A reactance cancelling radio frequency (RF) circuit array is disclosed. The reactance cancelling RF circuit array includes multiple RF circuits each coupled to one or two adjacent RF circuits by one or two pairs of coupling mediums each having a respective length less than one-quarter wavelength. In one aspect, an RF input signal is first split across the RF circuits and then combined to form an RF output signal. As a result, each RF circuit requires a lower power handling capability to process a portion of the RF input signal. In another aspect, each pair of the coupling mediums can cause reactance cancellation in each reactance-cancelling pair of the RF circuits. By coupling the RF circuits via the coupling mediums and enabling splitting-combining among the RF circuits, it is possible to miniaturize the reactance cancelling RF circuit array for improved performance across a wide frequency spectrum.

A traveling wave amplifier includes: a first line to transmit an input signal; an output-side line to transmit an output signal; amplifiers each having an input node and an output node, the input nodes being connected with the first line at first intervals and receiving the input signal, each of the amplifiers amplifying a signal input to the input node and outputting the amplified signal from the output node, the output nodes being connected with the output-side line at second intervals and generating the output signal; a second line to transmit another input signal having a phase opposite to a phase of the input signal; a first resistor having a first end connected with the first line and a second end; and a second resistor having a first end connected with the second line and a second end connected with the second end of the first resistor.

An amplifier arrangement comprises N amplifier stages comprising a main amplifier stage and a plurality of peaking amplifier stages. A transmission line comprises a varying impedance for transforming a load impedance to a higher impedance at the main amplifier stage, wherein the plurality of peaking amplifiers are coupled at intermediate locations to the transmission line. The amplifier arrangement is configured such that at least two of the peaking amplifiers are collectively driven with time delayed versions of substantially the same signal. The amplifier arrangement may be configured to operate with N−2 or fewer transition points in a Doherty mode of operation. As such, the amplifier arrangement may comprise more amplifier stages than are necessarily required in a Doherty amplifier arrangement having the same number of transition points.

An amplifier arrangement comprises N amplifier stages (10.sub.1 to 10.sub.N). The amplifier arrangement comprises a main cascade of quarter wavelength transmission lines coupled between an output of a main amplifier (10.sub.2) of the N amplifier stages (10.sub.1 to 10.sub.N) and an output node (15) of the amplifier arrangement, wherein the main cascade comprises N−1 quarter wavelength transmission lines (11.sub.1 to 11.sub.N−1). An output of one peaking amplifier (10.sub.N) of the N amplifier stages is coupled to the output node (15), and remaining peaking amplifiers (10.sub.1, 10.sub.3 to 10.sub.N−1) of the N amplifier stages coupled to respective junctions (12.sub.1 to 12.sub.N−2) in the main cascade of quarter wavelength transmission lines (11.sub.1 to 11.sub.N−1). The amplifier arrangement is further configured such that at least one of the quarter wavelength transmission lines in the main cascade is extended by a half wavelength transmission line (13) or multiples of half wavelength transmission lines, and/or at least one of the peaking amplifiers (10−.sub.1, 10.sub.3 to 10.sub.N) is coupled to its respective junction or output node (15) via a connecting half wavelength transmission line (13) or multiples of half wavelength transmission lines.

Distributed amplifiers with controllable linearization are provided herein. In certain embodiments, a distributed amplifier includes a differential input transmission line, a differential output transmission line, and a plurality of differential distributed amplifier stages connected between the differential input transmission line and the differential output transmission line at different points or nodes. The distributed amplifier further includes a differential non-linearity cancellation stage connected between the differential input transmission line and the differential output transmission line and providing signal inversion relative to the differential distributed amplifier stages. The differential non-linearity cancellation stage operates with a separately controllable bias from the differential distributed amplifier stages, thereby providing a mechanism to control the linearity of the distributed amplifier.

A travelling wave mixer (TWM) is provided that includes an input artificial transmission line configured to transmit an input signal, an output artificial transmission line configured to transmit an output signal, a local oscillator (LO) artificial transmission line configured to transmit an LO signal, and a plurality of mixer stages connected in parallel between the output artificial transmission and the input artificial transmission line. Each of the mixer stages includes an input amplifier, a mixer and an output amplifier connected in series between the input artificial transmission line and the output artificial transmission line, where an input of the mixer receives an output of the input amplifier, and an output of the mixer is applied to an input of the output amplifier. Further, each of the mixer stages includes a phase-adjustable LO amplifier circuit connected between the LO artificial transmission line and an LO input of the mixer, where the phase-adjustable LO amplifier is configured to adjust an LO signal phase applied to the LO input of each mixer to null out a phase error in each mixer stage independently.

An embodiment is a distributed amplifier including amplifier blocks, each of the amplifier blocks including a first transmission line to receive input of a signal to an input end, a second transmission line to output a signal from an output end, a first termination resistor having a first end connected to a terminal end of the first transmission line, a second termination resistor having a first end connected to an input end of the second transmission line, and unit cells arranged along the first and second transmission lines, each of the unit cells having an input terminal connected to the first transmission line and an output terminal connected to the second transmission line, the amplifier blocks are connected in cascade such that a terminal end of the second transmission line of one of the amplifier blocks is connected to the first transmission line of a subsequent amplifier block.

An embodiment is a multiplexer including a first distributed amplifier with an impedance matched to 50Ω, the first distributed amplifier configured to receive a first signal and output a first amplified signal, a second distributed amplifier with an impedance matched to 50Ω, the second distributed amplifier configured to receive a second signal and output a second amplified signal, and a passive multiplexer configured to multiplex the first amplified signal and the second amplified signal, and output a multiplexed signal to a signal output terminal, the passive multiplexer including a first resistor having a first end to receive the first amplified signal, a second resistor having a first end to receive the second amplified signal, and a third resistor having a first end connected to second ends of the first and second resistors and a second end connected to the signal output terminal.

A distributed amplifier includes a first transmission line for input, a second transmission line for output, an input termination resistor connecting a line end of the first transmission line and a power supply voltage, an output termination resistor connecting an input end of the second transmission line and a ground, unit cells having input terminals connected to the first transmission line and output terminals connected to the second transmission line, and a bias tee configured to supply a bias voltage to an input transistor of each of the unit cells. An emitter or source resistor of the input transistor of each of the unit cells is set to a different resistance value from each other in order for a collector or drain current flowing through the input transistor of each of the unit cells to have a uniform value.

A distributed amplifier includes a first transmission line for input, a second transmission line for output, an input termination resistor connecting a line end of the first transmission line and a power supply voltage, an output termination resistor connecting an input end of the second transmission line and a ground, unit cells having input terminals connected to the first transmission line and output terminals connected to the second transmission line, and a bias tee configured to supply a bias voltage to an input transistor of each of the unit cells. An emitter or source resistor of the input transistor of each of the unit cells is set to a different resistance value from each other in order for a collector or drain current flowing through the input transistor of each of the unit cells to have a uniform value.