Various methods and circuital arrangements for protection of a power amplifier from over voltage are presented. According to one aspect, a protection circuit coupled to a varying supply voltage of the power amplifier controls a biasing current to the power amplifier to limit a power dissipation through the power amplifier. An overvoltage protection circuit detects a level of the varying supply voltage and decreases the biasing current as a linear function of an increasing supply voltage once the supply voltage reaches a programmable voltage level. A slope of the linear function can be made programmable. Programmability of the voltage level and the slope can be used to control biasing currents to a plurality of power amplifiers operating at different times and having different requirements in terms of voltage limits and thermal breakdown. According to another aspect a voltage to current converter for use in the overvoltage protection circuit is presented.

A radio frequency module includes a mounting board, a power amplifier, a plurality of transmission filters, a first switch, an output matching circuit, a low-noise amplifier, and an external-connection terminal. The mounting board includes a first principal surface and a second principal surface on opposite sides of the mounting board. The first switch switches a connection between the power amplifier and the transmission filters. The output matching circuit is connected between the power amplifier and the first switch. The low-noise amplifier is disposed on the second principal surface of the mounting board. The external-connection terminal is disposed on the second principal surface of the mounting board. The power amplifier, the output matching circuit, the first switch, and the transmission filters are disposed on the mounting board in stated order in a direction that is orthogonal to a thickness direction of the mounting board.

A power amplifier includes a first driver stage, a second driver stage, and a biasing component including a first emitter follower circuit and a second emitter follower circuit. The biasing component is configured to receive a first source current from a first current source, and provide a first bias voltage to the first driver stage using the first emitter follower circuit and a second bias voltage to the second driver stage using the second emitter follower circuit. The first bias voltage and the second bias voltage are based upon the first current source.

A power amplifier module includes an amplifier transistor and a bias circuit. A first power supply voltage based on a first operation mode or a second power supply voltage based on a second operation mode is supplied to the amplifier transistor. The amplifier transistor receives a first signal and outputs a second signal obtained by amplifying the first signal. The bias circuit supplies a bias current to the amplifier transistor. The bias circuit includes first and second resistors and first and second transistors. The first transistor is connected in series with the first resistor and is turned ON by a first bias control voltage which is supplied when the first operation mode is used. The second transistor is connected in series with the second resistor and is turned ON by a second bias control voltage which is supplied when the second operation mode is used.

A power combiner circuit comprises a network topology for broadband RF and microwave systems that includes coupling elements, internodal matching sections, and an output matching section. The network topology serves as a combining mechanism for power from multiple power amplifiers. The network topology is designed so that characteristic impedances of transmissions lines serving as the coupling elements, internodal matching sections, and an output matching section produce a load impedance at an output port that is matched to the impedances seen by each power amplifier providing power to the power combiner circuit. Such a network topology is scalable to an unlimited number of power amplifiers, and enables a desired broadband frequency response for power amplification, while realizing a very low level of power output loss between input and output ports.

A power amplifier module includes first and second amplifiers, a first bias circuit, and an adjusting circuit. The first amplifier amplifies a first signal. The second amplifier amplifies a second signal based on an output signal from the first amplifier. The first bias circuit supplies a bias current to the first amplifier via a current path on the basis of a bias drive signal. The adjusting circuit includes an adjusting transistor having first, second, and third terminals. A first voltage based on a power supply voltage is supplied to the first terminal. A second voltage based on the bias drive signal is supplied to the second terminal. The third terminal is connected to the current path. The adjusting circuit adjusts the bias current on the basis of the power supply voltage supplied to the first amplifier.

A radio frequency module includes: a first mounting board having a first principal surface and a second principal surface; a second mounting board having a third principal surface facing the second principal surface and a fourth principal surface; a transmission filter having a first mounting surface facing the second principal surface and a first top surface; and a reception filter having a second mounting surface facing the third principal surface and a second top surface; wherein the transmission and reception filters overlap at least partially in a plan view of the first and second mounting boards, an output terminal of the transmission filter is arranged on the first top surface, an input terminal of the reception filter is arranged on the second top surface, and the output and input terminals are connected by a conductive member not routed through the first mounting board or the second mounting board.

Temperature compensation circuits and methods for adjusting one or more circuit parameters of a power amplifier (PA) to maintain approximately constant Gain versus time during pulsed operation sufficient to substantially offset self-heating of the PA. Some embodiments compensate for PA Gain droop due to self-heating using a Sample and Hold (S&H) circuit. The S&H circuit samples and holds an initial temperature of the PA at commencement of a pulse. Thereafter, the S&H circuit generates a continuous measurement that corresponds to the temperature of the PA during the remainder of the pulse. A Gain Control signal is generated that is a function of the difference between the initial temperature and the operating temperature of the PA as the PA self-heats for the duration of the pulse. The Gain Control signal is applied to one or more adjustable or tunable circuits within a PA to offset the Gain droop of the PA.

The present disclosure provides a power amplifier and an electrical device. The two-stage power amplifier architecture is tuned staggered before power combining. A previous stage matching network and its input matching are split into a cascaded staggered tuning, such that the center frequency is at frequency point 1 less than the design frequency point and frequency point 2 greater than design frequency point, and then the power combining stage is tuned at the design frequency point. At advanced process nodes (such as 65 nm or below), compared with the known architecture, in-band signal quality and out-of-band filtering effect of the power amplifier chip integrating this architecture will be better when using the same number of transformers (same area), the reliability will be better. Due to its good flatness within the band, this architecture is especially suitable for carrier aggregation communication occasions.

Embodiments of a method and device are disclosed. In an embodiment, a Doherty amplifier module includes a substrate including a mounting surface, and a carrier amplifier die, a first peaking amplifier die, and a second peaking amplifier die on the mounting surface. The carrier amplifier die includes a first output bond pad that has a first length and a first width. The first peaking amplifier die includes a second output bond pad including a first main pad portion having a second length and a second width and including a first side pad portion having a third length and a third width. At least one of the second width or the third width is greater than the first width. The second peaking amplifier includes a third output bond pad. A first wirebond array is coupled between the third output bond pad and at least the first side pad portion.