Search

US-12620937-B2 - Amplifier capable of canceling leakage components

US12620937B2US 12620937 B2US12620937 B2US 12620937B2US-12620937-B2

Abstract

Disclosed is an amplifier that includes a first-first (1-1) transistor and a first-second (1-2) transistor to which differential input signals are applied to gate terminals, respectively; a second-first (2-1) transistor including: one end connected to the 1-1 transistor, a gate terminal configured to receive an operating signal, and the other end configured to output one of differential output signals; a second-second (2-2) transistor including: one end connected to the 1-2 transistor, a gate terminal configured to receive the operating signal, and the other end configured to output the other one of the differential output signals; and a switch connected to one end of the 1-1 transistor and one end of the 1-2 transistor. The switch is configured to turn on based on the 1-1 transistor, the 1-2 transistor, the 2-1 transistor, and the 2-2 transistor being turned off.

Inventors

  • Kyunghyun Yoon
  • Jeongyeol BAE
  • Jongsoo Lee
  • Sangmin Yoo

Assignees

  • SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.

Dates

Publication Date
20260505
Application Date
20230630
Priority Date
20221007

Claims (20)

  1. 1 . An amplifier comprising: a first-first (1-1) transistor and a first-second (1-2) transistor to which differential input signals are applied to gate terminals, respectively; a second-first (2-1) transistor comprising: one end connected to the 1-1 transistor, a gate terminal configured to receive an operating signal, and the other end configured to output one of differential output signals; a second-second (2-2) transistor comprising: one end connected to the 1-2 transistor, a gate terminal configured to receive the operating signal, and the other end configured to output the other one of the differential output signals; and a switch connected to one end of the 1-1 transistor and one end of the 1-2 transistor, and wherein the switch is configured to turn on based on the 1-1 transistor, the 1-2 transistor, the 2-1 transistor, and the 2-2 transistor being turned off.
  2. 2 . The amplifier of claim 1 , wherein, based on the switch being turned on, a short-circuit path is configured to be formed between the one end of the 1-1 transistor and the one end of the 1-2 transistor.
  3. 3 . The amplifier of claim 2 , wherein the differential input signals comprise a first input component applied to the gate terminal of the 1-1 transistor and a second input component applied to the gate terminal of the 1-2 transistor, and wherein, the first input component and the second input component are configured to cancel each other through the short-circuit path.
  4. 4 . The amplifier of claim 3 , wherein the first input component and the second input component comprise phases opposite to each other.
  5. 5 . The amplifier of claim 1 , wherein a size of the 2-1 transistor is greater than that of the 1-1 transistor, and wherein a size of the 2-2 transistor is greater than that of the 1-2 transistor.
  6. 6 . The amplifier of claim 1 , wherein the switch is a third transistor comprising a threshold voltage greater than that of each of the 1-1 transistor and the 1-2 transistor.
  7. 7 . The amplifier of claim 6 , wherein a control signal applied to a gate terminal of the third transistor is complementary to the operating signal.
  8. 8 . The amplifier of claim 1 , wherein the 1-1 transistor, the 1-2 transistor, the 2-1 transistor, and the 2-2 transistor are n-type metal-oxide-semiconductor (NMOS) transistors, respectively.
  9. 9 . The amplifier of claim 7 , wherein one end of the switch is connected to a drain terminal of the 1-1 transistor, and the other end of the switch is connected to a drain terminal of the 1-2 transistor.
  10. 10 . The amplifier of claim 7 , wherein the differential output signals are output from a drain terminal of the 2-1 transistor and a drain terminal of the 2-2 transistor, respectively, and wherein the differential output signals are not configured to contain a leakage component based on the switch being turned on.
  11. 11 . The amplifier of claim 1 , wherein the switch is configured to turn off, based on the 1-1 transistor, the 1-2 transistor, the 2-1 transistor, and the 2-2 transistor being turned on.
  12. 12 . A driver amplifier comprising: a plurality of unit amplifiers connected in parallel to each other through an input node and an output node, and configured to output differential output signals to the output node, and wherein at least one unit amplifier of the plurality of unit amplifiers comprises: a first-first (1-1) transistor and a first-second (1-2) transistor to which differential input signals are applied to gate terminals thereof through the input node, respectively; a second-first (2-1) transistor comprising: one end connected to the 1-1 transistor, a gate terminal configured to receive an operating signal, and the other end configured to output one of the differential output signals; a second-second (2-2) transistor comprising: one end connected to the 1-2 transistor, a gate terminal configured to receive the operating signal, and the other end configured to output the other one of the differential output signals; and a switch connected to one end of the 1-1 transistor and one end of the 1-2 transistor, and wherein the switch is configured to turn on based on the at least one unit amplifier being turned off.
  13. 13 . The driver amplifier of claim 12 , wherein, based on the switch being turned on, a short-circuit path is formed between the one end of the 1-1 transistor and the one end of the 1-2 transistor.
  14. 14 . The driver amplifier of claim 13 , wherein the differential input signals comprise a first input component applied to the gate terminal of the 1-1 transistor and a second input component applied to the gate terminal of the 1-2 transistor, and wherein, the first input component and the second input component cancel each other through the short-circuit path.
  15. 15 . The driver amplifier of claim 12 , wherein the 1-1 transistor, the 1-2 transistor, the 2-1 transistor, and the 2-2 transistor are n-type metal-oxide-semiconductor (NMOS) transistors, respectively, and wherein one end of the switch is connected to a drain terminal of the 1-1 transistor and the other end of the switch is connected to a drain terminal of the 1-2 transistor.
  16. 16 . The driver amplifier of claim 12 , wherein the differential output signals are configured not to contain a leakage component based on the switch being turned on.
  17. 17 . The driver amplifier of claim 16 , wherein, based on whether each of the plurality of unit amplifiers being turned on or off, the differential output signals are configured to have a dynamic range (DR), and wherein a minimum value of the DR decreases based on the leakage component being not contained in the differential output signals.
  18. 18 . An electronic device comprising: a processor; and a radio frequency (RF) chip configured to: generate an RF signal based on a baseband signal received from the processor, and adjust and output a gain of the RF signal through a driver amplifier comprising a plurality of unit amplifiers, and wherein at least one unit amplifier of the plurality of unit amplifiers comprises: a first-first (1-1) transistor and a first-second (1-2) transistor to which the RF signal is applied to respective gate terminals; a second-first (2-1) transistor comprising: one end connected to the 1-1 transistor, a gate terminal configured to receive an operating signal, and the other end configured to output one of differential output signals; a second-second (2-2) transistor comprising: one end connected to the 1-2 transistor, a gate terminal configured to receive the operating signal, and the other end configured to output the other one of the differential output signals; and a switch connected to one end of the 1-1 transistor and one end of the 1-2 transistor, and wherein the switch is configured to turn on based on the at least one unit amplifier being turned off.
  19. 19 . The electronic device of claim 18 , wherein, based on the switch being turned on, a short-circuit path is configured to be formed between the one end of the 1-1 transistor and the one end of the 1-2 transistor.
  20. 20 . The electronic device of claim 19 , wherein the RF signal comprises a first input component configured to be applied to the gate terminal of the 1-1 transistor and a second input component configured to be applied to the gate terminal of the 1-2 transistor, and wherein, the first input component and the second input component are configured to cancel each other through the short-circuit path.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is based on and claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2022-0128616 filed on Oct. 7, 2022, and Korean Patent Application No. 10-2022-0168966 filed on Dec. 6, 2022, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosures of which are incorporated by reference herein in their entireties. BACKGROUND 1. Field The disclosure relates to an amplifier capable of canceling leakage components. 2. Background of Related Art Transmitters secure high-performance Dynamic Range (DR) required by various standards by adjusting gains through components included in a transmission (Tx) chain. The baseband stage included in the Tx chain has restrictions that consider a signal size to ensure the DR, a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) to secure Error Vector Magnitude (EVM) performance, etc. Therefore, securing the DR through a gain adjustment of a radio frequency (RF) stage located after the baseband stage may be considered. For example, it may be possible to consider securing the DR by attenuating a transmission signal through a variable gain amplifier (VGA), but for that method, a separate path for removing the influence of a driver amplifier (DA) should be implemented. Such a separate path may cause problems such as an increase in area, generation of asymmetry of a channel due to a change in load impedance, etc. Considering the problems of securing the DR through the VGA, it may be considered to secure the DR by adjusting the gain of the DA. However, in the process of increasing the size of a transistor included in the DA to secure a gain, a problem may arise in securing the DR as leakage signals are generated. SUMMARY Provided are an amplifier capable of canceling leakage components and a method thereof. According to an aspect of the disclosure, an amplifier includes a first-first (1-1) transistor and a first-second (1-2) transistor to which differential input signals are applied to gate terminals, respectively; a second-first (2-1) transistor including: one end connected to the 1-1 transistor, a gate terminal configured to receive an operating signal, and the other end configured to output one of differential output signals; a second-second (2-2) transistor including: one end connected to the 1-2 transistor, a gate terminal configured to receive the operating signal, and the other end configured to output the other one of the differential output signals; and a switch connected to one end of the 1-1 transistor and one end of the 1-2 transistor. The switch is configured to turn on based on the 1-1 transistor, the 1-2 transistor, the 2-1 transistor, and the 2-2 transistor being turned off. According to another aspect of the disclosure, A driver amplifier includes: a plurality of unit amplifiers connected in parallel to each other through an input node and an output node and outputting differential output signals to the output node. At least one unit amplifier of the plurality of unit amplifiers includes: a 1-1 transistor and a 1-2 transistor to which differential input signals are applied to gate terminals through the input node, respectively; a 2-1 transistor including: one end connected to the 1-1 transistor, a gate terminal configured to receive an operating signal, and the other end configured to output one of differential output signals; a 2-2 transistor including: one end connected to the 1-2 transistor, the gate terminal configured to receive the operating signal, and the other end configured to output the other one of the differential output signals; and a switch connected to one end of the 1-1 transistor and one end of the 1-2 transistor. The switch is configured to turn on based on the at least one unit amplifier being turned off. According to another aspect of the disclosure, an electronic device includes: a processor; and a Radio Frequency (RF) chip configured to: generate an RF signal based on a baseband signal received from the processor, and adjust and output a gain of the RF signal through a driver amplifier comprising a plurality of unit amplifiers. At least one unit amplifier of the plurality of unit amplifiers includes: a 1-1 transistor and a 1-2 transistor to which differential input signals are applied to gate terminals through the input node, respectively; a 2-1 transistor including: one end connected to the 1-1 transistor, a gate terminal configured to receive an operating signal, and the other end configured to output one of differential output signals; a 2-2 transistor including: one end connected to the 1-2 transistor, a gate terminal configured to receive the operating signal, and the other end configured to output the other one of the differential output signals; and a switch connected to one end of the 1-1 transistor and one end of the 1-2 transistor. The switch is configured to turn on based on the at least one unit amplifier being turned off. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS A detailed description of each dr