Quadrature Digital Power Amplifier Segmentation for Glitch Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional quadrature digital power amplifiers face challenges in layout complexity and binary-coding glitches due to the need for large numbers of individually controlled power cells, which introduces parasitic delays and nonlinearity, especially when dealing with mixed binary and unary coding.
Innovation Solution
A quadrature digital power amplifier system that decomposes the IQ data signal into multiple subsignals based on threshold levels, allowing each digital-to-RF converter device to have its own binary-coded units, reducing layout complexity and glitches by utilizing lower resolution and efficiency for peak signal handling, and combining RF signals to simplify the conversion process.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a large number of individually controlled power cells are used in a unary-coded Q-DPA, then the power control precision is improved, but the routing complexity and parasitic delays increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the power cell array into multiple segments, where each segment is controlled by a separate binary-coded unit. This segmentation reduces the routing complexity by grouping power cells into manageable blocks while maintaining precise power control through the binary-coded addressing scheme.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces binary-coded control units as intermediaries between the digital input signals and the power cells. These intermediary units translate the control signals into appropriate power cell activation patterns, reducing the direct routing complexity while maintaining control precision.
2Device complexity
If all power cells are binary-coded, then the control signal quantity is reduced, but binary glitches and nonlinearity occur in the middle code region
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies different coding schemes to different regions of the power cell array. Least significant bit (LSB) units use binary coding for efficiency, while most significant bit (MSB) units use unary coding for stability. This local differentiation resolves the contradiction by allowing binary coding where it benefits control signal reduction while unary coding prevents glitches in critical regions.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the power cell array into LSB-controlled units and MSB-controlled units, each with different coding schemes. This segmentation allows binary coding to be applied only where it provides benefit (reducing control signals) while isolating the potential glitch-prone regions to separate unary-coded segments.
3Productivity
If mixed binary and unary coding is used, then the control efficiency is improved, but the physical layout complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the control logic for different coding schemes into separate binary-coded control units. By taking out the control functions into dedicated units, the physical layout becomes more systematic and manageable, reducing overall layout complexity while maintaining the efficiency benefits of mixed coding.
Data Source
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AI summary
A quadrature digital power amplifier system (100) and a method (200) for converting an IQ data signal (IQ) to an RF signal is described. The method comprises the steps of receiving (202) an IQ data signal (IQ), decomposing (204) the IQ data signal (IQ) into at least a first IQ data subsignal (IQ1) and a second IQ data subsignal (IQ2) if the signal level of the IQ data signal (IQ) in a given sample is above a first threshold level, converting (206) the first IQ data subsignal (IQ1) to a first RF signal, and converting (208) the second IQ data subsignal (IQ2) to a second RF signal. The quadrature digital power amplifier system is configured to perform such a method. A transmitter device (300) for a wireless communication system (400) comprising such a quadrature digital power amplifier system is also described.