Amplifier, communication terminal and electronic equipment

By introducing a load matching circuit into the amplifier, the impedance adjustment unit adjusts the output matching impedance according to the power level and frequency band, the problem of the existing amplifier's efficiency decreases when the power level changes, and the amplification effect with high efficiency and low power consumption is achieved.

CN222464574UActive Publication Date: 2025-02-11GUANGZHOU HUIZHI MICROELECTRONICS
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Patent Information

Application Number
CN202323671462.X
Authority / Receiving Office
CN · China
Patent Type
Utility models(China)
Current Assignee / Owner
Filing Date
2023-12-31
Publication Date
2025-02-11
Estimated Expiration
2033-12-31

AI Technical Summary

Technical Problem

Existing amplifiers cannot automatically adjust the matching network when power levels change, resulting in reduced efficiency and impedance mismatch.

Method used

An amplifier including a load matching circuit is designed, which adjusts the output matching impedance according to the power level and operating frequency band through the first and second impedance adjustment units to ensure optimal load matching of the amplifier unit.

Benefits of technology

The impedance modulation without additional loss at different power levels and frequency bands is achieved, which maximizes the output power of the amplification unit, improves efficiency and performance, and reduces power consumption.

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Abstract

The embodiment of the utility model discloses an amplifier, a communication terminal and electronic equipment. The amplifier comprises an amplification unit which is configured to receive a first radio frequency signal and amplify the first radio frequency signal into a second radio frequency signal; and the load matching circuit is connected with the output end of the amplification unit and is configured to perform impedance matching on the amplification unit according to the power level.
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Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to, but is not limited to, an amplifier, a communication terminal, and an electronic device. Background Art

[0002] The amplifier is an important component of various communication transceiver systems. In the front circuit of the transmitter, the amplifier can amplify the RF signal power generated by the modulated oscillator circuit, thereby obtaining sufficient RF power and feeding it to the antenna for radiation. With the continuous development of today's communication technology, people have higher and higher requirements for communication technology, and the performance of the amplifier as an important component of the communication transceiver system is also attracting more and more attention. Utility Model Content

[0003] In view of this, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide an amplifier, a communication terminal and an electronic device, which can improve the efficiency of the amplifier.

[0004] The technical solution of the embodiment of the present disclosure is implemented as follows:

[0005] An embodiment of the present disclosure provides an amplifier, comprising: an amplifying unit, configured to receive a first radio frequency signal and amplify the first radio frequency signal into a second radio frequency signal; a load matching circuit, connected to an output end of the amplifying unit, and configured to perform impedance matching on the amplifying unit according to a power level.

[0006] In the above scheme, the load matching circuit includes: a first impedance adjustment unit; wherein, the first impedance adjustment unit has one end connected to the output end of the amplifier and the other end connected to the ground end, and is used to perform impedance matching according to the power level.

[0007] In the above solution, the amplifier includes: a plurality of output paths; wherein the first impedance adjustment unit is connected to all of the plurality of output paths.

[0008] In the above scheme, the load matching circuit includes: a first impedance adjustment unit and a second impedance adjustment unit; wherein, the first impedance adjustment unit has one end connected to the output end of the amplifier and the other end connected to the ground end, and is configured to perform impedance matching on the amplifying unit according to the power level; the second impedance adjustment unit is connected to the output end of the amplifying unit, and is configured to perform impedance matching on the amplifying circuit according to the working frequency band of the amplifying unit.

[0009] In the above solution, the first impedance adjustment unit and / or the second impedance adjustment unit includes an adjustable capacitor.

[0010] In the above solution, the first impedance adjustment unit and / or the second impedance adjustment unit further includes an inductor connected in series or in parallel with the adjustable capacitor.

[0011] In the above scheme, the first impedance adjustment unit includes a plurality of first capacitors connected in parallel, and at least one of the first capacitor branches has a series switch; the second impedance adjustment unit includes a plurality of second capacitors connected in parallel, and at least one of the second capacitor branches has a series switch.

[0012] In the above scheme, the amplifier also includes: an output matching circuit; the output matching circuit includes: a first inductor; wherein the first inductor is connected to the output end of the amplifier; and the two ends of the second impedance adjustment unit are respectively connected to the two ends of the first inductor.

[0013] In the above scheme, the amplifier further includes: an output matching circuit; the output matching circuit further includes: a first balun; wherein the first impedance adjustment unit and the second impedance adjustment unit are respectively connected to two output ends of the first balun.

[0014] In the above scheme, the output matching circuit further includes: a second balun; the load matching circuit further includes a third impedance adjustment unit; wherein a plurality of the third impedance adjustment units are all connected to the input end of the second balun.

[0015] An embodiment of the present disclosure also provides a communication terminal, comprising the amplifier as described in the above solution.

[0016] An embodiment of the present disclosure also provides an electronic device, comprising the amplifier as described in the above solution.

[0017] It can be seen that the embodiments of the present disclosure provide an amplifier, a communication terminal and an electronic device, wherein the amplifier includes a load matching circuit, which can perform impedance matching on the amplification unit according to the power level.

[0018] It is understandable that the load matching circuit can adjust the matching impedance according to the power level. When the power level changes, the value of the matching impedance changes, and then the output matching impedance at the rear end of the amplification unit is flexibly adjusted to complete the impedance matching of the amplification unit. In other words, multiple output paths can achieve impedance modulation without additional loss at different power levels, and adjust the output matching impedance to the optimal load impedance of the amplification unit to ensure that the output power of the amplification unit is maximized, thereby improving the efficiency of the amplification unit, improving the performance of the amplification unit, and reducing the power consumption of the amplifier. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the structure of an amplifier provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0020] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the structure of multiple output paths in an amplifier provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0021] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of the structure of a load matching circuit in an amplifier provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0022] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of the structure of another amplifier provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0023] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of the structure of a second control circuit provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0024] Figure 6 A schematic diagram of the structure of another amplifier provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0025] Figure 7 A schematic diagram of the structure of another amplifier provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0026] Figure 8 A schematic diagram of the structure of another amplifier provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0027] Fig. 9 A schematic diagram of the structure of a communication terminal provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0028] In order to make the purpose, technical solutions and advantages of the present disclosure clearer, the technical solutions of the present disclosure are further elaborated in detail below in conjunction with the drawings and embodiments. The described embodiments should not be regarded as limiting the present disclosure. All other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in the field without making creative work are within the scope of protection of the present disclosure.

[0029] In the following description, reference is made to “some embodiments”, which describe a subset of all possible embodiments, but it will be understood that “some embodiments” may be the same subset or different subsets of all possible embodiments and may be combined with each other without conflict.

[0030] If similar descriptions of "first / second" appear in the application documents, the following description is added. In the following description, the terms "first / second / third" involved are merely used to distinguish similar objects and do not represent a specific ordering of the objects. It is understandable that "first / second / third" can be interchanged in a specific order or sequence where permitted, so that the embodiments of the present disclosure described herein can be implemented in an order other than that illustrated or described herein.

[0031] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as those commonly understood by those skilled in the art to which the present disclosure belongs. The terms used herein are only for the purpose of describing the embodiments of the present disclosure and are not intended to limit the present disclosure.

[0032] The amplifier unit is an important component of various RF terminals and can be used to amplify RF signals. An important performance indicator of the amplifier unit is the efficiency of the amplifier unit. In order to ensure the efficiency of the amplifier unit, the amplifier unit is usually designed according to the power level of the output signal. Therefore, once the design of an amplifier unit is determined and the design of the matching network is finalized, the amplifier unit will not be able to automatically adjust the matching according to the actual application scenario, resulting in a decrease in the efficiency of the amplifier unit.

[0033] For example, the power levels of RF terminals with smartphones as typical application scenarios are often PC3 (Power Class 3), PC2 (Power Class 2), PC1.5 (Power Class 1.5), etc. Correspondingly, smartphones are equipped with amplifier units of different power levels. However, when an amplifier unit of a certain power level is set inside and the power level of the RF signal changes, the matching network in the amplifier unit is not applicable, which will lead to impedance mismatch and signal reflection, and then reduce the efficiency of the amplifier unit.

[0034] Figure 1 is an optional structural diagram of the amplifier provided by the present disclosure, such as Figure 1 As shown, the amplifier 10 includes an amplifying unit 100 and a load matching circuit 200. The amplifying unit 100 is configured to receive a first radio frequency signal and amplify the first radio frequency signal into a second radio frequency signal; the load matching circuit 200 is connected to the output end of the amplifying unit 100 and is configured to perform impedance matching on the amplifying unit 100 according to the power level.

[0035] In this embodiment, see Figure 1 The input end of the amplifier unit 100 is a signal input end IN, which is used to receive a first RF signal. The amplifier unit 100 amplifies the first RF signal to obtain a second RF signal and outputs the second RF signal from the output end of the amplifier unit 100. Here, it can be understood that the first RF signal is the input signal of the amplifier 10. The second RF signal is the signal required by the back end connected to the amplifier 10, that is, the transmission signal of the amplifier 10.

[0036] In this embodiment, see Figure 1, the load matching circuit 200 can adjust the matching impedance according to the power level of the transmitted signal. When the power level changes, the value of the matching impedance changes, and then flexibly adjusts the output matching impedance at the rear end of the amplifying unit 100 to complete the impedance matching of the amplifying unit 100. In other words, the load matching circuit 200 can achieve impedance modulation without additional loss at different power levels, and adjust the output matching impedance to the optimal load impedance of the amplifying unit to ensure that the output power of the amplifying unit 100 is maximized, improve the efficiency of the amplifying unit 100, enhance the performance of the amplifying unit 100, and reduce the power consumption of the amplifier 10. That is, the amplifier 10 improves the efficiency of the amplifying unit by dynamically adjusting the rear end impedance of the amplifying unit 100.

[0037] In addition, as a typical communication device, the amplifier is an important component of the smart phone. By arranging the amplifier 10 of this embodiment in the smart phone, the communication quality of the smart phone can be improved while reducing the power consumption of the smart phone.

[0038] In some embodiments, Figure 2 As shown, the amplifier 10 may include a plurality of output paths 300. The first impedance adjustment unit 210 is connected to all of the plurality of output paths 300. That is, each path may be impedance-adjusted by the first impedance adjustment unit.

[0039] In this embodiment, Figure 2 As shown, the amplifier 10 may include multiple output paths 300. At least one output path has a grounding branch 320, and the signal output end of the amplifier 10 is selectively connected to the grounding branch 320 or the main path of the output path. In other words, among the multiple signal output ends, the signal output end that does not perform signal transmission can be connected to the grounding branch 320.

[0040] It should also be noted that each output path is provided with an output gating switch (T1, T2, ..., Tn); each output gating switch is configured to control the conduction or disconnection of a corresponding output path. Specifically, the output gating switch is selectively closed or opened based on the change of the power level. When the amplifier 10 is working, only one output gating switch is closed and one output path is turned on. In other words, multiple output paths in the multiple output paths 300 correspond to multiple signal output terminals (for example, OUT1, OUT2, ..., OUTn, etc.), of which only one signal output terminal is required to output a signal.

[0041] It should be understood that the amplifier 10 is commonly used in various communication transceiver systems, and due to changes in the distance between the sender and the receiver, the received signal strength (RSSI) between the sender and the receiver, the communication service between the sender and the receiver, etc., it is necessary to dynamically adjust the transmission power. For example, the transmission power is reduced when the distance decreases and increased when the distance increases, the transmission power is increased when the RSSI becomes smaller and reduced when the RSSI becomes larger, and the transmission power is adjusted according to the needs of the communication service (for example, different services require different transmission powers), etc. Therefore, the required power level can be determined according to the communication distance, the received signal strength, etc., and the power amplification parameters of the amplification unit can be determined based on the power level to achieve the required power output to avoid unnecessary energy loss. In some embodiments, continue to refer to the attached Figure 2 , multiple output terminals (OUT1, OUT2...OUTn) can be connected to multiple output paths, and the multiple output paths have multiple matching modes. Each matching mode can match a different output matching impedance value, and each matching mode corresponds to a power amplification parameter of the amplification unit 100.

[0042] Here, the power amplification parameters may include: various circuit parameters that affect the amplification of RF signals; the circuit parameters may include: the capacitance value, resistance value, inductance value of the circuit, the amplification factor of the RF signal, the transmission path of the RF signal in the amplifier or the components it passes through, or the on or off parameters of one or more output selection switch elements in the amplifier, etc., which may affect the amplification of the RF signal.

[0043] In some embodiments, the power amplification parameters may be configuration parameters required by the circuit when amplifying the RF signal corresponding to the power level, including the setting parameters of the optimal output matching impedance. It is understandable that when the output matching impedance is the optimal output matching impedance, the return loss of the RF signal can be minimized, thereby improving the efficiency of the amplification unit 100. In other words, based on the determined power amplification parameters, the optimal output matching impedance corresponding to the amplifier 10 can be determined. In short, different power levels correspond to different power amplification parameters. In this embodiment, the amplifier 10 can use different output matching impedances when the power level changes. That is, the output matching impedance is flexibly adjusted to the optimal output matching impedance based on the power level. In this state, the RF signal after amplification can be completely output, the reflection of the RF signal is reduced, and the rated power is output, thereby improving the efficiency of the amplification unit 100 and improving the performance of the amplification unit 100. At the same time, multiple output paths 300 share a load matching circuit 200, which can further reduce the chip area and improve the integration.

[0044] In some embodiments, Figure 2As shown, the load matching circuit includes: a first impedance adjustment unit 210; wherein, the first impedance adjustment unit 210 has one end connected to the output end of the amplifier 10 and the other end connected to the ground end, and is used to perform impedance matching according to the level power.

[0045] In this embodiment, see Figure 2 , each first impedance adjustment unit may include a first capacitor C1. One end of the multiple first capacitors C1 is connected to the output end of the amplifier 10, and the other end of the multiple first capacitors C1 is connected to the ground end. The multiple first capacitors C1 can perform impedance matching on the amplifying unit 100 according to the power level. That is, the first impedance adjustment unit 210 has a variable first output matching impedance, and the first output matching impedance can be specifically adjusted according to the power level, so as to adjust the output power of the amplifying unit 100. In other words, the adjustable first output matching impedance of the first impedance adjustment unit 210 can be used to reduce the reflection of the second RF signal and ensure that the second RF signal can be completely transmitted to the back end.

[0046] For example, in this embodiment, the rear end impedance of the amplifier unit 100 can be adjusted by changing the capacitance values ​​of the plurality of first capacitors C1. The equivalent impedance value Z1 of the output end of the amplifier unit 100 is shown in formula (1):

[0047]

[0048] In formula (1), ω is the angular frequency, j is the imaginary part, Z2 is the impedance value of the corresponding output path main circuit, Z1 is the impedance value of the output path main circuit and the plurality of first capacitors C1, and C1 is the capacitance value of the plurality of first capacitors C1.

[0049] As can be seen from formula (1), in this embodiment, the equivalent impedance value Z1 of the output end of the amplifier unit 100 can be adjusted by adjusting the total capacitance connected to the multiple first capacitors C1. In other words, the first impedance adjustment unit 210 can serve as an auxiliary part of the output matching impedance of the amplifier 10 to perform impedance matching on the amplifier unit 100 according to the power level.

[0050] In some embodiments, Figure 3 As shown, the first impedance adjustment unit 210 and / or the second impedance adjustment unit 220 includes an adjustable capacitor.

[0051] In this embodiment, Figure 3 As shown, the first impedance adjustment unit 210 may include an adjustable capacitor. The load matching circuit may have different capacitance values ​​by adjusting the adjustable capacitor in the first impedance adjustment unit 210, and thus, the load matching circuit may meet the matching impedance required by multiple power levels.

[0052] In this embodiment, Figure 3As shown, the second impedance adjustment unit 220 may include an adjustable capacitor. The load matching circuit may have different capacitance values ​​by adjusting the adjustable capacitor in the second impedance adjustment unit 220 to adjust the impedance value of the output matching circuit 400. Thus, the adjustable range of the output matching impedance can be increased, which is conducive to achieving optimized impedance matching at more frequency points, thereby improving the efficiency of the amplification unit 100.

[0053] In some embodiments, Figure 3 As shown, the first impedance adjustment unit 210 and / or the second impedance adjustment unit 220 further include an inductor connected in series or in parallel with the adjustable capacitor. Thus, the impedance value of the first impedance adjustment unit 210 and / or the second impedance adjustment unit 220 can be adjusted to meet the matching impedance required by multiple power levels.

[0054] In some embodiments, Figure 4 As shown, the first impedance adjustment unit 210 includes a plurality of first capacitors C1 connected in parallel, and at least one first capacitor branch has a series switch Ta. The second impedance adjustment unit 220 includes a plurality of second capacitors C2 connected in parallel, and at least one second capacitor branch has a series switch Tb.

[0055] It is necessary to explain that, see Figure 4 The component values ​​of the capacitors and inductors included in the first impedance adjustment unit 210 and the second impedance adjustment unit 220 need to be designed according to the specific conditions of the entire amplifier 10, which is easy to understand for those skilled in the art. Different first impedance adjustment units 210 and second impedance adjustment units 220 can constitute different load matching circuits 200. For example, the capacitance values ​​of the multiple first capacitors C1 included in the first impedance adjustment unit 210 can be set to be different from each other, and the load matching circuit 200 can have different output matching impedance values. Different output matching impedance values ​​can meet the matching impedance required by multiple power levels.

[0056] In this embodiment, see Figure 4, the first impedance adjustment unit 210 may include three first capacitors C1 connected in parallel, and the three first capacitors C1 have different capacitance values, namely 1C, 2C and 3C; correspondingly, the load matching circuit 200 can have different capacitance values ​​by changing the number of connected first capacitors C1 through the impedance gating switch Ta, thereby satisfying the matching impedance required for multiple power levels. The multiple parallel second capacitors C2 included in the second impedance adjustment unit 220 have different capacitance values, namely 1C, 2C and 3C; correspondingly, the load matching circuit 200 can have different capacitance values ​​by changing the number of connected second capacitors C2 through the impedance gating switch Tb. Thus, the adjustable range of the output matching impedance can be increased, which is conducive to achieving the optimized matching of impedances at more frequency points, thereby improving the efficiency of the amplification unit 100.

[0057] In some embodiments, Figure 3 As shown, the load matching circuit 200 includes a first impedance adjustment unit 210 and a second impedance adjustment unit 220. The first impedance adjustment unit 210 has one end connected to the output end of the amplifier 10 and the other end connected to the ground end, and is configured to perform impedance matching on the amplifying unit 100 according to the power level. The second impedance adjustment unit 220 is connected to the output end of the amplifying unit 100 and is configured to perform impedance matching on the output matching circuit 400 according to the working frequency band of the amplifying unit 100.

[0058] In this embodiment, see Figure 3 The load matching circuit 200 may also have a first impedance adjustment unit 210, which can be adjusted according to the power level to adjust the output power of the amplifying unit 100. The load matching circuit 200 has a second impedance adjustment unit 220, and the second impedance adjustment unit 220 performs impedance matching on the amplifying unit 100 by adjusting the impedance of the output matching circuit 400. In other words, the first impedance adjustment unit 210 and the second impedance adjustment unit 220 of the load matching circuit 200 together constitute an adjustable output matching impedance, which is used to reduce the reflection of the second RF signal and ensure that the second RF signal can be completely transmitted to the back end.

[0059] In this embodiment, see Figure 3 The second impedance adjustment unit 220 is configured to adjust the equivalent impedance of the output matching circuit 400. Each second impedance adjustment unit may include a second capacitor C2. Figure 6 As shown, the output matching circuit 400 may include a first inductor L1. In this embodiment, the equivalent inductance of the first inductor L1 can be adjusted by changing the capacitance values ​​of the plurality of second capacitors C2, thereby adjusting the equivalent impedance of the output matching circuit 400. The equivalent inductance of the first inductor L1 is shown in formula (2):

[0060]

[0061] In formula (2), L1 is the inductance value of L1, L 1_equal is the inductance value required for impedance matching of the output matching circuit 400 , and C2 is the capacitance value of the plurality of second capacitors C2 .

[0062] It can be seen from formula (2) that the multiple second capacitors C2 can adjust the equivalent inductance of the first inductor L1 in the output matching circuit 400 according to the connected capacitance value, that is, adjust the impedance value of the output matching circuit 400. In other words, the load matching circuit 200 has a second impedance adjustment unit 220, and the second impedance adjustment unit 220 can perform impedance matching on the amplifying unit 100 according to the working frequency band of the amplifying unit 100. Furthermore, the impedance of the output matching circuit 400 can be the main part of the output matching impedance of the amplifier 10. The present disclosure can adjust the impedance value of the output matching circuit 400 by the load matching circuit 200 to perform output impedance matching on the amplifier 10.

[0063] In this embodiment, the load matching circuit 200 and the output matching circuit 400 together constitute the output matching impedance of the amplifier 10. The first impedance adjustment unit 210 of the load matching circuit 200 changes with the power level; the second impedance adjustment unit 220 of the load matching circuit 200 changes with the working frequency band of the amplifying unit 100. In other words, the load matching circuit 200 enables the load at the rear end of the amplifying unit 100 to be flexibly adjusted according to the power level, thereby enabling the amplifying unit 100 to operate in a high-efficiency state. The load matching circuit 200 realizes further adjustment of multiple power levels within a frequency band, so that each power level can correspond to the optimal efficiency.

[0064] It should be noted that the values ​​of the first impedance adjustment unit 210, the second impedance adjustment unit 220 and the output matching circuit 400 can be specifically set according to the structure of the amplifier 10, and the present disclosure does not impose specific restrictions on this. The first impedance adjustment unit 210, the second impedance adjustment unit 220 and the output matching circuit 400 together constitute the output matching impedance, but the output matching impedance is not necessarily a simple sum of the first impedance adjustment unit 210, the second impedance adjustment unit 220 and the output matching circuit 400. The value of the output matching impedance requires the first impedance adjustment unit 210 and the second impedance adjustment unit 220, combined with the specific structure of the load matching circuit 200.

[0065] In some embodiments, the first capacitor C1 included in each first impedance adjustment unit may be connected in series with an inductor or in parallel with an inductor. The second capacitor C2 included in each second impedance adjustment unit may be connected in series with an inductor or in parallel with an inductor.

[0066] In some embodiments, the power levels include PC3, PC2, PC1.5, etc.

[0067] In this embodiment, Figure 4 As shown, the amplifier 10 also includes a first control circuit 610. The load matching circuit 200 also includes a second control circuit 620. Each transmission path includes an output gating switch (T1, T2...Tn); the first impedance adjustment unit 210 and the second impedance adjustment unit 220 each include an impedance gating switch (Ta, Tb). The first control circuit 610 is configured to connect the output end of the amplification unit 100 to a corresponding output path main path through a plurality of output gating switches according to the power level, and to connect the remaining output path main paths to the ground. The second control circuit 620 is configured to connect the first end of the first inductor L1 to at least one first impedance adjustment unit through a plurality of impedance gating switches according to the power level and / or the operating frequency band, and to connect the second end of the first inductor L1 to at least one second impedance adjustment unit.

[0068] In this embodiment, continue to refer to Figure 4 The amplifier 10 further includes a first control circuit 610, which may be an interface control circuit (MIPI Controller and Bias Circuit). The first control circuit 610 is connected to the plurality of output paths 300 and is configured to generate a first control signal according to the power level to control the plurality of output paths 300.

[0069] Specifically, Figure 4 As shown, the first control circuit 610 is connected to each output gating switch (T1, T2...Tn) in a one-to-one correspondence, and is configured to generate multiple first control signals according to the power level, and transmit each first control signal to a corresponding output gating switch to control each output gating switch. Specifically, the first control circuit 610 can calculate or determine the power level according to the above-mentioned received signal strength (RSSI), communication service, etc., or can obtain the power level from an external module, and generate a control signal according to the power level, control each output gating switch to control and adjust the multiple output paths 300, so that the output matching impedance of the rear end of the amplification unit 100 corresponds to the power level.

[0070] Continue to see Figure 4When the load matching circuit 200 is set to a power level, such as PC2 (Power Class 2), the load matching circuit 200 is adapted to the RF signal of the corresponding level, and the efficiency and performance of the amplifier unit 100 are the highest at this time. For example, the power level corresponding to the output gating switch T2 is PC2. At this time, after the impedance matching is completed, the output gating switch T2 is directly closed, the output gating switches T1 and T3 are disconnected, and the output path corresponding to the power level is turned on. If the second RF signal required by the back end at this time is a signal with a power level of PC3 (Power Class 3), the output matching impedance of the load matching circuit 200 can no longer meet the demand, which is likely to cause the output power of the amplifier unit 100 to decrease, increase the impedance mismatch loss, and reduce the efficiency of the amplifier unit. At this time, the first control circuit 610 can adjust the first impedance adjustment unit 210 and the second impedance adjustment unit 220 through the second control circuit 620. The output matching circuit adjusted by the second impedance adjustment unit 220 and the first impedance adjustment unit 210 together constitute the output matching impedance, and the output matching impedance is adjusted from being suitable for the PC2 level to being suitable for the PC3 level. For example, the power level corresponding to the output enable switch T3 is PC3. The first control circuit 610 can control the output enable switch T3 to be closed and the output enable switches T1 and T2 to be opened. Here, the power level PC2 corresponds to a power value of 26dbm, and the power level PC3 corresponds to a power value of 24.5dbm.

[0071] In some embodiments, the first control signal may also carry matching mode information of the main output path in the multiple output paths 300, and then be transmitted to the second control circuit 620. The second control circuit 620 may obtain the best output matching impedance based on the power level, and determine a suitable matching mode to adjust the output matching impedance to the best output matching impedance.

[0072] In some embodiments, Figure 4 As shown, each output selection switch (T1, T2...Tn) and impedance selection switch (Ta, Tb) can be implemented by methods well known to those skilled in the art such as gallium arsenide modulation doped heterojunction field effect transistor (Pseudomorphic High Electron Mobility Transistor, PHEMT), and this embodiment does not impose any specific restrictions on the implementation method of the output selection switch.

[0073] In other embodiments, all output gating switches (T1, T2, ..., Tn) and all impedance gating switches (Ta, Tb) in the multiple output paths 300 can also be implemented using chip technology, that is, all output gating switches are made in an output gating switch chip. Among them, the chip process can adopt a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) process, etc. This embodiment does not specifically limit the chip process. In this embodiment, by making the multiple output gating switches and the multiple impedance gating switches in the multiple output paths 300 into a switch chip, the multiple output paths 300 can be made smaller in area, lower in cost, and better in performance.

[0074] like Figure 4 As shown, the first control signal sent by the first control circuit 610 controls the output gating switch, and the second control signal sent by the second control circuit 620 controls the impedance gating switch. The first control signal and the second control signal can be signals with indication capabilities corresponding to the power amplification parameters, such as digital logic signals. The logic high can be set to a level value such as 5V, 1.2V, 3.3V relative to the reference level; the logic low can be a reference level, or a level value lower than the reference level; the reference level can be 0V, or -1.2V and other values. The specific values ​​of the logic high and logic low can be set according to the actual circuit needs.

[0075] In this embodiment, Figure 5 As shown, the second control circuit 620 includes: an operating frequency band determination unit 621 and a power level determination unit 622. The operating frequency band determination unit 621 is configured to perform impedance matching on the amplifying unit according to the operating frequency band. The power level determination unit 622 is configured to perform impedance matching on the amplifying unit according to the power level.

[0076] In this embodiment, the second control circuit 620 may include: an operating frequency band determination unit 621 and a power level determination unit 622. The operating frequency band determination unit 621 is configured to perform impedance matching on the amplifying unit according to the operating frequency band of the amplifying unit. For example, the operating frequency band determination unit 621 may change the capacitance values ​​of the plurality of second capacitors C2 included in the second impedance adjustment unit 220, thereby performing impedance matching on the amplifying unit in combination with the output matching circuit. The second impedance adjustment unit 220 of the load matching circuit 200 may be set according to the operating frequency band of the amplifying unit 100, thereby increasing the adjustable range of the output matching impedance, thereby facilitating the optimized matching of impedances at more frequency points, thereby improving the efficiency of the amplifying unit 100.

[0077] In this embodiment, the power level determination unit 622 is configured to perform impedance matching on the amplifying unit according to the power level. For example, the power level determination unit 622 can change the capacitance values ​​of the plurality of first capacitors C1 included in the first impedance adjustment unit 210 according to the power level. Thus, the output matching impedance of the rear end of the amplifying unit 100 corresponds to the power level.

[0078] In some embodiments, Figure 6 As shown, the output matching circuit 400 includes: a first inductor L1 connected to the output end of the amplifier 10; and a second impedance adjustment unit 220, both ends of which are connected to the two ends of the first inductor L1.

[0079] In this embodiment, see Figure 6 , the amplification unit 100 may be a first-stage amplification unit. For example, the amplification unit 100 may include a power amplifier 411. The output end of the power amplifier 411 is connected to the input end of the first inductor L1. The two ends of the second impedance adjustment unit 220 are respectively connected to the two ends of the first inductor L1. The two ends of the first impedance adjustment unit 210 are respectively connected to the ground end and the output end of the first inductor L1. In this way, the load matching circuit 200 can cooperate with the first inductor L1 to perform impedance matching on the power amplifier 411.

[0080] In some embodiments, Figure 7 As shown, the output matching circuit 400 further includes a first balun 421 ; wherein the first impedance adjustment unit 210 and the second impedance adjustment unit 220 are respectively connected to two output ends of the first balun 421 .

[0081] In this embodiment, the amplification unit 100 can be a multi-stage amplification unit. For example, the amplification unit 100 adopts a two-stage amplification unit, and the amplification unit 100 includes two power amplifiers 423 and 424. The output matching circuit includes a first balun 421 and a second balun 422. The load matching circuit includes a first impedance adjustment unit 210 and a second impedance adjustment unit 220. The input end of the driver amplifier 425 receives the first RF signal, the output end of the driver amplifier 425 is connected to the second balun 422, and the two output ends of the second balun 422 are respectively connected to the power amplifiers 423 and 424. The output ends of the power amplifiers 423 and 424 are both connected to the first balun 421, and the first balun 421 is used to synthesize the RF signals output by the power amplifiers 423 and 424 into one signal output. In this way, the first balun 421 can be used for output matching. The load matching circuit 200 can cooperate with the first balun 421 to impedance match the power amplifiers 423 and 424.

[0082] In some embodiments, Figure 8As shown, the output matching circuit 400 further includes: a second balun 422 . The load matching circuit 200 further includes a third impedance adjustment unit 230 ; wherein the third impedance adjustment unit 230 is connected to the input end of the second balun 422 .

[0083] In this embodiment, see Figure 8 , the load matching circuit includes a first impedance adjustment unit 210, a second impedance adjustment unit 220 and a third impedance adjustment unit 230. The output matching circuit includes a first balun 421 and a second balun 422. The input ends of the power amplifier 423 and the power amplifier 424 are both connected to the two ends of the second balun 422, and one of the input ends of the second balun 422 is connected to the third impedance adjustment unit 230. In this way, the second balun 422 can be used for inter-stage matching, and the second control circuit can adjust the impedance of the second balun 422 by adjusting the capacitance values ​​of the multiple third capacitors C3 included in the connected third impedance adjustment unit 230. Thus, the load matching circuit 200 can cooperate with the second balun 422 to perform impedance matching on the power amplifiers 423 and 424.

[0084] It should be noted that the third adjustment unit 230 may include an adjustable capacitor, or may include an inductor connected in parallel or in series with the adjustable capacitor. The preparation and control methods of the impedance gating switch Tc may be understood with reference to the impedance gating switches Ta and Tb, and will not be described in detail here.

[0085] In this embodiment, Figure 8 As shown, the amplifier 10 also includes an input matching circuit 500, which is connected to the amplifying unit 100 and is configured to receive and transmit the first RF signal; the input matching circuit 500 has an input matching impedance. The input end of the input matching circuit 500 is the signal input end IN, and the output end of the input matching circuit 500 is connected to the amplifying unit 100. The input matching circuit 500 has an input matching impedance, and the value of the input matching impedance is preset and can be a fixed value. The setting of the input matching circuit 500 can reduce the reflection of the first RF signal and ensure that the first RF signal can be completely transmitted to the rear-end amplifying unit 100.

[0086] Fig. 9 A schematic diagram of the structure of a communication terminal 11 provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown in FIG. Fig. 9 As shown, the communication terminal 11 includes: a radio frequency transceiver 20, and an amplifier 10 in any of the above embodiments, and a signal input terminal IN of the amplifier 10 is connected to the radio frequency transceiver 20. The communication terminal 11 can control multiple output paths 300 according to the control signal generated by the power level to flexibly adjust the output matching impedance.

[0087] The present disclosure also provides an electronic device, which includes the amplifier 10 in any of the above embodiments. For the structure of the amplifier 10, please refer to the above related content, so it will not be repeated. In some embodiments, the electronic device includes a smart phone.

[0088] It should be noted that, in this article, the terms "include", "comprises" or any other variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, so that a process, method, article or device including a series of elements includes not only those elements, but also other elements not explicitly listed, or also includes elements inherent to such process, method, article or device. In the absence of further restrictions, an element defined by the sentence "comprises a ..." does not exclude the existence of other identical elements in the process, method, article or device including the element.

[0089] The serial numbers of the embodiments of the present disclosure are for description only and do not represent the advantages and disadvantages of the embodiments. The methods disclosed in the several method embodiments provided by the present disclosure can be arbitrarily combined without conflict to obtain new method embodiments. The features disclosed in the several product embodiments provided by the present disclosure can be arbitrarily combined without conflict to obtain new product embodiments. The features disclosed in the several method or device embodiments provided by the present disclosure can be arbitrarily combined without conflict to obtain new method embodiments or device embodiments.

[0090] The above description is only a specific implementation mode of the present disclosure, but the protection scope of the present disclosure is not limited thereto. Any technician familiar with the technical field can easily think of changes or substitutions within the technical scope disclosed in the present disclosure, which should be included in the protection scope of the present disclosure.

Claims

1. An amplifier, characterized in that: include: an amplifying unit, configured to receive a first radio frequency signal and amplify the first radio frequency signal into a second radio frequency signal; a load matching circuit, connected to the output end of the amplifying unit and configured to perform impedance matching on the amplifying unit according to the power level; The load matching circuit comprises: a first impedance adjustment unit; wherein, The first impedance adjustment unit has one end connected to the output end of the amplifier and the other end connected to the ground end, and is used to perform impedance matching according to the power level; The amplifier comprises: a plurality of output paths; wherein the first impedance adjustment unit is connected to all of the plurality of output paths.

2. The amplifier according to claim 1, characterized in that The load matching circuit comprises: a first impedance adjustment unit and a second impedance adjustment unit; wherein, The first impedance adjustment unit has one end connected to the output end of the amplifier and the other end connected to the ground end, and is configured to perform impedance matching on the amplification unit according to the power level; The second impedance adjustment unit is connected to the output end of the amplifying unit, and is configured to perform impedance matching on the amplifying unit according to a working frequency band of the amplifying unit.

3. The amplifier according to claim 2, characterized in that The first impedance adjustment unit and / or the second impedance adjustment unit includes an adjustable capacitor.

4. The amplifier according to claim 2, characterized in that The first impedance adjustment unit and / or the second impedance adjustment unit further includes an inductor connected in series or in parallel with the adjustable capacitor.

5. The amplifier according to claim 2, characterized in that The first impedance adjustment unit includes a plurality of first capacitors connected in parallel, and at least one branch of the first capacitor has a series switch; The second impedance adjustment unit includes a plurality of second capacitors connected in parallel, and at least one branch of the second capacitor has a series switch.

6. The amplifier according to claim 2, characterized in that The amplifier further comprises: an output matching circuit; the output matching circuit comprises: a first inductor; wherein, The first inductor is connected to the output terminal of the amplifier; Two ends of the second impedance adjustment unit are connected to two ends of the first inductor respectively.

7. The amplifier according to claim 2, characterized in that The amplifier further includes: an output matching circuit; the output matching circuit further includes: a first balun; wherein, The first impedance adjustment unit and the second impedance adjustment unit are respectively connected to two output ends of the first balun.

8. The amplifier according to claim 7, characterized in that The output matching circuit further includes: a second balun; the load matching circuit further includes a third impedance adjustment unit; wherein, The plurality of third impedance adjustment units are all connected to the input end of the second balun.

9. A communication terminal, characterized in that: The invention comprises the amplifier according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

10. An electronic device, characterized in that: The invention comprises the amplifier according to any one of claims 1 to 8.