Fast-switching power management circuit and related apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2022123744-A1
Application number	US-202017073764-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Oct 19, 2020
Priority date	Oct 19, 2020
Publication date	Apr 21, 2022
Grant date	—

Abstract

A fast-switching power management circuit is provided. The fast-switching power management circuit is configured to generate an output voltage(s) based on an output voltage target that may change on a per-frame or per-symbol basis. In embodiments disclosed herein, the fast-switching power management circuit can be configured to adapt (increase or decrease) the output voltage(s) within a very short switching interval (e.g., less than one microsecond). As a result, when the fast-switching power management circuit is employed in a wireless communication apparatus to supply the output voltage(s) to a power amplifier circuit(s), the fast-switching power management circuit can quickly adapt the output voltage(s) to help improve operating efficiency and linearity of the power amplifier circuit(s).

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A fast-switching power management circuit comprising:
a multi-level voltage circuit configured to generate a plurality of output voltages based on a supply voltage; a switch circuit coupled to the multi-level voltage circuit to receive the plurality of output voltages; and a control circuit configured to:
determine an output voltage target; and
control the switch circuit to output a lowest one of the plurality of output voltages that is greater than or equal to the output voltage target.

2 . The fast-switching power management circuit of claim 1 further comprising a second switch circuit coupled to the multi-level voltage circuit to receive the plurality of output voltages, wherein the control circuit is further configured to:
determine a second output voltage target; and
control the second switch circuit to output a lowest one of the plurality of output voltages that is greater than or equal to the second output voltage target.

3 . The fast-switching power management circuit of claim 2 wherein the control circuit is further configured to receive the output voltage target and the second output voltage target from a transceiver circuit.

4 . The fast-switching power management circuit of claim 2 further comprising a supply voltage circuit configured to generate the supply voltage based on a battery voltage.

5 . The fast-switching power management circuit of claim 4 wherein the supply voltage circuit comprises a low-dropout (LDO) voltage regulator circuit.

6 . The fast-switching power management circuit of claim 4 wherein the supply voltage circuit comprises an inductor-based direct-current (DC) to DC (DC-DC) voltage converter.

7 . The fast-switching power management circuit of claim 4 wherein the control circuit is further configured to control the supply voltage circuit to adjust the supply voltage to minimize a difference between the supply voltage and the battery voltage.

8 . The fast-switching power management circuit of claim 2 wherein:
the multi-level voltage circuit is further configured to generate each of the plurality of output voltages from the supply voltage based on a respective one of a plurality of scaling factors; and
each of the plurality of scaling factors is a function of a voltage ratio.

9 . The fast-switching power management circuit of claim 8 wherein the control circuit is further configured to:
dynamically determine the voltage ratio based on a higher one of the output voltage target and the second output voltage target; and
dynamically adjust the plurality of scaling factors based on the determined voltage ratio.

10 . A wireless communication apparatus comprising:
a fast-switching power management circuit comprising:
a multi-level voltage circuit configured to generate a plurality of output voltages based on a supply voltage;
a switch circuit coupled to the multi-level voltage circuit to receive the plurality of output voltages; and
a control circuit configured to:
determine an output voltage target; and
control the switch circuit to output a lowest one of the plurality of output voltages that is greater than or equal to the output voltage target.

11 . The wireless communication apparatus of claim 10 wherein the fast-switching power management circuit further comprises a second switch circuit coupled to the multi-level voltage circuit to receive the plurality of output voltages, wherein the control circuit is further configured to:
determine a second output voltage target; and
control the second switch circuit to output a lowest one of the plurality of output voltages that is greater than or equal to the second output voltage target.

12 . The wireless communication apparatus of claim 11 further comprising:
a first power amplifier circuit coupled to the switch circuit and configured to amplify a first radio frequency (RF) signal based on the one of the plurality of output voltages outputted by the switch circuit; and
a second power amplifier circuit coupled to the second switch circuit and configured to amplify a second RF signal based on the one of the plurality of output voltages outputted by the second switch circuit.

13 . The wireless communication apparatus of claim 12 wherein:
the first RF signal is a Wi-Fi signal transmitted in a 2.4 GHz Industrial, Scientific, and Medical (ISM) band; and
the second RF signal is a Wi-Fi signal transmitted in a 5 GHz ISM band.

14 . The wireless communication apparatus of claim 11 wherein the control circuit is further configured to determine the output voltage target and the second output voltage target based on a target voltage signal received from a transceiver circuit.

15 . The wireless communication apparatus of claim 11 wherein the fast-switching power management circuit further comprises a supply voltage circuit configured to generate the supply voltage based on a battery voltage.

16 . The wireless communication apparatus of claim 15 wherein the supply voltage circuit comprises a low-dropout (LDO) voltage regulator circuit.

17 . The wireless communication apparatus of claim 15 wherein the supply voltage circuit comprises an inductor-based direct-current (DC) to DC (DC-DC) voltage converter.

18 . The wireless communication apparatus of claim 15 wherein the control circuit is further configured to control the supply voltage circuit to adjust the supply voltage to minimize a difference between the supply voltage and the battery voltage.

19 . The wireless communication apparatus of claim 11 wherein:
the multi-level voltage circuit is further configured to generate each of the plurality of output voltages from the supply voltage based on a respective one of a plurality of scaling factors; and
each of the plurality of scaling factors is a function of a voltage ratio.

20 . The wireless communication apparatus of claim 19 wherein the control circuit is further configured to:
dynamically determine the voltage ratio based on a higher one of the output voltage target and the second output voltage target; and
dynamically adjust the plurality of scaling factors based on the determined voltage ratio.

Assignees

• Qorvo Us Inc

Inventors

• Khlat Nadim

Classifications

• H02J1/082

  DC supplies with two or more different DC voltage levels · CPC title

• G06F1/3296

  by lowering the supply or operating voltage · CPC title

• G06F1/3203

  Power management, i.e. event-based initiation of a power-saving mode · CPC title

• H03F1/0222 Primary

  by using a signal derived from the input signal · CPC title

• H03K17/302 Primary

  in field-effect transistor switches · CPC title