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.

Disclosed are a constant current generation circuit for optocoupler isolation amplifier and a current precision adjustment method. The constant current generation circuit includes a start circuit, a current generation circuit and a precision adjustment and output circuit integrated into a same substrate. The start circuit can generate and output a first start current and a second start current. The current generation circuit includes a negative temperature change rate current generation circuit connected to a first start current output and a positive temperature change rate current generation circuit connected to a second start current output. The precision adjustment and output circuit outputs constant current meeting application requirements of optocoupler isolation amplifier by adjusting proportional precision of two currents output from a current generation circuit. The disclosure forms a constant current output circuit which is independent of temperature changes, power supply voltage changes and changes in technological parameters of current sheets.

A temperature compensation circuit for a power amplifier is provided, wherein data of circuit configurations corresponding to specific temperatures (including data associated with an output terminal voltage, a bias voltage, an adaptive bias, and a matching impedance of the power amplifier) for the power amplifier is stored in a read-only memory. Therefore, the temperature compensation circuit is capable of reading the data according to a temperature sensing signal to adjust the circuit configuration of the power amplifier accordingly, thereby, in a case of a constant input power of the power amplifier, an output power variance of the power amplifier is within a second interval (e.g., −10%˜+10%) when an environment temperature varies within a first interval. Therefore, the power amplifier has a stable gain.

Embodiments of a temperature compensation circuit and a temperature compensated amplifier circuit are disclosed. In an embodiment, a temperature compensation circuit includes a bias reference circuit having serially connected transistor devices and a driver transistor device connected to the bias reference circuit. At least one of the serially connected transistor devices includes a resistor connected between two terminals of the at least one of the serially connected transistor devices. The driver transistor device is configured to generate a drive current based on a resistance value of the resistor.

Embodiments of a method and a device are disclosed. In an embodiment, a method for operating a bias controller for an amplifier circuit involves obtaining temperature data corresponding to a temperature of the amplifier circuit, generating a proportional to absolute temperature (PTAT) bias voltage based on a first PTAT slope when the temperature is within a first range of temperatures or a second PTAT slope when the temperature is within a second range of temperatures, wherein the second PTAT slope is greater than the first PTAT slope, and biasing the amplifier circuit based on the generated PTAT bias voltage.

A device having device function circuitry configured to receive a device signal and output a modified device signal is disclosed. The device includes a device temperature sensor configured to generate a device temperature signal that is proportional to a temperature of the device function circuitry. The device function circuitry is further configured to maintain power dissipation of the device function circuitry to below a predetermined safe power dissipation level in response to a control signal that is generated based upon the device temperature signal.

A protection circuit is provided. The protection circuit protects a power amplifier that includes a power transistor configured to receive a power voltage, and a bias circuit configured to supply a bias current to the power transistor. The protection circuit includes: a first transistor, connected between a terminal of the bias circuit and a ground, and configured to sink a first current from the terminal of the bias circuit; and a second transistor, comprising a first terminal connected to the power voltage, a second terminal connected to a control terminal of the first transistor, and a control terminal connected to a reference voltage.

A second member is joined in surface contact with a first surface of a first member including a semiconductor region made from an elemental semiconductor. The second member includes a radio-frequency amplifier circuit made from a compound semiconductor. A conductive protrusion projects from the second member toward a side opposite to the first member. The first member includes a temperature measurement element that detects a temperature.

A power amplifier circuit amplifies a radio-frequency signal in a transmit frequency band. The power amplifier circuit includes an amplifier, a bias circuit, and an impedance circuit. The amplifier amplifies power of a radio-frequency signal and outputs an amplified signal. The impedance circuit is connected between a signal input terminal of the amplifier and a bias-current output terminal of the bias circuit and has frequency characteristics in which attenuation is obtained in the transmit frequency band. The impedance circuit includes first and second impedance circuits. The first impedance circuit is connected to the signal input terminal. The second impedance circuit is connected between the first impedance circuit and the bias-current output terminal.

Linearity is improved in an amplifier circuit without lowering gain. The amplifier circuit includes a transistor, a load, an impedance element, and a variable current source. The transistor amplifies an input signal. The load is connected between the transistor and a power supply. The impedance element is connected between the transistor and a ground terminal, and passes a direct current. The variable current source is connected to a connection part between the transistor and the impedance element, and supplies a current in accordance with a voltage of the connection part.