System efficiency improvement for cellular signals
Described herein are systems, architectures, circuits, devices, and methods for a DC-DC converter that dynamically adjusts a supply voltage to a power amplifier based on the number of resource blocks in a signal to be transmitted. The disclosed technologies estimate the number of resource blocks in a signal, generate a signal corresponding to the estimated number of resource blocks, and modify a supply voltage based on the generated signal. The disclosed DC-DC converters can be integrated into systems that employ power management strategies such as average power tracking (“APT”). In addition, the disclosed technologies can be used to improve existing APT-based systems.
1. A signal amplifier architecture for amplifying a cellular signal, the signal amplifier architecture comprising:
an amplifier having a voltage port, an input port, and an output port, the amplifier configured to receive a supply voltage at the voltage port to provide power to the amplifier, to receive an input signal at the input port, and to provide an amplified output signal at the output port; and
a DC-DC converter having a reference port to receive a reference voltage, a coupler port to receive a coupler signal that is correlated to the amplified output signal, a supply port to provide the supply voltage to the amplifier, and a detector and a filter that are configured to generate a bandwidth signal indicative of a bandwidth of the amplified output signal, the DC-DC converter including one or more components configured to modify the reference voltage to provide a targeted supply voltage to the amplifier based at least in part on an estimate of a number of resource blocks in the amplified output signal.
2. The signal amplifier architecture of claim 1 wherein the estimate of the number of resource blocks is determined based at least in part on the coupler signal.
3. The signal amplifier architecture of claim 2 further comprising a coupler coupled to the output port of the amplifier, the coupler configured to generate the coupler signal.
4. The signal amplifier architecture of claim 1 further comprising a controller configured to provide a biasing current to the amplifier.
5. The signal amplifier architecture of claim 1 wherein the amplifier includes a first stage coupled to the input port and a second stage coupled to the output port.
6. The signal amplifier architecture of claim 5 wherein the supply voltage is provided to the first stage and to the second stage.
7. The signal amplifier of claim 1 wherein the DC-DC converter further includes a conversion module configured to receive the bandwidth signal and to generate a modification voltage that corresponds to the bandwidth based on the bandwidth signal.
8. The signal amplifier of claim 7 wherein the DC-DC converter further includes an addition component configured to generate a DC control voltage by combining the reference voltage and the modification voltage, the supply voltage provided by the DC-DC converter corresponding to the resulting DC control voltage.
9. The signal amplifier of claim 7 wherein the conversion module includes a plurality of cells and the output of individual cells of the plurality of cells is combined to generate the modification voltage.
10. The signal amplifier of claim 1 wherein the detector includes a first differential detector and a second differential detector and the filter includes at least a high pass filter coupled to the first differential detector and a low pass filter coupled to the second differential detector.
11. The signal amplifier of claim 1 wherein the DC-DC converter is implemented in an average power tracking system.
12. A radio-frequency (RF) module comprising:
a packaging substrate configured to receive a plurality of components; and
a power amplification system implemented on the packaging substrate, the power amplification system including an amplifier having a voltage port, an input port, and an output port, the amplifier configured to receive a supply voltage at the voltage port to provide power to the amplifier, to receive an input signal at the input port, and to provide an amplified output signal at the output port; and the power amplification system also including a DC-DC converter having a reference port to receive a reference voltage, a coupler port to receive a coupler signal that is correlated to the amplified output signal, a supply port to provide the supply voltage to the amplifier, and a detector and a filter that are configured to generate a bandwidth signal indicative of a bandwidth of the amplified output signal, the DC-DC converter including one or more components configured to modify the provided supply voltage to provide a targeted supply voltage to the amplifier based at least in part on an estimate of a number of resource blocks in the amplified output signal.
13. The RF module of claim 12 wherein the RF module is a front-end module (FEM).
14. The RF module of claim 12 wherein the amplifier and the DC-DC converter are implemented on separate chips.
15. The RF module of claim 12 wherein the amplifier and the DC-DC converter are implemented on the same chip.
16. The RF module of claim 12 wherein the DC-DC converter further includes a conversion module configured to receive the bandwidth signal and to generate a modification voltage that corresponds to the bandwidth based on the bandwidth signal.
17. The RF module of claim 16 wherein the DC-DC converter further includes an addition component configured to generate a DC control voltage by combining the reference voltage and the modification voltage, the supply voltage provided by the DC-DC converter corresponding to the resulting DC control voltage.
18. The RF module of claim 16 wherein the conversion module includes a plurality of cells and the output of individual cells of the plurality of cells is combined to generate the modification voltage.
19. A wireless device comprising:
a transceiver configured to generate an input radio-frequency (RF) signal;
a front-end module (FEM) in communication with the transceiver, the FEM including a packaging substrate configured to receive a plurality of components, the FEM further including a power amplification system implemented on the packaging substrate, the power amplification system configured to amplify the input RF signal to generate an amplified output RF signal, the power amplification system including an amplifier having a voltage port, an input port, and an output port, the amplifier configured to receive a supply voltage at the voltage port to provide power to the amplifier, to receive the input RF signal at the input port, and to provide the amplified output RF signal at the output port; the power amplification system also including a coupler configured to generate a coupler signal that corresponds to the amplified output RF signal; and the power amplification system also including a DC-DC converter having a reference port to receive a reference voltage, a coupler port to receive a coupler signal that is correlated to the amplified output RF signal, and a supply port to provide the supply voltage to the amplifier, the DC-DC converter including one or more components configured to modify the supply voltage based at least in part on an estimate of a number of resource blocks in the amplified output RF signal the DC-DC converter including a detector, a filter, and a conversion module that are configured to receive the coupler signal and to generate a bandwidth signal corresponding to the number of resource blocks in the amplified output RF signal based on the coupler signal; and
an antenna in communication with the FEM, the antenna configured to transmit the output RF signal.
20. The wireless device of claim 19 wherein the detector includes a first differential detector and a second differential detector and the filter includes at least a high pass filter coupled to the first differential detector and a low pass filter coupled to the second differential detector.