Absolute power detector

1. A method of detecting the output power of a power amplifier comprising the steps of:

sensing the magnitude of the voltage at the output of the power amplifier;

sensing the magnitude of the current at the output of the power amplifier; and

generating a signal using a summing element to combine a signal relating to the sensed voltage with a signal relating to the second current, wherein the generated signal is proportional to the output power of the power amplifier.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the voltage is sensed by connecting a voltage divider to the output of the power amplifier and sensing a voltage present at a node of the voltage sensor.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the voltage is directly sensed by measuring the voltage present at the output of the power amplifier.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the current is sensed using first and second mutually coupled inductors.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the first inductor is a part of the power amplifier, and wherein the current is sensed by sensing the induced current in the second inductor.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the current is sensed by detecting the voltage drop across an impedance element placed in line with the output of the power amplifier.

7. A method of controlling the output power of an RF power amplifier comprising the steps of:

generating a first signal that is proportional to the magnitude of the voltage at the output of the RF power amplifier;

generating a second signal that is proportional to the magnitude of the current at the output of the RF power amplifier;

generating a power control signal based on the first and second signals, wherein the power control signal is generated by connecting a first logarithmic amplifier to the first signal and a second logarithmic amplifier to the second signal and combining the outputs of the first and second logarithmic amplifiers; and

using the power control signal to control the output power of the RF power amplifier.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the first signal is generated using a voltage sensor coupled to the output of the power amplifier.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the voltage sensor is comprised of a voltage divider.

10. The method of claim 7 , wherein the second signal is generated using a current sensor coupled to the output of the power amplifier.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the current sensor is comprised of first and second mutually coupled inductors.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the further mutually coupled inductor is a filtering inductor of the power amplifier.

13. The method of claim 7 , wherein the second signal is generated by detecting the voltage drop across an impedance element connected in line with the output of the power amplifier.

14. A method of detecting the output power of a power amplifier comprising the steps of:

sensing the magnitude of the voltage at the output of the amplifier;

sensing the magnitude of the current at the output of the amplifier; and

determining the output power of the power amplifier by combining a signal relating to the sensed magnitude of the voltage with a signal relating to the sensed magnitude of the current, wherein the sensed signals are combined using a summing element.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein the voltage is sensed by connecting a voltage divider to the output of the power amplifier and sensing a voltage present at a node of the voltage sensor.

16. The method of claim 14 , wherein the current is sensed using first and second mutually coupled inductors.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein the first inductor is a part of the power amplifier, and wherein the current is sensed by sensing the induced current in the second inductor.

18. The method of claim 14 , wherein the current is sensed by detecting the voltage drop across an impedance element placed in line with the output of the power amplifier.

19. The method of claim 14 , wherein the output power is determined while neglecting any phase information.

20. A method of detecting the output power of a power amplifier comprising the steps of:

sensing the magnitude of the voltage at the output of the power amplifier;

sensing the magnitude of the current at the output of the power amplifier; and

generating a signal generated by combining the outputs of a first logarithmic amplifier that amplifies the sensed voltage and a second logarithmic amplifier that amplifies the sensed current, wherein the generated signal is proportional to the output power of the power amplifier.

21. The method of claim 20 , wherein the voltage is sensed by connecting a voltage divider to the output of the power amplifier and sensing a voltage present at a node of the voltage sensor.

22. The method of claim 20 , wherein the voltage is directly sensed by measuring the voltage present at the output of the power amplifier.

23. The method of claim 20 , wherein the current is sensed using first and second mutually coupled inductors.

24. The method of claim 23 , wherein the first inductor is a part of the power amplifier, and wherein the current is sensed by sensing the induced current in the second inductor.

25. The method of claim 20 , wherein the current is sensed by detecting the voltage drop across an impedance element placed in line with the output of the power amplifier.

26. A method of detecting the output power of a power amplifier comprising the steps of:

sensing the magnitude of the voltage at the output of the amplifier;

sensing the magnitude of the current at the output of the amplifier; and

determining the output power of the power amplifier based on the sensed magnitude of the voltage and the sensed magnitude of the current, wherein the output power is determined by combining the outputs of a first logarithmic amplifier that amplifies the sensed voltage and a second logarithmic amplifier that amplifies the sensed current.

27. The method of claim 26 , wherein the voltage is sensed by connecting a voltage divider to the output of the power amplifier and sensing a voltage present at a node of the voltage sensor.

28. The method of claim 26 , wherein the current is sensed using first and second mutually coupled inductors.

29. The method of claim 28 , wherein the first inductor is a part of the power amplifier, and wherein the current is sensed by sensing the induced current in the second inductor.

30. The method of claim 26 , wherein the current is sensed by detecting the voltage drop across an impedance element placed in line with the output of the power amplifier.

31. The method of claim 26 , wherein the output power is determined while neglecting any phase information.