Qorvo Us, Inc.

Triquint Semiconductor Corporation

Charles Forrest Campbell

Kevin Wesley Kobayashi

Paul Edward Gorday

Gangadhar Burra

Anthony M Balistreri

Deep C Dumka

Michael Roberg

Hua-Quen Tserng

Martin E Jones

A reinforcement learning receiver front-end (RL-RXFE) is disclosed having a low-noise amplifier (LNA) with adjustable supply voltage and adjustable bias voltages, a frequency selective limiter (FSL) coupled to the LNA and configured to attenuate undesired radio frequency (RF) bands and for sensing RF band power, and a combination of an analog-to-digital converter configured to convert an RF signal amplified by the LNA to a digital signal, a digital signal processor configured to generate spectrum information from the digital signal, and a baseband distortion by-product detector/sensor configured to generate distortion by-product information, and LNA dynamic information. A reinforcement learning processing circuitry receives and uses this information to perform reinforcement learning and to output control signals to the FSL and the LNA to maximize linearity and efficiency.

Reinforcement learning receiver front-end

Embedded blocking capacitor structures for wideband amplifier circuits are disclosed. A wideband amplifier circuit includes transistors that output radio frequency (RF) signals. An embedded blocking capacitor structure is operably connected between the terminals of the transistors and an RF output. The embedded blocking capacitor structure distributes a bias voltage to the terminals of the transistors and blocks the bias voltage from passing to the RF output. The embedded blocking capacitor structure also propagates an RF signal to an RF output.

Distributed bias circuit for wideband amplifiers

Disclosed is a reconfigurable power amplifier having a 2−1 number of input-side reconfigurable quadrature couplers connected in a tree structure, wherein a 2number 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 2−1 number of output-side reconfigurable quadrature couplers connected in a tree structure, wherein a 2number 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 2number 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.

Power reconfigurable power amplifier

A method of operating a reconfigurable quadrature coupler is disclosed. The method includes determining a first switchable impedance to provide a second port reflection coefficient by operating a coupled port transformer, which coupled port transformer is coupled to a second port having a coupled port transmission line connected to a first transistor; determining a second switchable impedance to provide a third port reflection coefficient by operating an isolation port transformer, which isolation port transformer is coupled to a third port having an isolation port transmission line connected to a second transistor; and determining a fourth switchable impedance to provide a fourth port reflection coefficient by operating a through port transformer, which through port transformer is coupled to a fourth port having a through port transmission line connected to a third transistor, and switching on or off selected ones of the first, second, and third transistors by operating a controller.

Reconfigurable quadrature coupler

Switch circuitry is disclosed having a series stack of transistors coupled between first and second port terminals. A string of gate resistors having a common gate terminal is coupled to gates of the series stack of transistors. A bias control transistor has a bias control terminal and first and second current terminals. The second control terminal is coupled to a switch control terminal configured to receive on-state and off-state control voltages that transition the series stack of transistors between passing a radio frequency signal and blocking the radio frequency signal from passing between the first and second port terminals, respectively. A string of diodes is coupled between the common gate terminal and the first current terminal, and a common gate resistor is coupled between the common gate terminal and the switch control terminal. The diodes contribute to actively generating additional negative gate bias as RF power level increases.

Switch circuitry

A reconfigurable quadrature coupler is disclosed. The reconfigurable quadrature coupler includes an input port transmission line connected to a first port, a coupled port transmission line and a coupled port transformer connected between the coupled port transmission line and a second port. The coupled port transformer is configured to have a selectable second port reflection coefficient. The reconfigurable quadrature coupler further includes an isolation port transmission line and an isolation port transformer connected between the isolation transmission line and a third port. The isolation port transformer is configured to have a selectable third port reflection coefficient. Also included is a through port transmission line and a through port transformer connected between the through port transmission line and a fourth port. The through port transformer is configured to have a selectable fourth port reflection coefficient.

Radio frequency (RF) switch circuitry is disclosed having a field-effect transistor with a drain, a source, and a gate, wherein the gate is driven by switch driver circuitry having a control terminal for receiving switch-on and switch-off signals and a driver terminal for outputting on-state and off-state voltages. The switch driver circuitry is configured to respond to the switch-on signal by generating the on-state voltage that when applied to the gate allows an RF signal to pass between the drain and the source and respond to the switch-off signal by generating the off-state voltage that when applied to the gate blocks the RF signal from passing between the drain and the source. A low-pass filter has an inductor coupled between the gate and the driver terminal, wherein a direct current (DC) path between the gate and the driver terminal has a total DC resistance of no more than 100 &#x3a9;.

Radio frequency switch circuitry

Disclosed is a frequency selective limiter with a switched multiplexer filter bank having a plurality of filters coupled between antenna and receiver ports, wherein the switched multiplexer filter bank is configured to enable and disable selected ones of the plurality of filters in response to control signals. First detector circuitry is coupled to the antenna port and configured to detect signal voltage at the antenna port and generate a first detector voltage. Second detector circuitry is coupled to the receiver port and configured to detect signal voltage at the receiver port and generate a second detector voltage, and a digital controller is coupled between the first detector circuitry, the second detector circuitry, and a control interface, wherein the digital controller is configured to limit interfering signals by sending control signals to the switched multiplexer filter bank in response to the first detector voltage and the second detector voltage.

Frequency selective limiter

An isolation network for multi-way power divider/combiners is provided. The isolation network provides a planar power divider/combiner according to an ideal design. Embodiments realize the isolation network using a series of isolation channels, each with an airbridge spanning over an isolation resistor and a common resistor bus connecting the isolation resistors together. In this manner, a symmetric multi-way power divider/combiner can be provided with superior performance to conventional approaches, including high isolation and low insertion loss.

Isolation network for multi-way power divider/combiners

An apparatus is disclosed having a circulator having a transmit port, a receive port, and a tuner port with tuner circuitry coupled between the tuner port and an antenna port. At least one analog control branch is coupled between the receive port and at least one control input of the tuner circuitry to generate at least one control signal from a transmit leakage signal leaking into the receive port. The tuner circuitry is configured to respond to the at least one control signal by automatically electronically tuning such that a cancellation signal of substantially equal amplitude and opposite phase of that of the transmit leakage signal is reflected through the tuner port and into the receive port, thereby reducing the transmit leakage signal to a level corresponding to an isolation of at least &#x2212;30 dB between the transmit port and the receive port.

Circulator system

A reconfigurable low-noise amplifier (LNA) is disclosed. The reconfigurable LNA includes amplifier circuitry having a gate terminal coupled to an input terminal, a source terminal coupled to a fixed voltage node, and a drain terminal coupled to an output terminal. The reconfigurable LNA further includes a gamma inverting network (GIN) coupled between the input terminal and the fixed voltage node, wherein the GIN has a first switch configured to disable the GIN during operation at first frequencies within a lower frequency band relative to a higher frequency band and to enable the GIN during operation at second frequencies within the higher frequency band.

Reconfigurable low-noise amplifier (LNA)

A sequentially switched bulk acoustic wave (BAW) delay line circulator is disclosed herein. A circulator circuit is implemented with semiconductor components in order to provide a compact, low cost solution for simultaneous signal transmission and reception over a single antenna. For example, the circulator circuit can include a transmit (TX) port, a receive (RX) port, and an antenna port. Antenna switching circuitry selectively couples the antenna port to two or more BAW delay lines, and TX/RX switching circuitry selectively couples the BAW delay lines to the TX port or the RX port. The BAW delay lines function as memory to store TX and RX signals long enough for the antenna switching circuitry, a TX switch, and a RX switch to be switched in sequence and route the TX signals from the TX port to the antenna port and route the RX signals from the antenna port to the RX port.

Sequentially switched bulk acoustic wave (BAW) delay line circulator

An electronically reconfigurable matching network having a plurality of electronically reconfigurable components is disclosed. Each of the plurality of electronically reconfigurable elements includes a plurality of selectable impedance elements coupled together. Each selectable impedance element includes an impedance element coupled between first and second end terminals and a field-effect transistor (FET)-based switch coupled between the first and second end terminals. The FET-based switch includes a first FET having first and second current terminals coupled to a first gate terminal and a second FET having a third current terminal coupled to the first gate terminal, a fourth current terminal, and a second gate terminal coupled to a first control terminal; and a third FET having a fifth current terminal coupled to the first end terminal, a sixth current terminal coupled to the second end terminal, and a third gate terminal coupled to the third current terminal.

Electronically reconfigurable matching network

A self-activated transfer switch is disclosed. The self-activated transfer switch includes a transmit (TX) switch coupled between a TX port and an antenna port. A receive (RX) switch is coupled between the antenna port and an RX port, and RF-to-bias generator circuitry is coupled to the TX port and the antenna port. The RF-to-bias generator circuitry is configured to generate a bias signal to turn off the RX switch and turn on the TX switch when either of a TX signal is provided at the TX port and a jammer signal is received at the antenna port. The bias signal is generated from energy of at least one of the TX signal and the jammer signal. The TX switch is turned off and the RX switch is turned on when the bias signal is not being generated.

Growing community of inventors

Dallas, TX, United States of America

Charles Forrest Campbell