Amplifier circuits, radio communication circuits, radio communication devices, and methods provided in this disclosure. The amplifier circuit may include an amplifier configured to amplify an input signal to provide an output signal. The output signal of the amplifier may include a direct current (DC) signal. The amplifier circuit may further include a current source coupled to the amplifier. The current source may be configured to receive an electrical supply. The current source may further be configured to divide the direct current (DC) signal of the output signal based on the electrical supply.

Various embodiments provide systems, devices, and methods for a multi-core digital power amplifier with an unbalanced power combiner. In one example, two or more cores are combined with a transformer section that has a first coupling coefficient and another two or more cores are combined with a second transformer section that has a second coupling coefficient that is different than the first coupling coefficient. The outputs of different cores may be cross-coupled with the primary inductors of the transformers. The digital power amplifier may provide an output power that is flat over a relatively wide operating range. Other embodiments may be described and claimed.

A differential tuned inductor and a multilayer tunable transformer for an integrated circuit device for microwave and RF applications are disclosed. The tunable inductor can be used in differential artificial delay lines to achieve delay tuning while preserving impedance matching. The tunable transformer can also be used for mixer drives to achieve wider operational performance.

A variable gain amplifier includes a first transconductor circuit coupled to a first input terminal, a first output terminal, and a second output terminal of the variable gain amplifier, the first transconductor circuit including: a plurality of positive coefficient transistors coupled to the first output terminal and configured to selectively conduct current in response to a first binary code, a plurality of negative coefficient transistors coupled to the second output terminal and configured to selectively conduct current in response to a second binary code, and a plurality of amplifying transistors, each having a gate electrode coupled to the first input terminal, a first electrode coupled to a ground reference, and a second electrode coupled to a pair of coefficient transistors including one of the plurality of positive coefficient transistors and one of the plurality of negative coefficient transistors.

An active balun circuit includes first and second transistors having emitters electrically coupled to each other and configured to output differential signals and a circuit element coupled between the connection point of the emitter of the first transistor and the emitter of the second transistor and a reference potential. The impedance of the circuit element at a particular frequency of the input signal appears significantly larger than impedances at other frequencies. An input signal from an input terminal is inputted to the base of the first transistor. The reference potential is applied to the base of the second transistor. A supply voltage is applied to the collector of the first transistor and the collector of the second transistor. A signal from the collector of the first transistor and a signal from the collector of the second transistor are outputted as the differential signals.

Low noise amplifiers (LNAs) with low noise figure are provided. In certain embodiments, an LNA includes a single-ended LNA stage including an input for receiving a single-ended input signal from an antenna and an output for providing a single-ended amplified signal, a balun for converting the single-ended amplified signal to a differential signal, and a variable gain differential amplification stage for amplifying the differential signal from the balun. Implementing the LNA in this manner provides low noise figure, high gain, flexibility in controlling gain, and less sensitivity to ground/supply impedance.

An amplifier circuit for a millimeter wave (mmW) communication system includes an amplifier coupled to a matching network, and a variable gain control circuit in the matching network, the variable gain control circuit having an adjustable gain control resistance, the adjustable gain control resistance having adjustable segments and a center node therebetween, the center node coupled to an alternating current (AC) ground.

In many examples, a device comprises a transmitter. The transmitter comprises a power amplifier, a first transformer coil coupled to the power amplifier, and a second transformer coil adapted to be electromagnetically coupled to the first transformer coil. The transmitter also comprises a first bond wire coupled to a first end of the second transformer coil and adapted to be coupled to a first end of an antenna, a capacitor coupled to a second end of the second transformer coil, a switch coupled to the capacitor and configured to engage and disengage the capacitor from the transmitter, and a second bond wire coupled to the switch and adapted to be coupled to a second end of the antenna.

An improved transformer based switch for PALNA applications. The transformer based switch having an input single pole port and a circuit with at least one transformer and at least one switch configured to connect portions of the transformer to ground or to short the transformer. The primary side of the transformer being connected to the input port and the secondary side of the transformer being connected to an output port.

An on-chip transformer circuit is disclosed. The on-chip transformer circuit comprises a primary winding circuit comprising at least one turn of a primary conductive winding arranged as a first N-sided polygon in a first dielectric layer of a substrate; and a secondary winding circuit comprising at least one turn of a secondary conductive winding arranged as a second N-sided polygon in a second, different, dielectric layer of the substrate. In some embodiments, the primary winding circuit and the secondary winding circuit are arranged to overlap one another at predetermined locations along the primary conductive winding and the secondary conductive winding, wherein the predetermined locations comprise a number of locations less than all locations along the primary conductive winding and the secondary conductive winding.