An aspect includes an apparatus including a first amplifier; a first field effect transistor (FET) including a first source coupled to an output of the first amplifier, and a first drain for coupling to a first load; and a first gate drive circuit including an input coupled to the output of the first amplifier and an output coupled to a first gate of the first FET. Another aspect includes a method including amplifying a first audio signal using a first audio amplifier to generate a first voltage; generating a first gate voltage based on the first voltage; applying the first gate voltage to a first gate of a first field effect transistor (FET) coupled between the first audio amplifier and a first audio transducer; and applying the first voltage to a first source of the first FET.

Circuits and methods for using in parallel amplification and signal combining are described herein. A circuit uses a digitally controlled multistage cascade combiner, a digital phase and drive signal amplifier controller and a digital combiner controller circuit with N parallel signals with constant amplitudes belonging to an alphabet with M discrete values and discrete phases feeding it. The signals resulting from N power amplifiers (PAs) have also constant amplitudes belonging to an alphabet with N discrete values and discrete phases prior to being fed to the multistage combiner. A digital combiner controller circuit generates digital control information to activate, or deactivate, the outputs of the PAs, where a set of digital control signals generated in digital combiner controller are used to control sets of switches, where the signals can be activated at the combiner's inputs, according to their power and phase values. The digital control information ensures that only in-phase signals are combined in the active combiner stage and any difference among the inputs of the combiners is always minimized. Both digital combiner controller and digital drive signal amplifier controller, share information about the signals not to be fed to the multistage combiner, so that PAs drive signals can also be powered off under these circumstances. In provide high efficiency amplification the signal amplifiers employed before the combining stage may be of switched or current source type.

A power amplifier provides reduction of click and pop in audio applications. The power amplifier includes a first amplifier and an auxiliary amplifier. The auxiliary amplifier is used to ramp the power amplifier output from ground to an offset voltage to reduce the “click and pop” sound. The first amplifier and the auxiliary amplifier having a shared feedback loop. An output of the first amplifier and an output of the auxiliary amplifier may be switchably coupled to the shared feedback loop. A wave generator controls a switch to couple the first amplifier output or the auxiliary amplifier output to the shared feedback loop.

A dynamically stabilizable amplifier drives an output current into an RLC load. A driver stage generates the output current, and a control circuit compares a current level of the amplifier output with a threshold and selectively enables a stabilizing resistor (to selectively shunt the load or dampen in series with the load, depending on RLC load type) at the driver stage output based on the comparison so that the amplifier is stable across a range of the output current level. The control circuit disables the resistor when the output current is above the highest threshold and enables it when below. The control circuit may control the resistor to have one of multiple resistance values based on a comparison with multiple thresholds. The output current level may be determined by replicating the output current level or by an input current level that sets the output current level independent of the load.

A semiconductor devices comprises a first member including a first circuit partially formed by an elemental semiconductor element at a surface layer, a first conductive raised portion at the first member, and a second member smaller than the first member in plan view joined to the first member. The second member includes a second circuit partially formed by a compound semiconductor element. A second conductive raised portion is at the second member. A power amplifier includes a first-stage amplifier circuit included in the first or second circuit and a second-stage amplifier circuit included in the second circuit. The first circuit includes a first switch for inputting to the first-stage amplifier circuit a radio-frequency signal inputted to a selected contact, a control circuit to control the first- and second-stage amplifier circuits, and a second switch for outputting from a selected contact a radio-frequency signal outputted by the second-stage amplifier circuit.

Chopper amplifiers with low intermodulation distortion (IMD) are provided. To compensate for IMD, at least one distortion compensation channel is included in parallel with chopper amplifier circuitry of a main signal channel. Additionally, output selection switches are included for selecting between the output of the main signal path and the distortional compensation channel(s) over time to maintain the output current continuous. Such IMD compensation can be realized by filling in missing current of the main signal channel using the distortion compensation channel(s), or by using channel outputs only when they have settled current.

A dynamically stabilizable amplifier drives an output current into an RLC load. A driver stage generates the output current, and a control circuit compares a current level of the amplifier output with a threshold and selectively enables a stabilizing resistor (to selectively shunt the load or dampen in series with the load, depending on RLC load type) at the driver stage output based on the comparison so that the amplifier is stable across a range of the output current level. The control circuit disables the resistor when the output current is above the highest threshold and enables it when below. The control circuit may control the resistor to have one of multiple resistance values based on a comparison with multiple thresholds. The output current level may be determined by replicating the output current level or by an input current level that sets the output current level independent of the load.

A power amplifier provides reduction of click and pop in audio applications. The power amplifier includes a first amplifier and an auxiliary amplifier. The auxiliary amplifier is used to ramp the power amplifier output from ground to an offset voltage to reduce the “click and pop” sound. The first amplifier and the auxiliary amplifier having a shared feedback loop. An output of the first amplifier and an output of the auxiliary amplifier may be switchably coupled to the shared feedback loop. A wave generator controls a switch to couple the first amplifier output or the auxiliary amplifier output to the shared feedback loop.

Apparatus and methods for providing hot-switching immunity for radio frequency switching circuits are disclosed. A radio frequency switching circuit may include both a mechanical switch and a solid-state switch. The mechanical switch may be configurable to couple an output path of a power amplifier to a subsequent component in its transmission path when in a first mechanical switch state and to decouple the output path of the power amplifier from the subsequent component when in a second mechanical switch state. The solid-state switch may be configurable to operatively decouple the mechanical switch from a radio frequency power source when in a first solid-state switch state but not when in a second solid-state switch state. The solid-state switch may be in the first solid-state switch state during transitions of the mechanical switch between the first and second mechanical switch states.

Apparatus and methods for envelope tracking systems with automatic mode selection are provided herein. In certain configurations, a power amplifier system includes a power amplifier configured to provide amplification to a radio frequency signal and to receive power from a power amplifier supply voltage, and an envelope tracker including a signal bandwidth detection circuit configured to generate a detected bandwidth signal based on processing an envelope signal corresponding to an envelope of the radio frequency signal. The envelope tracker further includes a switch bank configured to receive a plurality of regulated voltages, a filter configured to filter an output of the switch bank to generate the power amplifier supply voltage, and a mode control circuit configured to control a filtering characteristic of the filter based on the detected bandwidth signal.