• 专利附录
  • 专利说明
  • 权利要求
  • 类似技术
  • 同族专利
  • 引用文献
  • 法律状态
  • 优先权
    • 专利摘要:
    The object of the invention is a system for monitoring the peak power of a telecommunication signal to be transmitted for an RF power amplification (1) of said telecommunication signal to be transmitted, comprising a digital processing device (3), a digital-RF converter (4) and a DC-DC converter (5), the output of the DC-DC converter (5) being able to assume a discrete voltage value among N discrete voltage values, N being an integer greater than or equal to at 2, the digital processing device (3) comprising a processing chain (6) comprising an envelope tracking control logic (7) adapted to create a continuous envelope tracking command signal. The processing line (6) further comprises a control logic (8) of the DC-DC converter (5) comprising a peak value calculating device (9) and a supply voltage selection device (10). .
    公开号:FR3031851A1
    申请号:FR1550331
    申请日:2015-01-15
    公开日:2016-07-22
    发明作者:Emmanuel Gatard；Pierre Lachaud
    申请人:Amcad Eng；
    IPC主号:
    专利说明:

    [0001] The present invention relates to the field of radiofrequency (RF) power amplification, and relates in particular to a method for calculating radio frequency power (RF). particularly on a peak power monitoring system for RF power amplification and on a method for calculating peak value and selecting associated supply voltage. The constant increase in wireless communication rates requires the use of complex modulations with high spectral efficiency such as OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing), these modulations having significant peak factors (ratio of peak power and the average power of the signal). RF power amplifiers that are powered by a DC supply voltage provide maximum efficiency only when working on compression, i.e. at the peak power of the signal to be transmitted. However, most of the time, the amplifier provides a power much lower than its maximum power, close to the average power of the signal to be transmitted, the efficiency of the amplifier being in these conditions much lower than its maximum efficiency. Envelope Tracking is a power technique for improving the performance of RF power amplifiers, replacing the continuous constant power supply of the amplifier with a dynamic power supply. continuous which follows the amplitude of the RF signal to be transmitted. The envelope tracking technique dynamically adjusts the power supply voltage of the RF power amplifier so that it always operates in compression and therefore at its maximum efficiency, regardless of the power level of the RF amplifier. RF signal envelope, this technique allows for modern modulation formats to significantly improve the performance of RF power amplifiers while meeting the standards requirements in terms of linearity.
    [0002] In the case of an RF power amplifier followed by an envelope, the supply voltage is by definition constantly readjusted to ensure that the amplifier is still operating at compression and therefore at its maximum efficiency, whatever the desired power level on transmission. The supply voltage of an envelope-tracking RF power amplifier is generated by a DC-DC converter (also known as polarization modulator) for generating a wide-band continuous control signal. The DC-DC converter generally comprises a DC-DC switching portion operating at low frequencies and a linear amplifying portion for tracking rapid changes in the envelope signal.
    [0003] However, the low efficiency linear amplification portion greatly degrades the overall efficiency of the DC-DC converter. In addition, the greater the bandwidth covered by the linear amplification part, the greater the overall efficiency is impacted by the low efficiency of the linear amplification part. Another known technique commonly used to generate a continuous envelope monitoring control signal relies solely on the use of a DC / DC switching converter alone, which must be fast enough to meet bandwidth terms since it relies on a PWM (pulse width modulation) or sigma-delta type of cutting signal. In addition, the control signal of the DC-DC converter must have a resolution sufficient to generate a large number of voltage levels at the output of the converter and thus correctly reconstruct the original signal. However, the switching transistors used for this type of converter are mainly GaN and GaAs technology transistors which are able to switch very rapidly in the presence of a high power signal, and are generally made in integrated technology in order to achieve better yields and switching speeds, thus greatly increasing the manufacturing cost of this type of converter. The very fast switching of high currents in the DC-DC converters thus leads to the use of expensive component technologies, in incompatibility with the power amplification market for telecommunications. Another envelope tracking technique relies on the generation by a DC / DC converter of a multi-level envelope tracking signal which consists of the application of a polarization control signal. N-level power supply, the power control signal of the RF amplifier can take one of N possible discrete levels, which has the advantage of supporting large bandwidth while maintaining high performance without having use of a linear amplifier within the DC-DC converter.
    [0004] The problem of implementing the envelope tracking technique for high power applications lies in the ability to have high efficiency DC / DC converters with a large bandwidth. The difficulty lies in this DC-DC converter that must provide high power, have a very good performance, be extremely linear, generate little noise and especially support large modulation bands.
    [0005] As the efficiency of the DC-DC converters decreases drastically as the bandwidth of the modulated signal increases, it appears difficult to use the envelope tracking technique for high power applications with modern telecommunications signals that can reach bandwidths. up to 100 MHz. In conjunction with the envelope tracking technique, to reduce stress on the DC-DC converter, a band reduction technique can be used. The band reduction decreases the spectral occupancy of the supply signal while ensuring that the voltage of the reduced band supply signal is always greater than or equal to the original signal voltage so as not to over-compress the RF amplifier. This band reduction of the supply signal necessarily induces a drop in efficiency of the power amplifier since the control signal no longer follows the envelope of the modulated signal at any moment. Furthermore, the addition of a band reduction algorithm requires a system of increased complexity to generate this type of control including a digital signal processing point of view. A band reduction technique must also be coupled to a pre-distortion technique very specific to this mode of operation and therefore also complex to implement. DC / DC converters for the envelope tracking technique must have bandwidths well in excess of the RF signal bandwidth. In view of the increasing increase in the bandwidths of modern telecommunications signals, it appears relatively complex to have DC / DC converters with good efficiency and low cost for high power applications, despite the use of new component technologies. like gallium nitride (GaN). The existing band reduction techniques are complex to implement and do not allow to consider very broad modulation bands with a good overall system performance.
    [0006] In addition, in the case of the discrete multi-level envelope tracking technique, the tape reduction principle is not applicable. Indeed, no reduction in the constraints in terms of speed and switching recurrences on the DC-DC converter appears. The compromise between efficiency and bandwidth of the DC-DC converter is highly limiting for high power applications for the use of the envelope tracking technique. This results in an inability to use the envelope tracking technique for high bandwidth and high power applications.
    [0007] A first solution is to use DC-DC converters for multi-phase Boost (voltage booster) for the generation of a continuous type control signal, that is to say which contain several branches in parallel. These converters operate in pure commutation and in their very principle of operation make it possible to reduce the switching frequency for the same bandwidth and with a good efficiency. However, in order to reach high bandwidths, the switching frequencies remain very high and therefore this technique does not solve the yield-bandwidth problem. In addition, the frequency of the switching signal remains fixed for this type of converter and therefore, for low bandwidths, the efficiency of the converter will be sacrificed unnecessarily. A second solution relies on band reduction techniques for envelope tracking that improve the efficiency-bandwidth trade-off without solving the problem for large modulation bands and gives the system increased complexity. a digital signal processing point of view, thus increasing the cost and power consumption of the system.
    [0008] A last solution is to use either a control signal from a continuously variable modulator but from the selection of different power levels to generate a discrete type control signal. The multi-level envelope tracking technique does not provide as high RF amplifier yields as with a continuous drive signal but the converter losses are lower. However, this solution improves but does not solve the yield-bandwidth compromise for large modulation bandwidths because the recurrences of switching remain significant in number.
    [0009] The present invention aims at solving the drawbacks of the prior art by proposing a system for monitoring the peak power of a telecommunication signal to be transmitted for an RF power amplification of said telecommunication signal to be transmitted comprising logic. driving the DC-DC converter to greatly repel the limitation bandwidth efficiency imposed by the DC-DC converters to make the envelope tracking technique applicable to high power applications with high speeds, said system for generating a high power control signal adapted for applications with a very wide modulation band without necessarily requiring the use of converters, and therefore ultra-fast switching transistors capable of switching high currents in a very short time, said system allowing by elsewhere to keep a very good ren on DC-DC converters even for wide modulation bands.
    [0010] The control logic consists inter alia in the analysis and the detection of the maximum value of the continuous envelope monitoring control signal over a given time interval, and then in the application, in the place of a control signal conventional envelope tracking method, a constant supply voltage level on the RF power amplifier from a number of available voltage levels, said voltage level being applied for a minimum duration equal to the time interval determined. The invention thus makes it possible to generate a slowly variable discrete-type power supply signal with respect to the signal modulation band, these characteristics making it possible to use a DC-DC converter at very low cost and strong performance even for wide modulation bands. The invention also relates to a method of calculating peak value and supply voltage selection implemented by a system for monitoring the peak power of a telecommunication signal to be transmitted for an RF power amplification of said signal. according to the present invention, and on an RF antenna equipped with such a system or implementing such a method.
    [0011] The subject of the present invention is therefore a system for monitoring the peak power of a telecommunication signal transmitting for an RF power amplification of said telecommunication signal to be transmitted, comprising an RF power amplifier having an RF input, a voltage input power supply and an RF output, a digital processing device, a digital-RF converter and a DC-DC converter, the digital processing device having an input adapted to receive the telecommunication signal to be transmitted as digital data, an first output connected to an input of the digital-RF converter and a second output connected to an input of the DC-DC converter, the digital-RF converter having an output connected to the RF input of the RF power amplifier, the continuous converter -continuous having an output connected to the supply voltage input of the RF power amplifier, the output of the DC-DC converter which can take a discrete voltage value from N discrete voltage values, N being an integer greater than or equal to 2, the digital processing device comprising, between its input and its first output a delay element 1 and between its input and its second output a processing chain comprising an envelope tracking control logic capable of creating a continuous envelope tracking control signal from the digital data received at the input of the device of the device. digital processing, characterized in that the processing chain further comprises, downstream of the envelope tracking control logic, a drive logic of the DC-DC converter comprising a peak value calculating device and a device for selecting a supply voltage, the peak value calculating device being able to temporally wind the control signal with envelope monitoring circuit and calculating the maximum value of the continuous envelope monitoring control signal on each time window, and the power supply voltage selection device being adapted to control the DC-DC converter in order to impose at the output of the latter, from among the N discrete voltage values, a discrete supply voltage value greater than or equal to the maximum value of the continuous envelope monitoring control signal over the entire corresponding time window, a discrete supply voltage value being applied for a minimum duration equal to the duration of the time window, the delay element 1 being chosen such that the corresponding RF signal of the digital data of the telecommunication signal to be transmitted at the level of the RF input of the RF power amplifier is synchronized with the RF signal envelope tracking power supply for these same data digital art at the supply voltage input of the RF power amplifier. The control logic of the processing chain is configured to implement an envelope tracking control law. The proposed invention is to generate a discrete-type envelope tracking control signal having N slowly variable voltage levels by means of a continuous voltage tracking signal monitoring technique of the envelope tracking, detection the peak voltage of the continuous control signal being directly the image of the detection of the peak power input of the RF power amplifier. The control signal of the RF amplifier can only take one voltage value from among the N possible levels and these voltage levels do not adapt to the rapid changes of the envelope signal, the voltage level selected being applied for a minimum duration equal to the time window. The choices of the 20 N number of levels and the duration of the time window mainly depend on the DC-DC converter capabilities, the symbol rate to be transmitted and the modulation format (for example, QAM (quadrature amplitude modulation) or OFDM). Thus, the generation of a discrete level signal which does not accurately track all variations of the modulation envelope enables very wide bandwidths to be supported while maintaining a high DC / DC converter efficiency, and to minimize The switching frequency within said converter, regardless of the architecture of the converter or the type of modulation. Discretization into a finite number of power levels avoids the need for a linear amplifier within the DC-DC converter, and the fact of not accurately tracking the amplitude of the envelope signal at each instant makes it possible to consider very large bandwidths without increasing the constraints on the DC / DC converter in terms of switching speed. In addition, the control logic is simple to implement in a digital circuit, thus minimizing the number of logic circuits required in the digital circuits as well as their operating frequency, which results in lower power consumption and a lower cost. supply of circuits smaller. The invention also allows the use of a DC-DC converter slower and therefore low manufacturing cost. In addition, this control logic eliminates threshold effects that can lead to very short pulses and therefore to a system malfunction at times.
    [0012] Delay 1 synchronizes the correct power supply voltage of the RF amplifier according to the input data. Finally, the fact that the discrete supply voltage value is greater than or equal to the maximum value of the continuous envelope monitoring control signal over the entire corresponding time window makes it possible to ensure that the amplifier of RF power, avoiding over-compression of the RF power amplifier.
    [0013] According to a particular characteristic of the invention, the continuous envelope monitoring control signal is sampled at a predetermined sampling frequency, the time window being defined by a predefined number of samples of the continuous control signal of tracking. sampled envelope, the frequency of the time window being a frequency sub-multiple of the sampling frequency. Thus, the periodicity of the time window, which is defined by a predefined number of samples, makes it possible to limit the duration between two commutations in the DC-DC converter, the values of the different samples in a time window being compared in order to determine the maximum value of the samples in the time window. According to a particular characteristic of the invention, the number of voltage levels N is between 2 and 16. The choice of N mainly depends on the capacities of the DC-DC converter, the symbol rate to be transmitted and the modulation format. It should be noted that the larger N is, the more complicated and expensive the system is to manufacture. According to a particular characteristic of the invention, the phase difference between the clock of the time window and the sampling clock of the continuous envelope monitoring control signal is adjustable and is an integer of samples of the signal of continuous envelope tracking control. Thus, the position of the time window is adjustable with respect to the sampling frequency of the signal to be transmitted in order to optimize the generated control signal to avoid the risk of a change of control voltage at the decision time. This is reflected in practice by a phase shift between the sampling clock of the signal to be transmitted and the clock of the time window, said phase shift being defined by an integer number of samples. According to a particular characteristic of the invention, the digital processing device is implemented in a programmable digital circuit, preferably a processor, a microprocessor, a microcontroller, a digital signal processing device (DSP), an integrated circuit application specific (ASIC) or programmable gate array (FPGA). Thus, the digital processing device can easily be implanted in a current programmable digital circuit. According to a particular characteristic of the invention, the DC-DC converter is of the multi-input type of supply type Buck (voltage step) or Boost (voltage booster), or multiphase type. Thus, the DC-DC converter can generate a slow varying discrete-type control signal whose switching speed is not the predominant element, this converter having an excellent conversion efficiency. In the case of a multi-input type DC-DC converter, different supply voltages are connected to the multiple power inputs of the DC-DC converter, and one of the supply voltages is selected by power transistor switches at the output of the DC-DC converter, the DC-DC converter having as many power inputs as output levels to be applied.
    [0014] In the case of a DC-DC converter, one or two supply voltages are supplied to the DC-DC converter. For a Buck converter with two supply voltages, a low voltage and a high voltage limit the range of control voltages that the converter can provide for envelope tracking, thus minimizing switching losses, and significantly improving the efficiency of the converter. .
    [0015] In the case of a Boost type DC / DC converter, only one supply voltage is supplied to the DC / DC converter. This voltage is necessarily lower than the low envelope tracking voltage.
    [0016] In the case of a DC / DC converter of the multi-phase type, which may be of the Buck or Boost type, one or two supply voltages are supplied to the DC-DC converter and the architecture of said converter makes it possible to distribute the current to provide on multiple phases in parallel and thus minimize the switching frequency of the switching transistors. According to a particular characteristic of the invention, the digital-RF converter comprises a digital-analog converter associated with an RF mixer of the IQ modulator type, for example. Thus, the digital-RF converter can first convert the digital data from the digital processing device to analog data, via the digital-to-analog converter, and then mix the analog data with an RF signal, by the intermediate of the RF mixer.
    [0017] According to a particular characteristic of the invention, the system further comprises a low-pass filter disposed between the output of the DC-DC converter and the supply voltage input of the RF power amplifier. Thus, the low-pass filter makes it possible to perfectly control the transition characteristics of the discrete-type control signal from one discrete voltage level to another, and to reject as much as possible the residual commutation ripple. According to a particular characteristic of the invention, the digital processing device further comprises a pre-distortion logic which linearizes the gain of the RF power amplifier.
    [0018] Thus, the distortions of the RF amplifier subjected to a discrete level envelope tracking signal can be linearized by the pre-distortion logic. The present invention also relates to a method of calculating peak value and selection of supply voltage implemented by a system for monitoring the peak power of a telecommunication signal to be transmitted for an RF power amplification. said telecommunication signal to be transmitted as described above, characterized in that it comprises the following steps: - the time windowing of a continuous envelope tracking control signal; calculating a maximum value of the envelope tracking continuous control signal on each time window; the selection, on each time window and among the N discrete voltage values, of a discrete supply voltage value greater than or equal to the maximum value of the continuous envelope monitoring control signal over the entire window corresponding temporal and - controlling a DC-DC converter in order to impose at the output of the latter the discrete power supply voltage value selected on each time window. Thus, said method makes it possible to limit the switching speed constraints on the DC-DC converter of the envelope-tracking RF power amplification system. It should be noted that in the case where the time window is defined by a predefined number of samples of the sampled envelope tracking continuous control signal, the calculated maximum value then corresponds to the value of the sample having the value. maximum of all samples in the time window. The present invention also relates to an RF transmission antenna equipped with a system for monitoring the peak power of a telecommunication signal to be transmitted for an RF power amplification of said telecommunication signal to be transmitted according to the present invention or implementing a method of calculating peak value and supply voltage selection according to the invention. To better illustrate the object of the present invention will be described below, by way of illustration and not limited to, a preferred embodiment, with reference to the accompanying drawings. In these drawings: Fig. 1 is a block diagram of a peak power monitoring system for RF power amplification according to the present invention; Fig. 2 is a block diagram of a digital peak power monitoring system processing device for RF power amplification according to the present invention; Fig. 3 is a block diagram of a DC-DC converter of the peak power monitoring system for RF power amplification according to the present invention; Fig. 4 is a flow diagram of a peak value calculating method and supply voltage selection method implemented by the peak power tracking system for RF power amplification according to the present invention; Figure 5 illustrates exemplary curves of different envelope tracking control signals in the peak power tracking system for RF power amplification according to the present invention; and Figure 6 illustrates an exemplary curve of the performance of an RF power amplifier of the peak power monitoring system for RF power amplification according to the present invention as a function of the ratio of the frequency of the window. time over the bandwidth of the modulation.
    [0019] Referring to Figure 1, it can be seen that there is shown a peak power monitoring system for RF power amplification 1 according to the present invention.
    [0020] The peak power monitoring system for RF power amplification 1 comprises an RF power amplifier 2 having an RF input 2a, a supply voltage input 2b and an RF output 2c, a digital processing device 3, an RF power amplifier 2a digital-RF converter 4 and a DC-DC converter 5. The digital processing device 3 has an input 3a capable of receiving digital data I / Q representing a telecommunication signal to be transmitted by the RF channel via the RF amplifier 2, a first output 3b connected to an input of the digital-RF converter 4 and a second output 3c connected to an input of the DC-DC converter 5. The digital-RF converter 4 has an output connected to the RF input 2a of the amplifier 2. The DC-DC converter 5 has an output connected to the power supply voltage input 2b of the RF power amplifier 2, the output of the converter inu-continuous 5 can take a discrete voltage value among N discrete voltage values, N being an integer greater than or equal to 2, preferably between 2 and 16. The RF power amplifier 2 comprises 25 power elements semiconductor devices such as semiconductor power transistors (not shown in FIG. 1). The digital-RF converter 4 comprises a digital-to-analog converter associated with an RF mixer (not shown in FIG. 1), the digital-to-analog converter converting the digital data from the digital processing device 3 into analog data, and the mixer RF mixing said analog data with an RF signal. The digital processing device 3 and the DC-DC converter 5 will be described in more detail below. This system 1 thus makes it possible to apply a discrete level envelope tracking technique in order to improve the efficiency of the RF power amplifier 2, the power supply of the amplifier 2 being dynamic and depending on the amplitude of the amplifier. RF signal to be transmitted, the RF power amplifier 2 thus still operating in compression and therefore at its maximum output regardless of the power level of the RF signal envelope. The control signal of the RF power amplifier 2, at its supply voltage input 2b, can dynamically take one of the N possible discrete voltage values in order to follow the envelope of the RF signal to be transmitted. . Referring to Figure 2, it can be seen that there is shown the digital processing device 3 of the peak power monitoring system for RF power amplification 1 according to the present invention. The digital processing device 3 comprises, between its input 3a and its first output 3b a delay element 1 and between its input 3a and its second output 3c a processing chain 6. The processing chain 6 comprises a control logic of envelope tracking 7 capable of creating a continuous envelope tracking control signal from the digital data received at the input 3a of the digital processing device 3.
    [0021] The control logic 7 is configured to implement an envelope tracking control law. The control law is, for example, a non-linear function expressing itself in the form of a 3 to 7 polynomial. The control law is described below, in the case of an order 3 : Vcommand = A + B * Venv + C * Venv ^ 2 + D * Venv ^ 3 where A, B, C and D are the constants of the control law and Venv is the envelope voltage of the transmit signal, directly connected to the incoming power to the RF amplifier. The processing chain 6 further comprises a control logic 8 of the DC-DC converter 5 comprising a peak value calculating device 9 and a supply voltage selection device 10. The peak value calculating device 9 is able to temporally window the continuous envelope tracking control signal from the envelope tracking control logic 7, and to calculate the maximum value of the envelope tracking continuous control signal on each time window. . The supply voltage selection device 10 is adapted to control the DC-DC converter 5 in order to impose on the output of the latter an optimum discrete voltage value among the N discrete voltage values as a function of said maximum value. on the time window calculated by the peak value calculating device 9, said optimum discrete voltage value being applied for a minimum duration equal to the duration of the time window, said optimum applied discrete voltage value being greater than or equal to continuous envelope monitoring control signal over the entire corresponding time window so as not to overcompress the RF power amplifier 2.
    [0022] The delay element 1 is chosen such that the RF signal corresponding to digital data of the telecommunication signal to be transmitted at the RF input 2a of the RF power amplifier 2 is synchronized with the supply voltage of the following types. RF signal envelope for these same digital data at the supply voltage input 2b of the RF power amplifier 2. It should be noted that the digital processing device 3 could further include a logic of pre-distortion which linearizes the gain of the RF power amplifier 2, without departing from the scope of the present invention. It should be noted that the entire digital processing device 3 is implemented in a programmable digital circuit, preferably a processor, a microprocessor, a microcontroller, a DSP, an ASIC or an FPGA. The envelope tracking continuous control signal is sampled at a predetermined sampling frequency, the time window used by the peak value calculating device 9 being defined by a predefined number of samples of the continuous tracking control signal. sampled envelope, the frequency of the time window thus being a frequency sub-multiple of the sampling frequency. It should be noted that an adjustable phase shift can be realized between the clock of the time window and the sampling clock of the continuous envelope monitoring control signal, said phase difference being an integer number of samples of the signal of continuous sampled envelope tracking control. Thus, the adjustable position of the time window with respect to the sampling frequency of the signal to be transmitted makes it possible to optimize the generated control signal to avoid the risk of a change of control voltage at the decision time.
    [0023] Referring to Figure 3, it can be seen that there is shown the DC-DC converter 5 of the peak power monitoring system for RF power amplification 1 according to the present invention.
    [0024] The DC-DC converter 5 in this preferred embodiment is of the multi-input power supply type. It should be noted that the DC-DC converter 5 could also be of the Buck (voltage step-down) or Boost (voltage booster) type, or of the multi-phase type, without departing from the scope of the present invention. The DC-DC converter 5 of the multi-input supply type, the desired output of the power supply switch, comprises N different voltages V1 to VN, N corresponding to possible discrete-to-DC converter voltage values 5, and N power transistors 111 to 11N of the first and second terminals, the N switches 111 to 11N each having 30 first terminals respectively connected to the N supply voltages, and the second terminals of the N switches 111 to 11N being connected to a common node AT.
    [0025] The N switches 111 to 11N are dynamically controlled by the control processing device 3, so that only one of the N switches 111 to 11N is closed at a time in order to apply the associated power supply voltage. of the node A. Thus, the DC-DC converter 5 can generate a slow variation discrete-type control signal whose switching speed is not the predominant element, this DC-DC converter 5 having an excellent conversion efficiency . The DC-DC converter 5 further comprises a low-pass filter 12 arranged between the node A and the supply voltage input 2b of the RF power amplifier 2, the low-pass filter 12 making it possible to perfectly control the transition characteristics of the discrete-type control signal from one discrete voltage value to another and, if necessary, to reject as much as possible the residual commutation ripple. Although, for the sake of simplicity, a simple resonant circuit LC (inductor-capacitor) has been illustrated to represent the low-pass filter 12, the low-pass filter 12 could be a higher order higher order low-pass filter or equal to 2, without departing from the scope of the present invention.
    [0026] It should be noted that the DC-DC converter 5 may not have a low-pass filter 12 at its output, without departing from the scope of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 4, it can be seen that there is shown a method for calculating peak value and supply voltage selection implemented by the peak power tracking system for an RF power amplification 1 according to the present invention. The method for calculating peak value and supply voltage selection comprises the following steps: - the time windowing of the continuous envelope tracking control signal from the envelope tracking control logic 7, the time window being defined by a predefined number of samples of the sampled envelope tracking continuous control signal; the calculation of a maximum value of the continuous envelope monitoring control signal on each time window, said calculation comprising, on each time window, the following steps: the reception of the first sample of the time window, the maximum value being fixed at the value of the first sample; the reception S2 of the following sample; The determination S3 as to whether the time window is complete or not, and if so the transition to step S6, and if not the transition to step S4; The determination S4 of whether or not the value of the current sample is greater than the maximum value, and if this is not the case of returning to step S2, and if this is the case the updating S5 30 of the maximum value by the value of the current sample then returning to step S2; the selection S6, on each time window, of an optimum discrete voltage value among the N discrete voltage values as a function of said maximum value calculated over the time window, said optimum discrete voltage value being greater than or equal to the value envelope monitoring command signal over the entire corresponding time window; and - controlling the DC-DC converter 5 in order to impose on the output of the latter the optimal discrete voltage value selected on each time window. Referring to FIG. 5, it can be seen that there are shown as exemplary curves of different envelope tracking control signals in the peak power tracking system for amplification of the envelope. RF power 1 according to the present invention. The dash curve represents an exemplary envelope tracking control signal from the envelope tracking control logic 7, which curve is represented as a supply voltage over time in order to facilitate the understanding of the reader.
    [0027] The dashed line curve represents the control signal at the output of the peak value calculating device 9, said curve being represented as supply voltage over time in order to facilitate understanding of the reader.
    [0028] The dashed line represents the control signal at the output of the DC-DC converter 5 applied to the RF power amplifier 2, said curve being represented as supply voltage over time. In this example, the peak value calculation method and the supply voltage selection method is applied to the signal from the envelope tracking control logic 7 for a modulated 1 MHz bandwidth signal. The time window used has an equivalent frequency of 2 MHz, ie 500 ns. In addition, the DC-DC converter used has four possible discrete output voltage values, namely V1 = 16V, V2 = 24V, V3 = 32V, and V4 = 40V. The control signal at the output of the peak value calculator 9 corresponds to the peak power of the continuous envelope tracking control signal after windowing every 500 ns. The control signal applied to the RF power amplifier 2, noted V hereinafter, is created from the control signal at the output of the peak value calculation device 9, denoted X (n) below. according to the following algorithm: if X (n) V1, v - output - V1; if V1 <X (n) V2, v - output - V2; if V2 <X (n) V3, Vout = V3; and if V3 <X (n), Vsout = V4. Thus, the output is constantly greater than or equal to the continuous envelope tracking control signal to ensure proper operation of the RF power amplifier 2, the duration of application of a voltage level being at least equal to the time window of 500 ns. In addition, this example shows that the present invention makes it possible to minimize the switching frequency within the DC-DC converter 5, thus making it possible to obtain a high DC-DC converter efficiency 5 for wide modulation bands. Referring to Figure 6, it can be seen that there is shown as an example of the performance of an RF power amplifier 2 of the peak power monitoring system for power amplification. RF 1 according to the present invention as a function of the ratio of the frequency of the time window on the bandwidth of the modulation.
    [0029] In this example, a 16QAM type modulation is applied to an RF power amplifier 2. The measured efficiency for a DC supply voltage is compared to the yields obtained for different time window widths for the detection of the peak control voltage. The frequency of the time window varies from 0.5 times the bandwidth (or symbol rate) of the modulated signal to 10 times the bandwidth of the modulated signal. In addition, in this example, four discrete power supply voltage levels are used to control the RF power amplifier 2. The output of the amplifier for the intercept is the efficiency obtained with a voltage of fixed power supply, namely about 38%. The output of the amplifier obtained with a continuous envelope tracking signal is close to 60%. FIG. 6 shows that a time window of twice the bandwidth of the signal to be transmitted makes it possible, with four levels of supply voltage, to obtain an amplifier output close to the maximum efficiency while guaranteeing a converter efficiency. continuous-DC 5 much higher than DC-DC converters using continuous or multi-level envelope tracking techniques. In addition, the DC-DC converter 5 does not need to be as fast in terms of switching speed and is therefore much simpler to implement.
    [0030] The invention also relates to an RF transmit antenna equipped with the peak power monitoring system for an RF power amplification 1 according to the present invention or implementing a method for calculating peak value and selecting voltage from the supply according to the present invention. The present invention may for example find application in base stations for mobile telephony, in radars, in electronic warfare devices, in mobile telephones or in any other wireless telecommunication equipment.
    权利要求:
    Claims (9)
    [0001]
    CLAIMS 1 - System for monitoring the peak power of a telecommunication signal to be transmitted for an RF power amplification (1) of said telecommunication signal to be transmitted, comprising: an RF power amplifier (2) having an RF input (2a) ), a supply voltage input (2b) and an RF output (2c), - a digital processing device (3), - a digital-RF converter (4) and - a DC-DC converter (5) , the digital processing device (3) having an input (3a) adapted to receive the telecommunication signal to be transmitted as digital data, a first output (3b) connected to an input of the digital-RF converter (4) and a second output (3c) connected to an input of the DC-DC converter (5), the digital-RF converter (4) having an output connected to the RF input (2a) of the RF power amplifier (2), the DC-DC converter (5) having an output connected to the power supply voltage input (2b) of the RF power amplifier (2), the output of the DC-DC converter (5) being able to assume a discrete voltage value among N 25 discrete voltage values, N being a number an integer greater than or equal to 2, the digital processing device (3) comprising, between its input (3a) and its first output (3b) a delay element 1 and between its input (3a) and its second output (3c) a processing chain (6) comprising envelope tracking control logic (7) adapted to create a continuous envelope tracking control signal from the digital data received at the input (3a) of the device digital processing unit (3), characterized in that the processing chain (6) further comprises, downstream of the envelope tracking control logic (7), a control logic (8) of the DC-DC converter (5) comprising a peak value calculating device (9) and a device supply voltage selection circuit (10), the peak value calculating device (9) being able to temporally window the continuous envelope monitoring control signal and to calculate the maximum value of the continuous control signal of tracking envelope on each time window, and the supply voltage selection device (10) being adapted to control the DC-DC converter (5) to impose at the output of the latter, among the N values of discrete voltage, a discrete supply voltage value greater than or equal to the maximum value of the continuous envelope monitoring control signal over the entire corresponding time window, said discrete supply voltage value being applied for a period of time equal to the duration of the time window, the delay element 1 being chosen such that the RF signal corresponding to digital data of the telecommunication signal to the at the RF input (2a) of the RF power amplifier (2) is synchronized with the RF signal envelope tracking power supply for these same digital data at the input of the RF input amplifier (2). supply voltage (2b) of the RF power amplifier (2).
    [0002]
    2 - System (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the continuous envelope monitoring control signal is sampled at a predetermined sampling frequency, the time window being defined by a predefined number of samples of the signal. sampled envelope tracking control unit, the frequency of the time window being a sub-multiple frequency of the sampling frequency.
    [0003]
    3 - System (1) according to one of claims 1 and 2, characterized in that the number of voltage levels N is between 2 and 16.
    [0004]
    4 - System (1) according to one of claims 2 and 3, characterized in that the phase difference between the clock of the time window and the sampling clock of the continuous envelope tracking control signal is adjustable and is an integer number of samples of the envelope tracking continuous control signal.
    [0005]
    5 - System (1) according to one of claims 1 4, characterized in that the digital processing device (3) is implemented in a programmable digital circuit, preferably a processor, a microprocessor, a microcontroller, a digital signal processing device (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) or a programmable gate array (FPGA).
    [0006]
    6 - System (1) according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the DC-DC converter (5) is of the multi-input type of supply type Buck (voltage step) or Boost (voltage booster), or multi-phase type.
    [0007]
    7 - System (1) according to one of claims 1 6, characterized in that the digital-RF converter (4) comprises a digital-analog converter associated with an RF mixer.
    [0008]
    8 - System (1) according to one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the system (1) further comprises a low-pass filter (12) disposed between the output of the DC-DC converter (5) and the power supply input (2b) of the RF power amplifier (2).
    [0009]
    9 - System (1) according to one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the digital processing device (3) further comprises a pre-distortion logic which linearizes the gain of the RF power amplifier ( 2). - Method of calculating peak value and supply voltage selection implemented by a system for monitoring the peak power of a telecommunication signal to be transmitted for an RF power amplification (1) of said telecommunication signal Transmit according to one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that it comprises the following steps: time windowing of a continuous envelope monitoring control signal; computing (51-55) a maximum value of the envelope tracking continuous control signal over each time window; selecting (S6), on each time window and among the N discrete voltage values, a discrete supply voltage value greater than or equal to the maximum value of the continuous envelope tracking control signal over the entire the corresponding time window; and controlling a DC-DC converter (5) to impose at the output of the latter the discrete power supply voltage value selected on each time window. 11 - An RF emission antenna equipped with a system for monitoring the peak power of a telecommunication signal to be transmitted for an RF power amplification (1) of said telecommunication signal to be transmitted according to one of the claims 1 to 9 or a method of calculating peak value and supply voltage selection according to claim 10.
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    EP3245734A2|2017-11-22|
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    法律状态:
    2015-11-18| PLFP| Fee payment|Year of fee payment: 2 |
    2016-07-22| PLSC| Publication of the preliminary search report|Effective date: 20160722 |
    2016-11-25| PLFP| Fee payment|Year of fee payment: 3 |
    2017-06-16| TP| Transmission of property|Owner name: WUPATEC, FR Effective date: 20170511 |
    2017-11-29| PLFP| Fee payment|Year of fee payment: 4 |
    2020-01-23| PLFP| Fee payment|Year of fee payment: 6 |
    2020-12-23| PLFP| Fee payment|Year of fee payment: 7 |
    2022-01-25| PLFP| Fee payment|Year of fee payment: 8 |
    优先权:
    申请号 | 申请日 | 专利标题
    FR1550331A|FR3031851B1|2015-01-15|2015-01-15|CRETE POWER MONITORING SYSTEM FOR RF POWER AMPLIFICATION AND METHOD OF CALCULATING THE CRETE VALUE AND POWER SUPPLY VOLTAGE SELECTION|FR1550331A| FR3031851B1|2015-01-15|2015-01-15|CRETE POWER MONITORING SYSTEM FOR RF POWER AMPLIFICATION AND METHOD OF CALCULATING THE CRETE VALUE AND POWER SUPPLY VOLTAGE SELECTION|
    PCT/FR2016/050043| WO2016113493A2|2015-01-15|2016-01-11|System for monitoring the peak power for an rf power amplification and associated method of calculating peak value and of selecting supply voltage|
    US15/543,887| US10164575B2|2015-01-15|2016-01-11|System for monitoring the peak power for an RF power amplification and associated method of calculating peak value and of selecting supply voltage|
    EP16712943.6A| EP3245734A2|2015-01-15|2016-01-11|System for monitoring the peak power for an rf power amplification and associated method of calculating peak value and of selecting supply voltage|
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