Ruggedness protection circuit
AssigneepSemi Corporation
InventorsParvez Daruwalla, David Kovac
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Various methods and circuital arrangements for protection of an RF amplifier are presented. According to one aspect, the RF amplifier is part of switchable RF paths that may include at least one path with one or more attenuators or switches that can be used during normal operation to define different modes of operation of the at least one path. An RF level detector monitors a level of an RF signal during operation of any one of the switchable RF paths and may control the attenuators or switches to provide an attenuation of the RF signal according to a desired level of protection at an input and/or output of the RF amplifier. According to another aspect, the RF level detector may control a switch to force the RF signal through a different switchable RF path.
Claims28
A circuital arrangement comprising:
- a plurality of switchable RF paths configured to selectively couple a plurality of RF signals to an input of an RF amplifier, each switchable RF path comprising a respective coupling switch that is configured to selectively couple an RF signal of the plurality of RF signals at a first terminal of said switch to the input of the RF amplifier that is coupled to a second terminal of said switch;
- and
- an RF protection circuit configured to protect the input of the RF amplifier from a voltage higher than a reference trip voltage, the RF protection circuit comprising an RF level detector circuit that is coupled to the first terminal of the respective coupling switch of the plurality of switchable RF paths,
- wherein
- the RF level detector circuit is configured to detect a voltage level of the RF signal through a selected path of the plurality of switchable RF paths at the first terminal of the respective coupling switch, and
- if a corresponding detected voltage level is above the reference trip voltage, the RF level detector circuit is configured to generate a control signal to switch a state of the respective coupling switch from an ON state to an OFF state.
A method for protecting an amplifier from higher voltage, the method comprising:
- providing a plurality of switchable RF paths for processing an RF signal through one amplifier according to different modes of operation, each switchable RF path comprising a respective coupling switch that is configured to selectively couple an RF signal at a first terminal of said switch to an input of the RF amplifier that is coupled to a second terminal of said switch;
- selecting a mode of operation;
- based on the selecting, selecting a path of the plurality of switchable RF path for processing of the RF signal, the selecting comprising controlling a respective coupling switch of a selected path for operation in an ON state;
- based on the selecting, coupling the RF signal at the first terminal of the respective coupling switch to the input of the amplifier;
- detecting a voltage level of the RF signal at the first terminal of the respective coupling switch;
- and
- based on the detecting, if a detected voltage level is above a reference trip voltage, then controlling the respective coupling switch of the selected path for operation in an OFF state, thereby providing a level of isolation of the input of the RF amplifier from the RF signal to protect the RF amplifier.
A circuital arrangement comprising:
- a plurality of switchable RF paths comprising an RF amplifier, each switchable RF path comprising a respective coupling switch that is configured to selectively couple an RF signal to an input of the RF amplifier;
- and
- an RF level detector circuit that is coupled to the plurality of switchable RF paths,
- wherein
- the RF level detector circuit is configured to detect a voltage level of the RF signal through a selected path of the plurality of switchable RF paths, the RF signal coupled to the input of the RF amplifier via the respective coupling switch,
- if a corresponding detected voltage level is above a reference trip voltage, the RF level detector circuit is configured to generate a control signal to switch a state of the respective coupling switch from an ON state to an OFF state, and
- the RF level detector circuit comprises at least one RF detector circuit coupled to at least one comparator circuit configured to generate the detected voltage level and compare the detected voltage level to the reference trip voltage.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.