Alcatel-lucent USA Inc.

Lucent Technologies Inc.

Bernd Georg Friedel

Kai-Uwe Ritter

Wolfgang Franz Eckl

Horst Schenkel

The present invention provides a method and an apparatus for assessing a capability, for example, linearity of an amplifier, such as that of a power amplifier including a radio frequency amplifier. In one embodiment, the method comprises defining a first figure of merit for a power amplifier based on a loss of linearity relative to a predefined linearity requirement for the power amplifier and/or defining a second figure of merit based on the first figure of merit and dependent upon a minimum frequency within a predefined frequency band for the power amplifier, characterizing the linearity thereof. In this manner, using a test setup, for digital mobile communication networks deploying one or more higher order modulation schemes with complex wireless transmission that results in non-constant envelope signals, linearity of power amplifiers in transceivers, such as a mobile station or a base station, may be sufficiently described. Moreover, the two defined figures of merit may be used to compare different amplifiers for these higher modulation schemes, making possible a comparison of different amplifiers independent of their implementation technology or design structure.

Characterizing linearity of amplifiers

A method and an apparatus are provided for impedance matching using an analog circuit. The method comprises providing the analog circuit to substantially match a start impedance to an end impedance and tuning a performance parameter of an associated circuit using the analog circuit operating at a high power level. The analog circuit may transform the start impedance to the end impedance using a characteristic impedance in a range above the start impedance and the end impedance. By reconfiguring the analog circuit, the associated circuit may operate at one of a first, second, or higher order frequency bands. By using a matching transformation process, reconfigurable matching circuits for medium and/or high power applications may be provided by using available lower power reconfiguration elements. In the matching transformation process, the intermediate impedance at which the reconfiguration is performed is higher than the matching processes used for lower power reconfiguration elements. A relatively smaller and cheaper reconfiguration element having lower parasitics may be used.

Reconfiguring impedance matching for high power circuits

The present invention proposes a power amplification under variable envelope excitation, wherein an original input signal at least is converted into a phase modulated signal part, at least the phase modulated signal part is fed to an input port of an amplifier unit, the input signal is amplified by dynamically selecting a fixed power supply (PSU, PSU, PSU) for the amplifier unit, and wherein the amplitude content of the original input signal is reconstructed by changing dependent on the respective provided power supply a further controllable input of the amplifier unit, in particular the input power level (P) and/or the biasing voltage (U) and/or biasing current at the control input of the amplifier unit, during said step of amplifying.

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Markt Bibart, Germany

Bernd Georg Friedel