Parallel Doherty Amplifier With Outphasing Combiner for Wide Power Range
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Solution Overview
Problem
Doherty power amplifiers with existing architectures have a limited input power changing range, leading to increased power consumption when the input power range is large, which does not meet the power consumption requirements of radio base stations.
Innovation Solution
A power amplifier structure comprising n Doherty power amplification units connected in parallel with an n-way outphasing combiner, where the Doherty power amplifiers include a main power amplifier and peak power amplifiers, and the outphasing combiner adjusts its state based on input signal powers to maintain high efficiency across a larger input power range.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If a Doherty power amplifier with existing architecture is used, then high efficiency can be maintained within a certain input power range, but the input power changing range is relatively small and power consumption increases when the input power range is large
Solution Approach 1:
The power amplifier is divided into multiple Doherty power amplification units (first, second, third units) with different power levels. Each unit has its own main power amplifier and peak power amplifier, allowing the system to segment the overall power amplification task into smaller, more efficient segments that can be independently controlled based on input power levels.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements dynamic switching between different Doherty power amplification units based on input power levels. The system can dynamically select which units to activate and how to configure the outphasing combiner, adapting to varying input power conditions to maintain high efficiency across a wide power range.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple Doherty power amplification units with different powers are used, then the input power changing range is enlarged, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The outphasing combiner is designed to perform multiple functions: it can operate in different working states (first, second, third states) to combine signals from different numbers of Doherty power amplification units depending on the input power level. This multi-functionality allows a single component to adapt to various operating conditions without requiring separate combining networks for each power level.
Solution Approach 2:
The system pre-configures multiple Doherty power amplification units with different power levels and designs the outphasing combiner to switch between predetermined working states. This preliminary arrangement allows the system to quickly adapt to different input power conditions without complex real-time calculations or adjustments.
Data Source
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AI summary
Embodiments of the present invention relate to the field of power amplifiers, and provide a power amplifier, a power amplification method, and a power amplification control apparatus and method. The power amplifier includes n Doherty power amplification units (31, 32) connected in parallel and an n-way outphasing combiner (33), where n≥2 and n is an integer; each Doherty power amplification unit (31, 32) includes one input end and one output end; the n-way outphasing combiner (33) includes n input ends and one output end; and the output ends of the Doherty power amplification units (31, 32) are separately connected to the input ends of the n-way outphasing combiner (33). In the present invention, by means of the power amplifier having this structure, high efficiency can be maintained within a larger input power changing range, thereby further reducing power consumption.