Enhanced doherty amplifier

摘要

The disclosure relates to an enhanced Doherty amplifier that provides significant performance improvements over conventional Doherty amplifiers. The enhanced Doherty amplifier includes a power splitter, combining node, a carrier path, and a peaking path. The power splitter is configured to receive an input signal and split the input signal into a carrier signal provided at a carrier splitter output and a peaking signal provided at a peaking splitter output. The carrier path includes carrier power amplifier circuitry, a carrier input network coupled between the carrier splitter output and the carrier power amplifier circuitry, and a carrier output network coupled between the carrier power amplifier circuitry and the Doherty combining node. The peaking path includes peaking power amplifier circuitry, a peaking input network coupled between the peaking splitter output and the peaking power amplifier circuitry, and a carrier output network coupled between the power amplifier circuitry and the Doherty combining node.

主权项

1. A Doherty amplifier comprising:
a carrier splitter output and a peaking splitter output; a Doherty combining node; a carrier path comprising:
carrier power amplifier circuitry;a first plurality of carrier path lumped elements coupled between the carrier splitter output and the carrier power amplifier circuitry; anda second plurality of carrier path lumped elements coupled with the carrier power amplifier circuitry and the Doherty combining node; and a peaking path comprising:
power amplifier circuitry;a first plurality of peaking path lumped elements coupled between the peaking splitter output and the peaking power amplifier circuitry; anda second plurality of peaking path lumped elements coupled with the peaking power amplifier circuitry and the Doherty combining node, wherein the first and second plurality of carrier path lumped elements and the first and second plurality of peaking path lumped elements are configured such that a frequency response of the Doherty amplifier provides a first pass-band for a first communication band in a first frequency range and a second pass-band for a second communication band in a second frequency range, which is separate from the first pass-band, wherein the first plurality of carrier path lumped elements is configured to advance a phase of a carrier signal split from an input signal provided at the carrier splitter output and the first plurality of peaking path lumped elements is configured to delay a phase of a peaking signal split from the input signal provided at the peaking splitter output thereby causing the peaking signal to lag the carrier signal by approximately 90 degrees when the carrier and peaking signals are respectively presented to the carrier and peaking power amplifier circuitries.