MONOLITHIC, SOFTWARE-DEFINABLE CIRCUIT INCLUDING A POWER AMPLIFIER

摘要

A monolithic, software-definable, power amplifier is provided. According to one embodiment of the invention, power amplifier circuits (3900) can be tuned to the most efficient power amplification characteristics as determined by a digital microprocessor (3912) based on varying data. The data may relate to user density, carrier frequency and spectral band. The power amplifier circuits may also be formed on semiconductor structures that include monocrystalline silicon substrates (3910) and layers of monocrystalline compound semiconductors (3920). In these structures, the power amplifier (3900) may be integrated in a single integrated circuit wherein portions of the power amplifier circuits (3900) may be formed on the silicon substrate (3910) and portions may be formed on the compound semiconductor layer (3920). This configuration may substantially increase efficiency of the integrated power amplifier according to the invention.