Multi-Antenna PA Linearization With Single DPD Beamforming Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
In multi-antenna systems with hybrid beamforming, the high number of digital predistortion (DPD) units required for power amplifiers increases power consumption and complexity, as each DPD unit must linearize multiple power amplifiers with different magnitudes, making it challenging to achieve efficient linearization and bandwidth increase for high-order modulation schemes.
Innovation Solution
A method and apparatus that utilize a power amplifier control unit and digital predistortion unit with a single predistortion model to adjust operating parameters of parallel power amplifiers, incorporating phase and magnitude shifters to linearize power amplifiers' outputs, allowing for similar power amplifier behavior and reduced DPD units, thereby minimizing power consumption and increasing bandwidth.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If digital predistortion units are used for each antenna to linearize power amplifiers, then linearization performance is improved, but power consumption and device complexity increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple power amplifiers into parallel configurations and uses a single DPD unit to linearize all PAs simultaneously. The phase and magnitude shifters enable coordinated control of multiple PAs, allowing one DPD unit to serve multiple antennas instead of requiring separate DPD units for each antenna.
Solution Approach 2:
The single DPD unit is designed to universally linearize multiple power amplifiers with different magnitudes. The system makes the PAs more similar to each other through phase and magnitude adjustment, enabling one DPD unit to perform the linearization function for all PAs in the multi-antenna system.
2Productivity
If multiple DPD units are deployed for high-order modulation schemes, then transmission throughput is improved, but power consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple DPD functions into a single DPD unit that serves all power amplifiers. This merging reduces the total number of DPD units from multiple (one per antenna) to just one, thereby significantly reducing power consumption while maintaining the capability to support high-order modulation schemes through the parallel PA architecture.
3Adaptability or versatility
If power amplifiers operate with different magnitudes for multiple antennas, then beamforming capability is improved, but linearization difficulty increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality adjustment by using phase and magnitude shifters to modify the characteristics of individual power amplifier paths. These shifters adjust the local properties of each PA output to make them more similar, enabling a single DPD unit to effectively linearize all PAs despite their different operating magnitudes.
Solution Approach 2:
The phase and magnitude shifters act as intermediaries between the power amplifiers and the single DPD unit. They mediate the differences in PA magnitudes by adjusting phase and magnitude, making the PAs more similar and thus enabling the single DPD unit to linearize all of them effectively.
Data Source
AI summary
Linearizing Power Amplifiers' Outputs in Multi-Antenna System There is provided power efficient and simple structure for linearizing power amplifiers' outputs in multi-antenna beamforming systems. Beamforming factors are obtained for controlling transmission beams of the antennas in an analogue/hybrid beamforming system. At least one power amplifier model is determined on the basis of the power amplifiers' outputs and the beamforming factors. Predistortion parameters, for feeding a predistorted signal to power amplifiers for linearizing the power amplifiers' outputs, are determined such that after the operating parameters of the power amplifiers have been adjusted, errors in power amplifiers' outputs are reduced.