QUALCOMM Incorporated
ENVELOPE TRACKING SYSTEM HAVING FAST TRANSITION TIME FOR A RADIO FREQUENCY (RF) AMPLIFIER

Abstract:

An envelope tracking system includes an envelope signal generator, a supply modulator coupled to the envelope signal generator, the supply modulator comprising a switching regulator path configured to provide an output voltage at an output node to a power amplifier when in an average power tracking (APT) mode, the switching regulator path configured to operate together with a linear path to provide the output voltage at the output node to the power amplifier when in an envelope tracking (ET) mode, a capacitor having a first and second terminal, the first terminal coupled to ground, a switch coupled between the output node and the second terminal of the capacitor, the switch being configured to selectively disconnect the capacitor from the output node, and a circuit coupled between the output node and the second terminal of the capacitor, the circuit comprising a bi-directional current-limiting switch, the circuit configured to charge or discharge the capacitor such that a voltage across the capacitor changes from a first voltage to a second voltage.