System and method for power amplifier control in a millimeter wave communication system

A method for power control, comprising:

• simultaneously providing input signal strength of each of a plurality of power amplifiers in a millimeter wave (mmW) phased array system;
• determining an average input signal strength of the plurality of power amplifiers based on the provided input signal strengths;
• determining a voltage headroom based on the determined average input signal strength;
• estimating a power backoff value based on the determined voltage headroom;
• and
• determining a gain control value to achieve the estimated power backoff value.

A device, comprising:

• means for simultaneously providing input signal strength of each of a plurality of power amplifiers in a millimeter wave (mmW) phased array system;
• means for determining an average input signal strength of the plurality of power amplifiers based on the provided input signal strengths;
• means for determining a voltage headroom based on the determined average input signal strength;
• means for estimating a power backoff value based on the determined voltage headroom;
• and
• means for determining a gain control value to achieve the estimated power backoff value.

A power control system for a millimeter wave (mmW) communication system, comprising:

• a plurality of transmission paths, each transmission path having a power amplifier, and an input power detector;
• an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) coupled to each input power detector, the ADC configured to generate a single digital value for a plurality of input voltage signals corresponding to an input voltage of each power amplifier within a symbol;
• a variable gain amplifier (VGA) coupled to the plurality of transmission paths;
• and
• a processor configured to cause a control signal to be applied to the variable gain amplifier (VGA) responsive to the single digital value.