Reconfigurable Power Amplifier With Nested Couplers for Even Power Steps
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Phased array antenna systems face challenges in achieving evenly stepped output power levels without reducing power-added efficiency, as existing solutions often result in inefficiencies and mismatched amplitude and phase transfer characteristics across different power levels.
Innovation Solution
A reconfigurable power amplifier architecture utilizing N-level nested reconfigurable Lange couplers, which provide 2N evenly stepped output power levels with closely matched amplitude and phase transfer characteristics, allowing operation in quadrature, through, and coupled modes to optimize power delivery across different power levels.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If existing solutions operate the power amplifier in back-off or use multiple power amplifier designs to achieve different output power levels, then the required power levels are achieved, but power-added efficiency is significantly reduced and amplitude and phase transfer characteristics become mismatched
Solution Approach 1:
The power amplifier is divided into multiple identical constituent amplifiers (2N amplifiers for 2N power levels) that are combined through reconfigurable quadrature couplers. Each amplifier operates at its optimal efficiency point, and the segmented structure allows flexible power level adjustment without sacrificing the efficiency of individual amplifier units.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs N-level nested reconfigurable quadrature couplers arranged in a tree structure, where couplers are nested within each other to progressively combine amplifier outputs. This nested architecture enables 2N evenly stepped output power levels while maintaining consistent efficiency across all power states, as each nesting level contributes a fixed power increment.
2Adaptability or versatility
If existing solutions use multiple power amplifier designs to achieve different output power levels, then various power levels are obtained, but there is significant mismatch in amplitude and phase transfer characteristics for amplifiers operating at different power levels
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses identical constituent amplifiers throughout the system, ensuring that each amplifier unit has the same optimized amplitude and phase characteristics. The reconfigurable couplers locally adjust the combination of these identical units to achieve different total power levels while maintaining consistent transfer characteristics across all amplifiers.
Solution Approach 2:
All 2N constituent amplifiers are designed to be identical with matching amplitude and phase characteristics. The homogeneous design ensures that regardless of which amplifiers are active at any given power level, the transfer characteristics remain consistent, eliminating the mismatch problems associated with multiple different amplifier designs.
3Adaptability or versatility
If a reconfigurable power amplifier architecture with 2N evenly stepped output power levels is implemented, then flexible power control is achieved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The reconfigurable quadrature couplers serve multiple functions: they combine amplifier outputs, provide power level selection, and maintain impedance matching. Each coupler is designed to operate in multiple modes (quadrature, through, and coupled modes), reducing the need for separate components for each function and thereby managing complexity despite the 2N power levels.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs dynamically reconfigurable couplers that can switch between different operating modes (quadrature mode, through mode, coupled mode) to adapt the power combination configuration. This dynamic reconfiguration allows the system to achieve 2N discrete power levels by selectively enabling or disabling specific amplifier-coupler paths, managing complexity through controlled adaptability rather than fixed architecture.
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed is a reconfigurable power amplifier having a 2N−1 number of input-side reconfigurable quadrature couplers connected in a tree structure, wherein a 2(N−1) number of the input-side reconfigurable quadrature couplers have coupler output terminals, and a root of the tree structure is one of the input-side reconfigurable quadrature couplers having a main input terminal. Also included is a 2N−1 number of output-side reconfigurable quadrature couplers connected in a tree structure, wherein a 2(N−1) number of the output-side reconfigurable quadrature couplers have coupler input terminals, and a root of the tree structure is one of the output-side reconfigurable quadrature couplers having a main output terminal. Further included is a 2N number of constituent amplifiers divided into amplifier pairs having amplifier input terminals connected to corresponding ones of the coupler output terminals and having amplifier output terminals coupled to corresponding ones of the coupler input terminals.