Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.

Panasonic Corporation

Hiroyasu Takehara

Osamu Ishikawa

Hiroyuki Yamauchi

Motoyoshi Iwata

Maeda Masahiro

In a transmission power amplifier apparatus, a signal calculator divides an input signal into a plurality of N constant amplitude signals having a substantially identical predetermined constant amplitude value and having predetermined phases different from each other, and N power amplifiers amplify electric powers of the N constant amplitude signals under same predetermined operating condition. A power combiner combines the electric powers of the N power-amplified constant amplitude signals, and outputs a combined output signal. A controller controls the signal calculator to detect an amplitude value of the input signal, to detect an average value and one of a maximum value of the amplitude value of the input signal and a peak-to-peak value of the amplitude value for a unit time interval based on the detected amplitude value of the input signal, and to divide the input signal into the N constant amplitude signals having a constant amplitude value and different phases.

Transmission power amplifier apparatus for combining power-amplified constant amplitude signals each having controlled constant amplitude value and phase

There are provided an RF power amplifier transistor (), a bias supply circuit () which supplies a bias current to the base of the RF power amplifier transistor and a bias control circuit () connected between the base of the RF power amplifier transistor and bias supply circuit, and the bias control circuit is connected to the power supply () of the RF power amplifier transistor, thus realizing high efficiency of the RF power amplifier when the power level is low and improving the temperature characteristic of the power amplifier when the power level is low.

Radio frequency power amplifier

The radio frequency probe for measuring radio frequency characteristics of a semiconductor device includes: an insulating substrate having a front surface, a back surface, and a side bottom face; a microstrip transmission line including a signal line made of conductive material formed on the front surface of the insulating substrate and a grounding electrode made of conductive material formed on the substantially entire portion of the back surface of the insulating substrate; and a signal needle and a grounding needle electrically connected to the signal line and the grounding electrode, respectively, the signal needle and the grounding needle being close to each other and being disposed so that the distances from the side bottom face to the top ends of the needles are substantially equal to each other so as to allow the signal needle and the grounding needle to contact a signal electrode pad and a grounding electrode pad of the semiconductor device simultaneously. A probe card having the radio frequency probe is also provided.

Radio frequency probe and probe card including a signal needle and

In an RF power amplifier, an input-side RF terminal is connected to a gate of an FET via an input-side matching line. A source of the FET is grounded. A drain of the FET is connected to an output-side RF terminal via an output-side matching line. To a line connected to the drain of the FET, a circuit for controlling an output impedance for the secondary harmonic wave is connected, including a first line and a first capacitor. To a line connected to the gate of the FET, a circuit for controlling an input impedance for the secondary harmonic wave is connected, including a second line and a second capacitor. The length of the second line is set so that an electric length thereof becomes longer than one-fourth of the wavelength for the fundamental wave frequency. Thus, an impedance for the harmonic wave is controlled at the input side of the power transistor.

Growing community of inventors

Osaka, Japan

Hiroyasu Takehara