with Z-type and PreY-type LLRENs, including: a transistor M1, a Z-type LLREN, and an input PreY-type LLREN and / or an output PreY-type LLREN. The input PreY-type LLREN is connected between the input terminal of transistor M1 and the common ground terminal, the output PreY-type LLREN is connected between the output terminal of transistor M1 and the common ground terminal, and the Z-type LLREN is connected between the common ground terminal of transistor M1 and ground. This invention, through its gain boost structure design based on Z-type and PreY-type LLRENs, avoids many problems associated with Y-type LLRENs. That is, this invention effectively maximizes the usable gain G without using the Y-type LLREN. ma Increase to the corresponding upper limit value G ma_upper_limit This means effectively increasing the power gain of the amplifier.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention belongs to the field of wireless communication technology and relates to amplifiers in wireless communication systems. Specifically, it provides a gain boost amplifier with Z-type and PreY-type LLREN for improving power gain. Background Technology

[0002] Millimeter wave and terahertz bands offer abundant spectrum resources and provide large communication capacity, attracting considerable attention; however, the extremely high operating frequencies pose challenges to the design of wireless RF front-end systems. As one of the most crucial modules in an RF front-end system, the intrinsic gain of transistors in amplifiers decreases rapidly with increasing operating frequencies, making the power gain achievable by the amplifier extremely limited.

[0003] For an amplifier, the maximum available gain G ma Maximum available gain (MPG) is defined as the power gain when the amplifier achieves simultaneous input-output conjugate matching. To improve the amplifier's power gain, traditional methods utilize LLREN (Linear, lossless, and reciprocal embedding network) to enhance G. ma up to its upper limit G ma_upper_limit G ma_upper_limit Defined as:

[0004]

[0005] Where U is Mason's U; and the expression for U is:

[0006]

[0007] Among them, Y 11 Y 12 Y 21 and Y 22 These are the admittance Y matrix parameters of the two-port network.

[0008] Building upon this, the paper "A 173 GHz Amplifier With a 18.5 dB Power Gain in a 130 nm SiGe Process: A Systematic Design of High-Gain Amplifiers Above f maxThe paper " / 2" (H. Khatibiet al., IEEE TMTT, vol. 66, no. 1, pp. 201-214, 2018) and the paper "A High-Gain mm-Wave Amplifier Design: An Analytical Approach to Power Gain Boosting" (H. Bameri, O. Momeni, IEEE JSSC, vol. 52, no. 2, pp. 357-370, 2017) respectively propose the use of... Figure 1 The Y / Z type LLREN shown, such as Figure 2 The Y / PreZ type LLREN gain boost architecture shown enables G ma Reaching the upper limit value G ma_upper_limit This effectively improves power gain. However, for both Y / Z type LLREN and Y / PreZ type LLREN structures, when the amplifier is single-ended, the required Y type LLREN is usually implemented through a transmission line with a large characteristic impedance. For traditional on-chip processes, due to the limitations of metal density and the small distance between the substrate and the signal line, it is difficult to implement a transmission line with a large characteristic impedance. In addition, the required transmission line is usually long and occupies a large area. Summary of the Invention

[0009] The purpose of this invention is to provide a gain boost amplifier with Z-type LLREN and PreY-type LLREN to solve many problems existing in the prior art: 1. Insufficient power gain of existing amplifiers operating at high frequencies (especially in millimeter wave and terahertz bands); 2. In traditional Y / Z-type LLREN and Y / PreZ-type LLREN gain boosting techniques, problems encountered in implementing the transmission line used in the Y-type LLREN include difficulty in achieving a large characteristic impedance and a large area due to its long length. The gain boosting structure based on Z-type LLREN and PreY-type LLREN proposed in this invention can effectively improve the gain without using the Y-type LLREN. ma Reaching G ma_upper_limit This effectively increases the power gain of the amplifier.

[0010] To achieve the above objectives, the technical solution adopted by the present invention is as follows:

[0011] A gain boost amplifier with Z-type and PreY-type LLRENs, characterized in that the gain boost amplifier includes: a transistor M1, a Z-type LLREN, and an input PreY-type LLREN and / or an output PreY-type LLREN, wherein the input PreY-type LLREN is connected between the input terminal of transistor M1 and the common ground terminal, the output PreY-type LLREN is connected between the output terminal of transistor M1 and the common ground terminal, and the Z-type LLREN is connected between the common ground terminal of transistor M1 and ground.

[0012] Furthermore, the transistor M1 is a bipolar transistor or a field-effect transistor.

[0013] Furthermore, when transistor M1 is a bipolar transistor, transistor M1 can be a common-emitter transistor, a common-base transistor, or a common-collector transistor. When transistor M1 is a common-emitter transistor, the base of the common-emitter transistor is the input terminal, the collector is the output terminal, and the emitter is the common ground terminal. When transistor M1 is a common-base transistor, the emitter of the common-base transistor is the input terminal, the collector is the output terminal, and the base is the common ground terminal. When transistor M1 is a common-collector transistor, the base of the common-collector transistor is the input terminal, the emitter is the output terminal, and the collector is the common ground terminal.

[0014] Furthermore, when transistor M1 is a field-effect transistor, transistor M1 can be a common-source transistor, a common-gate transistor, or a common-drain transistor. When transistor M1 is a common-source transistor, the gate of the common-source transistor is the input terminal, the drain is the output terminal, and the source is the common ground terminal. When transistor M1 is a common-gate transistor, the source of the common-gate transistor is the input terminal, the drain is the output terminal, and the gate is the common ground terminal. When transistor M1 is a common-drain transistor, the gate of the common-drain transistor is the input terminal, the source is the output terminal, and the drain is the common ground terminal.

[0015] It should be noted that gain boost amplifiers typically include an input matching network and an output matching network. However, this invention does not involve improvements to the input and output matching networks. The input and output matching networks can be adaptively selected according to the actual application requirements, so they will not be described in detail here.

[0016] The beneficial effects of this invention are as follows:

[0017] This invention provides a gain boost amplifier with Z-type LLREN and PreY-type LLREN. By designing a gain boost structure based on Z-type and PreY-type LLRENs, the use of a Y-type LLREN is avoided. This effectively overcomes the problems of the transmission lines used in Y-type LLRENs, such as difficulty in achieving a large characteristic impedance and long length occupying a large area, resulting in a more compact amplifier layout. Furthermore, this invention can effectively maximize the maximum usable gain G. maIncrease to the corresponding upper limit value G ma_upper_limit This means effectively increasing the power gain of the amplifier. Attached Figure Description

[0018] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the existing gain boost amplifier with Y / Z-LLREN.

[0019] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the existing gain boost amplifier with Y / PreZ-LLREN.

[0020] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the gain boost amplifier with Z / PreY-LLREN in Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

[0021] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the gain boost amplifier with Z / PreY-LLREN in Embodiment 2 of the present invention.

[0022] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the frame of the gain boost amplifier based on a common-emitter structure with Z / PreY-LLREN in Embodiment 3 of the present invention.

[0023] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the frame of the gain boost amplifier with Z / PreY-LLREN based on the common collection structure in Embodiment 4 of the present invention.

[0024] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the frame of the gain boost amplifier based on a common-base structure with Z / PreY-LLREN in Embodiment 5 of the present invention.

[0025] Figure 8 This is a circuit diagram of the gain boost amplifier with Z / PreY-LLREN in Embodiment 3 of the present invention.

[0026] Figure 9 The G in Embodiment 3 of this invention is a gain boost amplifier with Z / PreY-LLREN. ma Simulation results as frequency changes.

[0027] Figure 10 The simulation results of the S-parameters of the gain boost amplifier with Z / PreY-LLREN as a function of frequency in Embodiment 3 of the present invention are shown. Detailed Implementation

[0028] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and beneficial effects of this invention clearer, the invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

[0029] Example 1

[0030] This embodiment provides a gain boost amplifier with a Z-type / PreY-type LLREN for increasing power gain, such as... Figure 3 As shown, it specifically includes: a common-emitter transistor M1, a Z-type LLREN and an input PreY-type LLREN. The input PreY-type LLREN is connected between the base and emitter of transistor M1, and the Z-type LLREN is connected between the emitter of transistor M1 and ground.

[0031] In terms of working principle:

[0032] The aforementioned transistor M1, Z-type LLREN, and input PreY-type LLREN constitute G. ma Improve the network, such as Figure 3 As shown, jY p1 For input PreY type LLREN, jZ f It is a Z-type LLREN;

[0033] First, for an active two-port network, in order to enable G ma Reaching G ma_upper_limit , the document "A Study ofOperating Condition and DesignMethods to Achieve the Upper Limit of PowerGainin Amplifiers at Near-f max The Frequencies (Z. Wang, P. Heydari, IEEE TCAS-I, vol. 64, no. 2, pp. 261-271, 2017) proposed that G ma Reaching G ma_upper_limit The conditions are:

[0034]

[0035] Where U is Mason's U, and its expression is: A is a metric for measuring the reciprocity of a two-port network, defined as A = Y. 21 / Y 12 ;Y 11 Y 12 Y 21 and Y 22 These are the admittance Y matrix parameters of the two-port network;

[0036] In order to make G ma Reaching G ma_upper_limit Required Y p1 and Z f They are:

[0037]

[0038] in,

[0039]

[0040] U is Mason's U for the common-emitter transistor M1, expressed as: And Y 11 Y 12 Y 21 and Y 22 These are the admittance Y matrix parameters of the common-emitter transistor M1;

[0041] When Y p1 If the value is greater than 0, the input PreY type LLREN is matched as capacitive, when Y p1 If less than 0, the input PreY type LLREN is matched as insensitive.

[0042] The amplifier with Z-type and input PreY-type LLREN provided in this embodiment can effectively enable G ma Increase to G ma_upper_limit This effectively increases power gain.

[0043] Example 2

[0044] This embodiment provides a gain boost amplifier with a Z-type / PreY-type LLREN for increasing power gain, such as... Figure 4 As shown, it specifically includes: a common-emitter transistor M1, a Z-type LLREN and an output PreY-type LLREN. The output PreY-type LLREN is connected between the collector and emitter of transistor M1, and the Z-type LLREN is connected between the emitter of transistor M1 and ground.

[0045] In terms of working principle:

[0046] The aforementioned transistor M1, Z-type LLREN, and output PreY-type LLREN constitute G. ma Improve the network, such as Figure 4 As shown, jY p2 For input PreY type LLREN, jZ f For Z-type LLREN; in order to make G ma Reaching G ma_upper_limit Required Y p2 and Z f They are:

[0047]

[0048] in,

[0049]

[0050] U is Mason's U for the common-emitter transistor M1, expressed as: And Y 11 Y 12 Y 21 and Y 22 These are the admittance Y matrix parameters of the common-emitter transistor M1;

[0051] When Y p2 If the value is greater than 0, the output PreY type LLREN is capacitively matched. p2 If less than 0, the output PreY type LLREN is matched to inductive.

[0052] The amplifier with Z-type and output PreY type LLREN provided in this embodiment can effectively enable G ma Increase to G ma_upper_limit This effectively increases power gain.

[0053] Example 3

[0054] This embodiment provides a gain boost amplifier with a Z-type / PreY-type LLREN for increasing power gain, such as... Figure 5 As shown, it specifically includes: a common-emitter transistor M1, a Z-type LLREN, an input PreY-type LLREN, and an output PreY-type LLREN. The input PreY-type LLREN is connected between the base and emitter of transistor M1, the output PreY-type LLREN is connected between the collector and emitter of transistor M1, and the Z-type LLREN is connected between the emitter of transistor M1 and ground.

[0055] In terms of working principle:

[0056] The aforementioned transistors M1, Z-type LLREN, input PreY-type LLREN, and output PreY-type LLREN constitute G. ma Improve the network, such as Figure 5 As shown, jY p1 For input PreY type LLREN, jY p2 To output PreY type LLREN, jZ f For Z-type LLREN; in order to satisfy G ma Reaching G ma_upper_limit For any given Y p1 Required Y p2 With Z f They are:

[0057]

[0058] in,

[0059]

[0060] U is Mason's U for the common-emitter transistor M1, expressed as: And Y 11 Y 12 Y 21 and Y 22 These are the admittance Y matrix parameters of the common-emitter transistor M1;

[0061] When Y p1 If the value is greater than 0, the input PreY type LLREN is matched as capacitive, when Y p1 If the value is less than 0, the input PreY type LLREN is matched as inductive; when Y... p2 If the value is greater than 0, the output PreY type LLREN is capacitively matched. p2 If less than 0, the output PreY type LLREN is matched to inductive.

[0062] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the circuit structure of the gain boost amplifier with Z-type / PreY-type LLREN for increasing power gain is as follows: Figure 8 As shown, it includes: an input matching network, a common-emitter transistor M1, a Z-type LLREN, an input PreY-type LLREN, an output PreY-type LLREN, and an output matching network; wherein, C block T2, T3, R bias With C decap Together they form the input matching network, C block C3, T4, T5 and C decap Together, they form the output matching network, which matches the amplifier's input and output to 50Ω, respectively. Since the required input PreY-type LLREN is capacitive, the output PreY-type LLREN is inductive, and the Z-type LLREN is capacitive, the input PreY-type LLREN in this embodiment is capacitor C1. Furthermore, since the output PreY-type LLREN is inductive and the collector and emitter potentials of transistor M1 are different, a DC blocking capacitor C2 is needed to separate the collector and emitter potentials of transistor M1. Capacitor C2 and inductor L1 together form the inductive output PreY-type LLREN. Simultaneously, since the Z-type LLREN is capacitive, a 90° transmission line T6 is used to provide DC bias, acting as DC ground and AC open circuit. Transmission line T6 and capacitor C... Z Together they constitute the capacitive Z-type LLREN.

[0063] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the design process used is SiGe130nm, and the emitter area of ​​transistor M1 is 4×0.9×0.07μm. 2In this embodiment, the amplifier operates at a frequency of 230 GHz, capacitor C1 is 5 fF, capacitor C2 is 100 fF, capacitor C3 is 30 fF, and capacitor C... Z The capacitance is 75fF, and the capacitor C is... block The capacitance is 90fF, and the capacitor C is... decap 200fF; resistance R bias The characteristic impedance is 970Ω; the inductance L1 is 23pH; the characteristic impedance of transmission lines T2, T3, T4, T5 and T6 is 50Ω, the length of T2 is 13μm, the length of T3 is 44μm, the length of T4 is 21μm, and the lengths of T5 and T6 are 164μm.

[0064] In this embodiment, the gain boost amplifier with Z / PreY-LLREN... ma Simulation results as frequency changes are as follows Figure 9 As shown in the figure, at 230 GHz, compared to a common-emitter amplifier without any gain boosting technology, a gain boost amplifier using a Z-type / PreY-type LLREN structure has a higher gain boosting efficiency. ma It improved from 4dB to 10.9dB, an increase of nearly 6.9dB; and G ma Able to reach G ma_upper_limit The S-parameter simulation results of a single-stage amplifier are as follows: Figure 10 As shown in the figure, the amplifier achieves good input-output conjugate matching at 230 GHz. 11 and S 22 All are less than -15dB; and the amplifier's S 21 At 230 GHz, the gain is 7.03 dB, meaning the amplifier's power gain is 7.03 dB, achieving near the highest oscillation frequency f. max A higher power gain at the operating frequency.

[0065] Example 4

[0066] This embodiment provides a gain boost amplifier with a Z-type / PreY-type LLREN for increasing power gain, such as... Figure 6 As shown, it specifically includes: a common-collector transistor M1, a Z-type LLREN, an input PreY-type LLREN, and an output PreY-type LLREN. The input PreY-type LLREN is connected between the base and collector of transistor M1, the output PreY-type LLREN is connected between the emitter and collector of transistor M1, and the Z-type LLREN is connected between the collector of transistor M1 and ground. Its working principle is the same as that of embodiment 3, and it can bring the same beneficial effects.

[0067] Example 5

[0068] This embodiment provides a gain boost amplifier with a Z-type / PreY-type LLREN for increasing power gain, such as... Figure 7 As shown, it specifically includes: a common-base transistor M1, a Z-type LLREN, an input PreY-type LLREN, and an output PreY-type LLREN. The input PreY-type LLREN is connected between the emitter and base of transistor M1, the output PreY-type LLREN is connected between the collector and base of transistor M1, and the Z-type LLREN is connected between the base of transistor M1 and ground. Its working principle is the same as that of embodiment 3, and it can bring the same beneficial effects.

[0069] Additionally, it should be noted that in both Embodiment 4 and Embodiment 5, transistor M1 is a bipolar transistor. When a field-effect transistor is used, its working principle remains unchanged and it can bring the same beneficial effects.

[0070] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of the present invention. Any feature disclosed in this specification may be replaced by other equivalent or similar features unless otherwise specified. All disclosed features, or steps in all methods or processes, may be combined in any way except for mutually exclusive features and / or steps.

Claims

1. A gain boosted amplifier with Z-type and PreY-type LLREN, characterized by, The gain boost amplifier includes: transistor M1, a Z-type LLREN, and an input PreY-type LLREN and / or an output PreY-type LLREN, wherein the input PreY-type LLREN is connected between the input terminal of transistor M1 and the common ground terminal, the output PreY-type LLREN is connected between the output terminal of transistor M1 and the common ground terminal, and the Z-type LLREN is connected between the common ground terminal of transistor M1 and ground.

2. The gain boost amplifier with Z-type and PreY-type LLREN as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The transistor M1 is either a bipolar transistor or a field-effect transistor.

3. The gain boost amplifier with Z-type and PreY-type LLRENs as described in claim 2, characterized in that, When transistor M1 is a bipolar transistor, transistor M1 can be a common-emitter transistor, a common-base transistor, or a common-collector transistor. When transistor M1 is a common-emitter transistor, the base of the common-emitter transistor is the input terminal, the collector is the output terminal, and the emitter is the common ground terminal. When transistor M1 is a common-base transistor, the emitter of the common-base transistor is the input terminal, the collector is the output terminal, and the base is the common ground terminal. When transistor M1 is a common-collector transistor, the base of the common-collector transistor is the input terminal, the emitter is the output terminal, and the collector is the common ground terminal.

4. The gain boost amplifier with Z-type and PreY-type LLREN as described in claim 2, characterized in that, When transistor M1 is a field-effect transistor, transistor M1 can be a common-source transistor, a common-gate transistor, or a common-drain transistor. When transistor M1 is a common-source transistor, the gate is the input terminal, the drain is the output terminal, and the source is the common ground terminal. When transistor M1 is a common-gate transistor, the source is the input terminal, the drain is the output terminal, and the gate is the common ground terminal. When transistor M1 is a common-drain transistor, the gate is the input terminal, the source is the output terminal, and the drain is the common ground terminal.

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