A Doherty power amplifier circuit having a main power amplification device, an auxiliary power amplification device arranged in parallel with the main power amplification device, and a load modulation circuit comprising a harmonic injection circuit connected with respective outputs of the main power amplification device and the auxiliary power amplification device. The harmonic injection circuit is arranged to transfer harmonic components generated at the main power amplification device to the auxiliary power amplification device and harmonic components generated at the auxiliary power amplification device to the main power amplification device, when both the main and auxiliary power amplification devices are operating, for modulating the respective outputs of the main power amplification device and the auxiliary power amplification device.

Various embodiments relate to a packaged radio frequency (RF) amplifier device implementing a split bondwire where the direct ground connection of an output capacitor is replaced with a set of bondwires connecting to ground in a direction opposite to the wires connecting to the output of a transistor to an output pad. This is done in order to reduce the effects of mutual inductance between the various bondwires associated with the output of the RF amplifier device.

an amplifier having an input terminal and an output terminal. The input terminal is configured to receive a radio frequency (RF) input signal. The device includes an output network coupled to the output terminal of the power amplifier and a first passively tunable integrated circuit (PTIC) coupled to the output network. The first PTIC includes a direct-current (DC) bias voltage input terminal configured to receive a fixed bias voltage, a control signal input terminal configured to receive a time-varying control signal, wherein the fixed bias voltage in combination with the time-varying control signal sets an operating reference point of the first PTIC, and an input terminal electrically connected to the output terminal of the amplifier, wherein a change in an output voltage signal generated by the power amplifier causes the first PTIC to modify a first effective impedance of a load presented to the power amplifier via the output network.

Bias circuits and methods for silicon-based amplifier architectures that are tolerant of supply and bias voltage variations, bias current variations, and transistor stack height, and compensate for poor output resistance characteristics. Embodiments include power amplifiers and low-noise amplifiers that utilize a cascode reference circuit to bias the final stages of a cascode amplifier under the control of a closed loop bias control circuit. The closed loop bias control circuit ensures that the current in the cascode reference circuit is approximately equal to a selected multiple of a known current value by adjusting the gate bias voltage to the final stage of the cascode amplifier. The final current through the cascode amplifier is a multiple of the current in the cascode reference circuit, based on a device scaling factor representing the relative sizes of the transistor devices in the cascode amplifier and in the cascode reference circuit.

Methods and apparatuses for providing a reduction in output power of a balanced amplifier configuration are presented. According to one aspect, reduction of the output power is provided by deactivating one of the two amplification paths of the balanced amplifier. According to another aspect, impedances seen at ports of input and output couplers of the balanced amplifier configuration part of a deactivated amplification path are selectively switched in dependence of operation according to the reduced output power or according to normal output power. In addition, or in the alternative, impedance seen at an isolated/terminated port of the input and/or the output coupler is selectively switched in dependence of the operation. When operating according to the reduced output power, values of the switched impedances can be adjusted to tune a frequency response of the balanced amplifier.

An amplifier circuit amplifies a radio-frequency signal. The amplifier circuit includes an amplifier, an input matching circuit connected to an input side of the amplifier and matches impedance, and a protection circuit connected to a node in a path within a path between an input matching circuit and the amplifier. The protection circuit includes a first diode connected between the node and a ground, and a second diode connected in parallel with the first diode and connected in a direction opposite to the first diode between the node and the ground. A threshold voltage of each of the first diode and the second diode is greater than a maximum voltage amplitude of the input signal at the node and is less than a difference between a withstand voltage of the amplifier and the bias voltage.

An amplifier (T1) amplifies an input signal. A harmonic matching circuit (3) is connected to an output end of the amplifier (T1) via a first wire (W1). The harmonic matching circuit (3) includes a first inductor (L1) connected to the first wire (W1), a first capacitor (C1) connected in series to the first inductor (L1), a second inductor (L2) connected in parallel with the first inductor (L1), and a second capacitor (C2) connected in series to the second inductor (L2). The first inductor (L1) and the second inductor (L2) form a subtractive-polarity coupler which presents mutual inductance having subtractive polarity.

Methods and systems for optimizing amplifier operations are described. The described methods and systems particularly describe a feed-forward control circuit that may also be used as a feed-back control circuit in certain applications. The feed-forward control circuit provides a control signal that may be used to configure an amplifier in a variety of ways.

A semiconductor device includes input and output terminals, first and second power supply terminals, first and second transistors, and a first resistance element. In the first transistor, gate and source terminals are respectively connected to the input terminal and the first power supply terminal, a drain terminal is connected to the second power supply terminal in direct current and to the output terminal, and the gate and drain terminals are connected via the first resistance element. In the second transistor, a source terminal is connected to the first power supply terminal, and gate and drain terminals are short-circuited at a node connected to the gate terminal of the first transistor in direct current. In a lower frequency region, an impedance of the first resistance element is lower than impedances of parasitic capacitances in the first transistor between the gate and drain terminals and between the gate and source terminals.

A power amplifier circuit includes a transistor having a base to which a radio frequency signal is input and a collector to which a power supply voltage that varies in accordance with an envelope of amplitude of the radio frequency signal is supplied and from which an amplified signal obtained by amplifying the radio frequency signal is output; a first termination circuit provided at a stage subsequent to the transistor and configured to attenuate a harmonic component of the amplified signal; and a second termination circuit provided at the stage subsequent to the transistor and configured to attenuate a harmonic component of the amplified signal. The first termination circuit and the second termination circuit have a property of resonating for a radio frequency signal having a frequency between a frequency of a second harmonic component and a frequency of a third harmonic component.