U 80091543 5632
`
`(12) United States Patent
`US 9,154,356 B2
`(10) Patent No.:
`Tasic et a1.
`
`(45) Date of Patent: Oct. 6, 2015
`
`(54)
`
`(75)
`
`LOW NOISE AMPLIFIERS FOR CARRIER
`AGGREGATION
`
`Inventors: Aleksandar Miodrag Tasic. San Diego.
`CA (US): Anosh Bomi Davicrwalla.
`San Diego. CA (US)
`
`(56)
`
`References Cited
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`
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`Assignee:
`
`(*1
`
`Notice:
`
`QUALCOMM Incorporated. San
`Diego. (”.‘A (US)
`
`Subject to any disclaimer. the term Liftliis
`patent is extended or adjusted under 35
`U.S.(T. 154(b) by 0 days.
`
`CN
`CN
`
`(21)
`
`(22)
`
`(65)
`
`(60)
`
`(51)
`
`(52)
`
`(53)
`
`Appl. No.: 131590.,423
`Filed:
`Aug. 2]., 2012
`Prior Publication Data
`
`Nov. 28. 2013
`US 20131103153418.1311
`Related U.S. Application Data
`
`Provisional application No. 611652364. filed on May
`25. 2012.
`
`Int. (:1.
`”041'. 27/06
`”04L 2 7/26
`H030 3/20
`H03F 1/22
`[103!" 3/193
`
`(2006.01 )
`(2006.01)
`(2006.01)I
`(2006.01)
`(2006.01 )
`(Continued)
`
`U.S. C 1.
`(:PC ............ HIM]. 220647001301 ]: ”031‘“ 17223
`(2013.01); [10.11’3f193 (2013.01); "(HTS/'68
`(2013.01); H0317 3/72 (2013.01): 1103ij20
`(201301)
`
`Field of Classification Search
`CPC . 11041. 2712647: 11041. 2712649; 11041. 27138:
`[[0311 7140; 11036 3120
`3751316, 317. 318, 345. 349. 340;
`4551130. 132. 136, 234.1: 3701542
`See application file for complete search history.
`
`USPC
`
`(Continued)
`
`FOREIGN PA' 1‘1.€N’[‘ DOCUMENTS
`
`1523912 A
`1922795 A
`
`8.12004
`2.12007
`
`(Continued)
`OTHER PUBLICATIONS
`
`lnlernalional Search Report and Wrillen Opinion—WTFUS20131
`042226
`ISAJI'IPO Oct. 2, 2013.
`
`(Continued)
`
`Primary Examiner — Khanh C Trail
`(74) Attorney. Agent. or Firm — Ramin Mobarhan
`
`(57)
`
`ABSTRACT
`
`Low noise amplifiers (LNAs) supponing carrier aggregation
`are disclosed. In an exemplary design. an apparatus includes
`first and second amplifier stages. e.g.. for a carrier aggrega—
`tion (CA) LNA or a multiple—input multiple—output (MIMO)
`1,NA. The first amplilier stage receives and amplifies an input
`radio frequency (R11) signal and provides a first output R1“
`signal to a first load circuit when the first amplifier stage is
`enabled. The input RF signal includes transmissions sent on
`mull iple carriers at different frequencies to a wireless device.
`The second amplifier stage receives and amplifies the input
`R1“ signal and provides a second output R1“ signal to a second
`load circuit when the second amplifier stage is enabled. Each
`amplifier stage may include a gain transistor coupled to a
`cascode IFHJISISIOI'.
`
`20 Claims, 17 Drawing Sheets
`
`(cid:44)(cid:49)(cid:55)(cid:40)(cid:47)(cid:3)(cid:20)3(cid:19)(cid:20)
`INTEL 1301
`
`6408
`“'1
`
`6503
`, _______‘1 _ _ _ _
`
`Amplifier :
`Stage ‘1
`
`.
`
`
`I :
`
`Amplifier
`I Stage 2
`
`

`

`US 9,154,356 B2
`
`Page2
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`(51]
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`H031" 3’68
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`Jones W. W.. et al.. “Narrowband interference suppression using
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`
`‘3 cited by examiner
`
`

`

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`Oct. 6, 2015
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`US. Patent
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`Oct. 6, 2015
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`US. Patent
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`US. Patent
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`Oct. 6, 2015
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`Sheet 17 0f 17
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`US 9,154,356 32
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`Enable first and second amplifier
`stages in a first/CA mode
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`and disable the second amplifier
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`signal when the first amplifier stage is
`enabled, the first input RF signal comprising
`transmissions sent on multiple carriers at
`different frequencies to a wireless device
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`1318
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`FIG. 13
`
`

`

`US 9,154,356 B2
`
`1
`LOW NOISE AMPLIFIERS FOR CARRIER
`AGGREGATION
`
`CLAIM OF PRIORITY UNDER 35 U.S.C. §119
`
`The present Application for Patent claims priority to Pro-
`visional U.S. Application Ser. No. 6])652064, entitled
`“LOW NOISE AMPLIFIERS FOR CARRIER AGGREGA—
`
`TION,” filed May 25, 2012, assigned to the assignee hereof.
`and expressly incorporated herein by reference.
`
`If]
`
`1 3A(.‘KGROU N | )
`
`FIG. 13 shows a process for receiving signals in a wireless
`system.
`
`DETAILED DESCRIPTION
`
`The detailed description set forth below is intended as a
`description of exemplary designs of the present disclosure
`and is not intended to represent the only designs in which the
`present disclosure can be practiced. The term “exemplary” is
`used herein to mean “serving as an example, instance, or
`illustration.” Any design described herein as “exemplary" is
`not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous
`over other designs. The detailed description includes specific
`details for the purpose ofproviding a thorough understanding
`ofthe exemplary designs of the present disclosure. It will be
`apparent to those skilled in the art that the exemplary designs
`described herein may be practiced without these specific
`details. In some instances, well-known structures and devices
`are shown in block diagam form in order to avoid obscuring
`the novelty of the exemplary designs presented herein.
`LNAs supporting carrier aggregation are disclosed herein.
`These [..NAs may have better performance and may be used
`for various types of electronic devices such as wireless com-
`munication devices.
`
`FIG. 1 shows a wireless device 110 communicating with a
`wireless communication system 120. Wireless system 120
`may be a Long Tenn Evolution (l; [‘13) system, a Code Divi-
`sion Multiple Access (CDMA) system, a Global System for
`Mobile Communications (GSM) system. a wireless local area
`network (WLAN) system, or some other wireless system. A
`CDMA system may
`implement Wideband CDMA
`(WCDMA), cdm a2000. or some other version of( .‘DMA. For
`simplicity, FIG. I shoWs wireless system 120 including two
`base stations 130 and 132 and one system controller 140. In
`general. a wireless system may include any ntunber of base
`stations and any set of network entities.
`Wireless device 110 may also he referred to as a user
`equipment (UH). a mobile station, a temtinal, an access ter-
`minal. a subscriber unit. a station. etc. Wireless device 110
`may be a cellular phone, a smartphone, a tablet, a wireless
`modem, a personal digital assistant
`(FDA), a handheld
`device, a laptop computer, a smartbuok, a netbook. a cordless
`phone, a wireless local loop (WI..[.) station, a Bluetooth
`_ device. etc. Wireless device 110 may be capable of commu—
`nicating with wireless system 120. Wireless device 110 may
`also be capable of receiving signals from broadcast stations
`(e.g., a broadcast station 134), signals from satellites (e.g.. a
`satellite 150) in one or more global navigation satellite sys—
`tems (GNSS), etc. Wireless device 110 may support one or
`more radio technologies for wireless communication such as
`Ififli, cdma2000, WCDMA, GSM, 802.1 1, etc.
`Wireless device 110 may support carrier aggregation,
`which is operation on multiple carriers. Carrier aggregation
`_ may also be referred to as mu [ti—carrier operation. Wireless
`device 1 It! may be able to operate in low-band from 698 to
`960 megahertz (MI [2), mid-band from 1475 to 2170 Mllz.
`andfor high-hand from 2300 to 2690 and 3400 to 3800 Mllz.
`Low—band, mid—band, and high—band refer to three groups of
`bands (or band groups), with each band grotlp including a
`number of frequency bands (or silnply, “bands“JI. l'iach band
`may cover up to 200 M112 and may include one or more
`carriers. Each carrier may cover up to 20 MHz in LTE. LTE
`Release 1] supports 35 bands, which are referred to as LTE»r
`UMTS bands and are listed in SGPP TS 36.101. Wireless
`device 110 may be configured with up to 5 carriers in one or
`two bands in I.fl‘l.". Release 1 l .
`
`1. Field
`
`The present disclosure relates generally to electronics, and
`more specifically to low noise amplifiers (I..NAs).
`11. Background
`A wireless device (e.g., a cellular phone or a smartphone)
`in a wireless communication system may transmit and receive
`data for two—way communication. The wireless device may
`include a transmitter for data transmission and a receiver for
`
`data reception. For data transmission, the transmitter may
`modulate a radio frequency (RF) carrier signal with data to
`obtain a modulated RF signal. amplify the modulated RF
`signal to obtain an amplified RF signal having the proper
`output power level. and transmit the amplified RF signal via
`an antenna to a base station. For data reception. the receiver
`may obtain a received RF signal via the antenna and may
`amplify and process the received RF sigial to recover data
`sent by the base station.
`A wireless device may support carrier aggregation, which
`is simultaneous operation on multiple carriers. A carrier may
`refer to a range of frequencies used for communication and
`may be associated with certain characteristics. For example, a
`carrier may be associated with system information describing
`operation on the carrier. A carrier may also be referred to as a
`component carrier (CC), a frequency channel. a cell. etc. It is
`desirable to efficiently support carrier aggregation by the
`wireless device.
`
`BRIEF I.)lZS(.‘RIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`
`I shows a wireless deviCe communicating with a
`FIG.
`wireless system.
`FIGS. 2A to 2D show four examples ofcarrier aggregation
`(CA).
`FIG. 3 slloWs a block diagram ofthe wireless device in FIG.
`
`1.
`
`FIGS. 4A and 4B show a receiver supporting intra—band
`CA.
`
`FIGS. 5A and SB show a receiver supponing intra-hand
`(7A and inter-band CA.
`FIGS. 6A to 6C show an LNA with inductive degeneration
`and cascode shutofi'.
`FIG. 7 shows an INA with inductive degeneration, cas-
`code shutoff. and resistive feedback.
`FIG. 8A shows an INA with a separate input attenuation
`circuit for each amplifier stage.
`FIG. 8B shows an LNA with a shared input attenuation
`circuit for two amplifier stages.
`FIG. 9 shows an INA with a tunable input matching cir-
`cuit.
`
`FIGS. 10 to 11C show several exemplary designs of a
`multiple—input multiple—output (MIMO) LNA.
`FIGS. 12A to 1 213 show six exemplary designs of a ttuiable
`input matching circuit.
`
`15
`
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`
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`
`30
`
`40
`
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`
`60
`
`

`

`US 9,154,356 B2
`
`3
`In general, carrier aggregation (CA) may be categorized
`into two types—intra—band CA and inter—band CA.
`Intra—
`band CA refers to operation on multiple carriers within the
`same band. Inter—band CA refers to operation on multiple
`carriers in different bands.
`FIG. 2A shows an example of contiguous intra-band CA.
`In the exatnple shown in FIG. 2A. wireless device 110 is
`configured with four contiguous carriers in the saute band,
`which is a band in low—band. Wireless device 110 may receive
`transmissions on multiple contiguous carriers within the
`same band.
`
`FIG. 2B shows an example of non-contiguous intra-band
`CA. [11 the example shown in FIG. 213, wireless device III) is
`configured with four non—contiguous carriers in the same
`band. which is a band in low~band. The carriers may be
`separated by 5 MHz, 10 MHZ, or some other amount. Wire—
`less device 110 may receive transmissions on multiple non-
`contiguous carriers within the same band.
`FIG. 2C shows an example of inter-band CA in the same
`band group. In the example shown in FIG. 2C, wireless device
`110 is configured with four carriers in two bands in the same
`band group. which is low-band. Wireless device 110 lnay
`receive transmissions on multiple carriers in different bands
`in the same band group (e.g., low-band in FIG. 2C).
`FIG. 2D shows an example of inter—band CA in difi'erent
`band groups. In the example shown in FIG. 2D, wireless
`device 110 is configured with four carriers in two bands in
`different band groups, which include two carriers in one band
`in low—band and two additional carriers in another band in
`
`tnid—band. Wireless device 110 may receive transmissions on
`multiple carriers in difi'erent bands in difi'erent band groups
`(e.g., low-band and mid-band in FIG. 21)).
`FIGS. 2A to 2|) show four examples ofcarrier aggregation.
`Carrier aggregation may also be supported for other combi—
`nations ofbands and band groups. For example, carrier aggre—
`gation may be supported for low—band and high—band, tnid—
`band and high-band, high-band and high-band, etc.
`FIG. 3 shows a block diagram of an exemplary design of
`wireless device 110 in FIG. I. In this exemplary design.
`wireless device 110 includes a transceiver 320 coupled to a
`primary antenna 310, receivers 322 coupled to a secondary
`antenna 312. and a data processori'controiler 380. Transceiver
`320 includes multiple (K) meeivers 3301.10 to 33tlak and inn]-
`tiple (K) transmitters 3600 to 360k to support multiple bands.
`carrier aggregation, multiple radio technologies, etc. Receiv—
`ers 322 include multiple (M) receivers 330330 to 3301')»: to
`suppon multiple bands, carrier aggregation. multiple radio
`technologies, receive diversity, MIMO transmission, etc.
`In the exemplary design shown in FIG. 3. each receiver 330
`includes input circuits 332, an LNA 340, and receive circuits
`342. For data reception, antenna 310 receives signals from
`base stations andr’or other transmitter stations and provides a
`received RF signal, which is routed through switchestduplex—
`ers 324 and provided to a selected receiver. The description
`below assumes that receiver 330m;- is the selected receiver.
`
`is passed
`Within receiver 330nm the received RF signal
`through input circuits 332cm, which provides an input RI"
`signal to an LNA 3400a. Input circuits 332m: may include a
`matching circuit. a receive filter. etc. LNA 340cm amplifies
`the input RF signal and provides an output RI" signal. Receive
`circuits 342m: amplify, filter, and downconvert the output RF
`signal from RF to baseband and provide an analog input
`signal to data processor 380. Receive circuits 332cm may
`include mixers. a filter. an amplifier. a matching circuit, an
`oscillator, a local oscillator [1.0) generator, a phase locked
`loop (Pl ..I). etc. [Each remaining receiver 330 in transceiver
`
`S
`
`If]
`
`15
`
`2f]
`
`25
`
`30
`
`_
`
`40
`
`50
`
`60
`
`4
`
`320 and each receiver 330I in receivers 322 may operate in
`similar manner as receiver 3