Abstract: An RF power amplifier circuit is disclosed. A driver amplifier stage includes a first set of a plurality of amplifier transistors in a cascode configuration, a driver amplifier stage input, and a driver amplifier stage output. A final amplifier stage includes a second set of a plurality of amplifier transistors in a cascode configuration, a final amplifier stage input connected to the driver amplifier stage output, a final amplifier stage output, and a power supply input. An envelope signal amplifier has an input connectible to an envelope signal source, and an output capacitively coupled to the power supply input. A power converter input is connected to the power supply input to provide supplemental power to the final amplifier stage based on an envelope signal from the envelope signal source that corresponds to an input RF signal.

Abstract: An amplitude calibration element comprises a linear driver configured to receive the output of a modulator, the modulator output comprising a voltage signal having an amplitude modulated (AM) portion, a differential detector configured to receive an output of the linear driver and develop a differential signal corresponding to the AM portion, and a differential comparator configured to receive the output of the differential detector and a differential reference signal, the differential comparator configured to develop a gain control signal to control the gain of the linear driver.

Abstract: A low power IF strip architecture suitable for Zero-IF (ZIF) or low-IF (LIF) radio receivers for filtering and amplifying a received signal. The apparatus includes a plurality of sequentially connected complex filter/amplifier stages. Each stage includes a complex filter having one or more poles and an automatic gain controlled amplifier (AGC). Each AGC may be feedback or feedforward with fixed minimum and maximum gains. Each stage further includes a control circuit that produces a gain control signal for controlling the amplifier gain within the fixed minimum and maximum gains as a function of a projected amplitude level. The received signal passes through multiple stages of filtering and controlled amplification to attenuate the interfering signal and amplify the desired signal. This is done at a restricted level in each stage such that the circuits in the stages operate at efficient power saving levels.

Abstract: Wireless communications devices must handle a wide range of useful signal levels and must also cope with large interfering signals of nearby frequencies. They often use transconductance amplifiers/filters as building blocks as such amplifier/filters exhibit good characteristics of both amplification and filtering. The transconductance cells described make use of feedbacks which involve no signal conversions. As the result, the cells have high linearity and yet can operate at low voltage.

Abstract: An improved balanced mixer is provided for use in radio communication devices. The improved balanced mixer comprises a known Gilbert type mixer, a transconductance amplifier, a signal splitter, and a dual feedback structure from the pre-amplifier output to the input ports, thereby providing better linearity, that is, better input third order intercept point (IIP3), and improved impedance matching, without increasing the circuit noise figure.