A Two-Point Modulation Technique for CMOS Power Amplifier in Polar Transmitter Architecture

A two-point modulation technique is presented that improves the performance of nonlinear power amplifiers (PAs) in polar transmitters. In this scheme, the output amplitude modulation is performed by controlling the current of the PA. The current control technique enables the PA to provide wideband amplitude modulation, as well as high power control dynamic range. In addition, the supply voltage of the PA is adjusted based on the output power level. The voltage supply adjustment substantially improves the effective power efficiency of the PA. The voltage supply control is performed using a second-order sigma-delta dc-dc converter, which presents an efficiency of over 95% in its operational range. The PA operates at 900 MHz with maximum output power of 27.8 dBm and power efficiency of 34% at maximum output power. The proposed PA achieves 62-dB power control dynamic range with amplitude modulation bandwidth of over 17.1 MHz. The circuits are fabricated in a CMOS 0.18 mum process with a 3.3-V power supply.