EP-4738700-A1 - POWER AMPLIFICATION SYSTEM, RADIO-FREQUENCY TRANSMISSION SYSTEM AND SIGNAL TRANSMISSION APPARATUS

EP4738700A1EP 4738700 A1EP4738700 A1EP 4738700A1EP-4738700-A1

Abstract

Embodiments of this application provide a power amplification system, a radio frequency transmission system, and a signal transmission apparatus. The power amplification system includes a hybrid coupler, a first amplifier, a second amplifier, a first impedance conversion line, and a second impedance conversion line. An output port of the first amplifier is coupled to the hybrid coupler via the first impedance conversion line. An output port of the second amplifier is coupled to the hybrid coupler via the second impedance conversion line. The first amplifier and the second amplifier are configured to output radio frequency signals. The hybrid coupler is configured to: perform impedance conversion with the first impedance conversion line and/or the second impedance conversion line; and output a combined radio frequency signal from a fourth port of the hybrid coupler. The combined radio frequency signal is obtained by combining the plurality of radio frequency signals. In embodiments of this application, the hybrid coupler is combined with a wavelength line serving as an impedance conversion line to implement impedance conversion and load pull, reducing area overheads caused by the wavelength line while reducing power consumption of the power amplification system.

Inventors

SUO, Hailei
ZENG, ZHIXIONG
CHEN, Conghong
CHEN, DONG

Assignees

Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260506
Application Date: 20240516

Claims (20)

A power amplification system, comprising a hybrid coupler, a first amplifier, a second amplifier, a first impedance conversion line, and a second impedance conversion line, wherein an output port of the first amplifier is coupled to the hybrid coupler via the first impedance conversion line, and an output port of the second amplifier is coupled to the hybrid coupler via the second impedance conversion line, wherein the first amplifier and the second amplifier are configured to output radio frequency signals; and the hybrid coupler is configured to: perform impedance conversion with the first impedance conversion line and/or the second impedance conversion line; and output a combined radio frequency signal from a fourth port of the hybrid coupler, wherein the combined radio frequency signal is obtained by combining the plurality of radio frequency signals.
The power amplification system according to claim 1, wherein the power amplification system further comprises a third amplifier; the output port of the first amplifier is coupled to a first port of the hybrid coupler via the first impedance conversion line; the output port of the second amplifier is coupled to a second port of the hybrid coupler via the second impedance conversion line; and an output port of the third amplifier is coupled to a third port of the hybrid coupler.
The power amplification system according to claim 1, wherein a third port of the hybrid coupler is grounded, and a minimum operating power of the first amplifier is less than a minimum operating power of the second amplifier.
The power amplification system according to claim 3, wherein the power amplification system further comprises a third amplifier; the output port of the first amplifier is coupled to a first port of the hybrid coupler via the first impedance conversion line; the output port of the second amplifier is coupled to a second port of the hybrid coupler via the second impedance conversion line; an output port of the third amplifier is coupled to the fourth port of the hybrid coupler; and the minimum operating power of the second amplifier is less than a minimum operating power of the third amplifier.
The power amplification system according to claim 3, wherein the power amplification system further comprises a third amplifier and a third impedance conversion line; the output port of the first amplifier is coupled to a first port of the hybrid coupler via the first impedance conversion line; the output port of the second amplifier is coupled to a second port of the hybrid coupler via the second impedance conversion line; an output port of the third amplifier is coupled to the fourth port of the hybrid coupler via the third impedance conversion line; and a minimum operating power of the third amplifier is less than the minimum operating power of the first amplifier.
The power amplification system according to claim 3, wherein the power amplification system further comprises a third amplifier, a third impedance conversion line, and a fourth impedance conversion line; the output port of the first amplifier is coupled to a first port of the hybrid coupler via the first impedance conversion line; the output port of the second amplifier is coupled to the first port of the hybrid coupler via the second impedance conversion line and the fourth impedance conversion line that are connected in series; an output port of the third amplifier is coupled to a second port of the hybrid coupler via the third impedance conversion line; and a minimum operating power of the third amplifier is less than the minimum operating power of the first amplifier.
The power amplification system according to claim 3, wherein the power amplification system further comprises a third amplifier; the output port of the first amplifier is coupled to a first port of the hybrid coupler via the first impedance conversion line; an output port of the third amplifier is coupled to the first port of the hybrid coupler; the output port of the second amplifier is coupled to a second port of the hybrid coupler via the second impedance conversion line; and a minimum operating power of the third amplifier is greater than the minimum operating power of the first amplifier and less than the minimum operating power of the second amplifier.
The power amplification system according to claim 3, wherein the power amplification system further comprises a third amplifier and a third impedance conversion line; the output port of the first amplifier is coupled to a first port of the hybrid coupler via the first impedance conversion line and the third impedance conversion line that are connected in series; an output port of the third amplifier is coupled to a first port of the third impedance conversion line, and is coupled to the first port of the hybrid coupler via a second port of the third impedance conversion line; the output port of the second amplifier is coupled to a second port of the hybrid coupler via the second impedance conversion line; and a minimum operating power of the third amplifier is greater than the minimum operating power of the first amplifier and less than the minimum operating power of the second amplifier.
The power amplification system according to claim 1, wherein a third port of the hybrid coupler is not used, and a minimum operating power of the first amplifier is less than a minimum operating power of the second amplifier.
The power amplification system according to claim 9, wherein the power amplification system further comprises a third amplifier and a third impedance conversion line; the output port of the first amplifier is coupled to a first port of the hybrid coupler via the first impedance conversion line; the output port of the second amplifier is coupled to a second port of the hybrid coupler via the second impedance conversion line; a first port of the third impedance conversion line is coupled to the fourth port of the hybrid coupler; an output port of the third amplifier is coupled to a second port of the third impedance conversion line; and the minimum operating power of the second amplifier is less than a minimum operating power of the third amplifier.
The power amplification system according to claim 9, wherein the power amplification system further comprises a third amplifier and a third impedance conversion line; the output port of the first amplifier is coupled to a first port of the hybrid coupler via the first impedance conversion line and the third impedance conversion line that are connected in series; the output port of the second amplifier is coupled to a second port of the hybrid coupler via the second impedance conversion line; an output port of the third amplifier is coupled to a first port of the third impedance conversion line, and is coupled to the first port of the hybrid coupler via a second port of the third impedance conversion line; and a minimum operating power of the third amplifier is greater than the minimum operating power of the first amplifier and less than the minimum operating power of the second amplifier.
The power amplification system according to claim 9, wherein the power amplification system further comprises a third amplifier, a third impedance conversion line, and a fourth impedance conversion line; the output port of the first amplifier is coupled to a first port of the hybrid coupler via the first impedance conversion line; the output port of the second amplifier is coupled to a second port of the hybrid coupler via the second impedance conversion line; a first port of the fourth impedance conversion line is coupled to the fourth port of the hybrid coupler; an output port of the third amplifier is coupled to a second port of the fourth impedance conversion line via the third impedance conversion line; and a minimum operating power of the third amplifier is less than the minimum operating power of the first amplifier.
The power amplification system according to claim 9, wherein the power amplification system further comprises a third amplifier and a third impedance conversion line; the output port of the first amplifier is coupled to a first port of the hybrid coupler via the first impedance conversion line; the output port of the second amplifier is coupled to the first port of the hybrid coupler via the second impedance conversion line and the third impedance conversion line that are connected in series; an output port of the third amplifier is coupled to a second port of the hybrid coupler; and the minimum operating power of the second amplifier is less than a minimum operating power of the third amplifier.
The power amplification system according to claim 9, wherein the power amplification system further comprises a third amplifier and a third impedance conversion line; the output port of the first amplifier is coupled to a first port of the hybrid coupler via the first impedance conversion line; the output port of the second amplifier is coupled to a second port of the hybrid coupler via the second impedance conversion line and the third impedance conversion line that are connected in series; an output port of the third amplifier is coupled to the fourth port of the hybrid coupler; and the minimum operating power of the second amplifier is less than a minimum operating power of the third amplifier.
The power amplification system according to claim 9, wherein the power amplification system further comprises a third amplifier, a third impedance conversion line, and a fourth impedance conversion line; the output port of the first amplifier is coupled to a first port of the hybrid coupler; the output port of the second amplifier is coupled to a second port of the hybrid coupler via the second impedance conversion line and the third impedance conversion line that are connected in series; an output port of the third amplifier is coupled to the fourth port of the hybrid coupler via the fourth impedance conversion line; and a minimum operating power of the third amplifier is less than the minimum operating power of the first amplifier.
The power amplification system according to claim 9, wherein the power amplification system further comprises a third amplifier, a third impedance conversion line, and a fourth impedance conversion line; the output port of the first amplifier is coupled to a first port of the hybrid coupler via the first impedance conversion line; the output port of the second amplifier is coupled to the first port of the hybrid coupler via the second impedance conversion line and the third impedance conversion line that are connected in series; an output port of the third amplifier is coupled to a second port of the hybrid coupler via the fourth impedance conversion line; and a minimum operating power of the third amplifier is less than the minimum operating power of the first amplifier.
The power amplification system according to claim 1, wherein a second port and a third port of the hybrid coupler are grounded, or a second port and a third port of the hybrid coupler are not used; the power amplification system further comprises a third impedance conversion line; a minimum operating power of the first amplifier is less than a minimum operating power of the second amplifier; the output port of the first amplifier is coupled to a first port of the hybrid coupler via the first impedance conversion line; and the output port of the second amplifier is coupled to the first port of the hybrid coupler via the second impedance conversion line and the third impedance conversion line that are connected in series.
The power amplification system according to claim 17, wherein the power amplification system further comprises a third amplifier; the fourth port of the hybrid coupler is coupled to an output port of the third amplifier; and the minimum operating power of the second amplifier is less than a minimum operating power of the third amplifier.
The power amplification system according to claim 17, wherein the power amplification system further comprises a third amplifier and a fourth impedance conversion line; an output port of the third amplifier is coupled to the fourth port of the hybrid coupler via the fourth impedance conversion line; and a minimum power of the third amplifier is less than the minimum operating power of the first amplifier.
The power amplification system according to any one of claims 1 to 19, wherein the hybrid coupler is a coupler based on a three-dimensional stacked structure.

Description

This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202310940369.X, filed with the China National Intellectual Property Administration on July 27, 2023 and entitled "POWER AMPLIFICATION SYSTEM, RADIO FREQUENCY TRANSMISSION SYSTEM, AND SIGNAL TRANSMISSION APPARATUS", which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD This application relates to the field of wireless communication technologies, and in particular, to a power amplification system, a radio frequency transmission system, and a signal transmission apparatus. BACKGROUND In application of wireless communication technologies, data information is carried in radio frequency signals by using modulation technologies, and the radio frequency signals are transmitted to enable wireless communication between a transmitter side and a receiver side. To ensure communication quality of wireless communication, before the radio frequency signals are transmitted, power amplification typically needs to be performed on the radio frequency signals, where the amplification requires a power amplifier. A constant supply power signal is fed to a power supply port of the power amplifier. After an input port of the power amplifier receives a corresponding radio frequency signal, the power amplifier converts, based on a signal power of an input first radio frequency signal, the supply power signal to output a second radio frequency signal. A signal power of the second radio frequency signal is in a gain amplification relationship with the signal power of the first radio frequency signal. The second radio frequency signal is transmitted as a power-amplified radio frequency signal. However, with development of wireless communication technologies, modulation technologies for radio frequency signals are increasingly complex. In this case, to ensure linearity of the second radio frequency signal, the power amplifier needs to have a specific power back-off amount. As the power back-off amount increases, conversion efficiency of the supply power signal decreases, raising quiescent power consumption of the power amplifier, and causing a huge waste of power. An improved approach is to use a power amplification system based on a Doherty (Doherty) structure to implement power amplification. The power amplification system includes a plurality of impedance conversion lines and at least two power amplifiers including one main power amplifier and one or more auxiliary power amplifiers. One or more power amplifiers implement power amplification based on the signal power of the input first radio frequency signal. When a plurality of power amplifiers operate, the main power amplifier and the auxiliary power amplifier implement load pull (load pull) via the plurality of impedance conversion lines, to obtain the second radio frequency signal by performing power combination on a plurality of radio frequency signals output by the plurality of power amplifiers. The power amplification system based on the Doherty structure can still have high conversion efficiency and a high power back-off amount when amplifying the first radio frequency signal whose signal power is in a low power operating range. In addition, the power amplification system can maintain low quiescent power consumption. However, the Doherty architecture requires a large quantity of wavelength lines for impedance conversion to combine radio frequency signals, which makes an area of the power amplification system larger. In addition, as a quantity of branches of the power amplifier increases, the quantity of wavelength lines also increases, increasing area overheads. SUMMARY Embodiments of this application provide a power amplification system, a radio frequency transmission system, and a signal transmission apparatus, to reduce a quantity of needed wavelength lines while implementing power combination for a plurality of branches. To achieve the foregoing objectives, the following technical solutions are used in embodiments of this application. According to a first aspect, a power amplification system is provided. The power amplification system includes a hybrid coupler, a first amplifier, a second amplifier, a first impedance conversion line, and a second impedance conversion line. An output port of the first amplifier is coupled to the hybrid coupler via the first impedance conversion line. An output port of the second amplifier is coupled to the hybrid coupler via the second impedance conversion line. The first amplifier and the second amplifier are configured to output radio frequency signals. The hybrid coupler is configured to: perform impedance conversion with the first impedance conversion line and/or the second impedance conversion line; and output a combined radio frequency signal from a fourth port of the hybrid coupler. The combined radio frequency signal is obtained by combining the plurality of radio frequency signals. A conventional Doherty architecture, namely, a two-branch Doherty