Related Applications

[0001] This application claims the benefit of provisional patent application serial number 63/128,882, filed December 22, 2020, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Field of the Disclosure

[0002] The technology of the disclosure relates generally to a power management apparatus.

Background

[0003] Fifth generation (5G) new radio (NR) (5G-NR) has been widely regarded as the next generation of wireless communication technology beyond the current third generation (3G) and fourth generation (4G) technologies. In this regard, a wireless communication device capable of supporting the 5G-NR wireless communication technology is expected to achieve higher data rates, improved coverage range, enhanced signaling efficiency, and reduced latency across a wide range of licensed radio frequency (RF) spectrum, which can include low-band spectrum (below 1 GHz), mid-band spectrum (1 GHz to 6 GHz), and high-band spectrum (above s24 GHz).

[0004] In addition, the wireless communication device is also required to support local area networking technologies, such as Wi-Fi, in unlicensed 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz spectrums. Further, it may be necessary for the wireless communication device to support both licensed and unlicensed spectrums concurrently to enable communications based on, for example, licensed-assisted access (LAA) scheme. As such, it is desirable to ensure the wireless communication device can operate with flexible multi-band radio frequency (RF) front-end configurations to help reduce complexity and footprint.

[0005] Embodiments of the disclosure relate to a power management apparatus operatable with multiple configurations. In embodiments disclosed herein, the power management apparatus can be configured to concurrently generate multiple modulated voltages based on a configuration including a single power management integrated circuit (PMIC) or a configuration including a PMIC and a distributed PMIC. Regardless of the configuration, the power management apparatus employs a single switcher circuit, wherein multiple reference voltage circuits are configured to share a multi-level charge pump (MCP). As a result, it is possible to reduce footprint of the power management apparatus while improving isolation between the multiple modulated voltages.

[0006] In one aspect, a power management apparatus is provided. The power management apparatus includes a first voltage circuit configured to generate a first modulated voltage based on a first target voltage and a first reference voltage. The power management apparatus also includes a second voltage circuit configured to generate a second modulated voltage based on a second target voltage and a second reference voltage. The power management apparatus also includes a switcher circuit. The switcher circuit includes an MCP configured to generate a low-frequency voltage as a function of a battery voltage. The switcher circuit also includes a first reference voltage circuit coupled between the MCP and the first voltage circuit and configured to generate the first reference voltage based on the low-frequency voltage. The switcher circuit also includes a second reference voltage circuit coupled between the MCP and the second reference voltage circuit and configured to generate the second reference voltage based on the low-frequency voltage. The power management apparatus also includes a control circuit. The control circuit is configured to cause the MCP to generate the low-frequency voltage based on a selected one of the first target voltage and the second target voltage.

[0007] In another aspect, a PMIC is provided. The PMIC includes a switcher circuit. The switcher circuit includes an MCP configured to generate a low- frequency voltage as a function of a battery voltage. The switcher circuit also includes a first reference voltage circuit coupled between the MCP and a first voltage circuit configured to generate a first modulated voltage based on a first target voltage and a first reference voltage, the first reference voltage circuit configured to generate the first reference voltage based on the low-frequency voltage. The switcher circuit also includes a second reference voltage circuit coupled between the MCP and a second voltage configured to generate a second modulated voltage based on a second target voltage and a second reference voltage, the second reference voltage circuit configured to generate the second reference voltage based on the low-frequency voltage. The PMIC also includes a control circuit. The control circuit is configured to cause the MCP to generate the low-frequency voltage based on a selected one of the first target voltage and the second target voltage.

[0008] Those skilled in the art will appreciate the scope of the present disclosure and realize additional aspects thereof after reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments in association with the accompanying drawing figures.

Brief Description of the Drawing Figures

[0009] The accompanying drawing figures incorporated in and forming a part of this specification illustrate several aspects of the disclosure, and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the disclosure.

[0010] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary power management apparatus configured according to an embodiment of the present disclosure to include a power management integrated circuit (PMIC); and

[0011] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary power management apparatus configured according to another embodiment of the present disclosure to include a PMIC and a distributed PMIC separated from the PMIC.

Detailed Description

[0012] The embodiments set forth below represent the necessary information to enable those skilled in the art to practice the embodiments and illustrate the best mode of practicing the embodiments. Upon reading the following description in light of the accompanying drawing figures, those skilled in the art will understand the concepts of the disclosure and will recognize applications of these concepts not particularly addressed herein. It should be understood that these concepts and applications fall within the scope of the disclosure and the accompanying claims.

[0013] It will be understood that, although the terms first, second, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another. For example, a first element could be termed a second element, and, similarly, a second element could be termed a first element, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. As used herein, the term "and/or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. [0014] It will be understood that when an element such as a layer, region, or substrate is referred to as being "on" or extending "onto" another element, it can be directly on or extend directly onto the other element or intervening elements may also be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being "directly on" or extending "directly onto" another element, there are no intervening elements present. Likewise, it will be understood that when an element such as a layer, region, or substrate is referred to as being "over" or extending "over" another element, it can be directly over or extend directly over the other element or intervening elements may also be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being "directly over" or extending "directly over" another element, there are no intervening elements present. It will also be understood that when an element is referred to as being "connected" or "coupled" to another element, it can be directly connected or coupled to the other element or intervening elements may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being "directly connected" or "directly coupled" to another element, there are no intervening elements present.

[0015] Relative terms such as "below" or "above" or "upper" or "lower" or "horizontal" or "vertical" may be used herein to describe a relationship of one element, layer, or region to another element, layer, or region as illustrated in the Figures. It will be understood that these terms and those discussed above are intended to encompass different orientations of the device in addition to the orientation depicted in the Figures.

[0016] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the disclosure. As used herein, the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms "comprises," "comprising," "includes," and/or "including" when used herein specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.

[0017] Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs. It will be further understood that terms used herein should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of this specification and the relevant art and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.

[0018] Embodiments of the disclosure relate to a power management apparatus operable with multiple configurations. In embodiments disclosed herein, the power management apparatus can be configured to concurrently generate multiple modulated voltages based on a configuration including a single power management integrated circuit (PMIC) or a configuration including a PMIC and a distributed PMIC. Regardless of the configuration, the power management apparatus employs a single switcher circuit, wherein multiple reference voltage circuits are configured to share a multi-level charge pump (MCP). As a result, it is possible to reduce footprint of the power management apparatus while improving isolation between the multiple modulated voltages. [0019] In this regard, Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary power management apparatus 10 configured according to an embodiment of the present disclosure to include a PMIC 12. The PMIC 12 is configured to include a first voltage circuit 14A and a second voltage circuit 14B. The first voltage circuit 14A is configured to generate a first modulated voltage VCCA based on a first target voltage VTGTA and a first reference voltage VREFA. The second voltage circuit 14B is configured to generate a second modulated voltage VCCB based on a second target voltage VTGTB and a second reference voltage V EFB. Notably, the first modulated voltage VCCA and the second modulated voltage VCCB can be envelope tracking (ET) voltages or average power tracking (APT) voltages.

[0020] The PMIC 12 also includes a switcher circuit 16, which is shared by the first voltage circuit 14A and the second voltage circuit 14B. The switcher circuit 16 includes a multi-level charge pump (MCP) 18. The MCP 18 is configured to generate a low-frequency voltage VDC (e.g., a direct-current (DC) voltage) at a coupling node LX, as a function of a battery voltage VBAT. In a non-limiting example, the MCP 18 can be a buck-boost DC-DC converter that can operate in a buck mode to generate the low-frequency voltage VDC at 0 volt (V) or at VBAT or operate in a boost mode to generate the low-frequency voltage VDC at 2VBAT.

[0021] The switcher circuit 16 also includes a first reference voltage circuit 20A and a second reference voltage circuit 20B. In contrast to a conventional configuration wherein an MCP only supports a single reference voltage circuit, the first reference voltage circuit 20A and the second reference voltage circuit 20B are both coupled to the coupling node LX to share the MCP 18. By sharing the MCP 18 between the first reference voltage circuit 20A and the second reference voltage circuit 20B, it is possible to reduce footprint of the power management apparatus 10 while improving isolation between the first modulated voltage VCCA and the second modulated voltage VCCB.

[0022] Specifically, the first reference voltage circuit 20A is coupled between the coupling node LX and the first voltage circuit 14A, and the second reference voltage circuit 20B is coupled between the coupling node LX and the second voltage circuit 14B. The first voltage circuit 14A and the second voltage circuit 14B are each configured to generate a respective one of the first reference voltage VREFA and the second reference voltage V EFB based on the low- frequency voltage VDC.

[0023] The PMIC 12 can further include a control circuit 22, which can be a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) or an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), as an example. As discussed in detail below, the control circuit 22 is configured to determine an appropriate duty cycle based on a selected one of the first target voltage VTGTA and the second target voltage VTGTB to thereby cause the MCP 18 to generate the low-frequency voltage VDC at a desirable level.

[0024] Each of the first reference voltage circuit 20A and the second reference voltage circuit 20B may be an inductor-capacitor (LC) circuit. Specifically, the first reference voltage circuit 20A includes a first inductor LA and a first capacitor CA and the second reference voltage circuit 20B includes a second inductor LB and a second capacitor CB. In this regard, the first reference voltage circuit 20A and the second reference voltage circuit 20B can each resonate at a respective resonance frequency to generate a respective one of the first reference voltage VREFA and the second reference voltage VREFB as an average of the low-frequency voltage VDC. For example, if the battery voltage VBAT is 5 V and the MCP 18 is configured to toggle between 0 V, VBAT (5 V), and 2VBAT (10 V) based on a 30-30-40 duty cycle, then the average of the low- frequency voltage VDC will equal 5.5 V (0 V * 30% + 5 V * 30% + 10 V * 40%).

[0025] In a non-limiting example, the first inductor LA and the second inductor LB can be configured to have identical inductance, and the first capacitor CA and the second capacitor CB can be configured to have identical capacitance. As a result, the first reference voltage circuit 20A and the second reference voltage circuit 20B will resonate at an identical resonance frequency to thereby cause the first reference voltage VREFA to be substantially equal to the second reference voltage VREFB (e.g., VREFA = VREFB ± 0.1 V). It should be appreciated that it is also possible to configure the first reference voltage circuit 20A and the second reference voltage circuit 20B to resonate at different resonance frequencies to thereby cause the first reference voltage VREFA to be different from the second reference voltage V EFB.

[0026] The first voltage circuit 14A can be configured to include a first voltage amplifier VAA, a first offset capacitor COFFA, and a first hybrid circuit 24A. The first voltage amplifier VAA is configured to generate a first initial modulated voltage VAMPA based on the first target voltage VTGTA. The first offset capacitor COFFA is configured to raise the first initial modulated voltage VAMPA by a first offset voltage VOFFA to generate the first modulated voltage VCCA (VCCA = VAMPA + VOFFA). The first hybrid circuit 24A is configured to modulate the first offset voltage VOFFA based on the first reference voltage VREFA. The first voltage circuit 14A may also include a first feedback circuit 26A (denoted as “FB”) to thereby make the first voltage circuit 14A a closed-loop voltage circuit.

[0027] Similarly, the second voltage circuit 14B can be configured to include a second voltage amplifier VAB, a second offset capacitor COFFB, and a second hybrid circuit 24B. The second voltage amplifier VAB is configured to generate a second initial modulated voltage VAMPB based on the second target voltage VTGTB. The second offset capacitor COFFB is configured to raise the second initial modulated voltage VAMPB by a second offset voltage VOFFB to generate the second modulated voltage VCCB (VCCB = VAMPB + VOFFB). The second hybrid circuit 24B is configured to modulate the second offset voltage VOFFB based on the second reference voltage VREFB. The second voltage circuit 14B may also include a second feedback circuit 26B (denoted as “FB”) to thereby make the second voltage circuit 14B a closed-loop voltage circuit.

[0028] In an embodiment, the first hybrid circuit 24A and the second hybrid circuit 24B can each be configured to operate in a switch mode or a low dropout (LDO) mode. When operating in the switch mode, each of the first hybrid circuit 24A and the second hybrid circuit 24B can cause a respective one of the first offset voltage VOFFA and the second offset voltage VOFFB to be equal to a respective one of the first reference voltage VREFA and the second reference voltage VREFB. In contrast, when operating in the LDO mode, each of the first hybrid circuit 24A and the second hybrid circuit 24B can cause a respective one of the first offset voltage VOFFA and the second offset voltage VOFFB to be lower than a respective one of the first reference voltage VREFA and the second reference voltage VREFB.

[0029] As mentioned earlier, the control circuit 22 may determine an appropriate duty cycle based on a selected one of the first target voltage VTGTA and the second target voltage VTGTB to thereby cause the MCP 18 to generate the low-frequency voltage VDC at a desirable level. In an embodiment, the control circuit 22 can determine the selected one of the first target voltage VTGTA and the second target voltage VTGTB as any one of the first target voltage VTGTA and the second target voltage VTGTB having a higher root-mean-square (RMS) level.

[0030] In one non-limiting example, the control circuit 22 determines that the first target voltage VTGTA has the higher RMS level than the second target voltage VTGTB. AS such, the control circuit 22 can determine the duty cycle based on the first target voltage VTGTA to thereby cause the MCP 18 to generate the low- frequency voltage VDC based on the first target voltage VTGTA. Accordingly, the control circuit 22 can cause the first hybrid circuit 24A to operate in the switch mode and cause the second hybrid circuit 24B to operate in the LDO mode.

[0031] In another non-limiting example, the control circuit 22 determines that the second target voltage VTGTB has the higher RMS level than the first target voltage VTGTA. AS such, the control circuit 22 can determine the duty cycle based on the second target voltage VTGTB to thereby cause the MCP 18 to generate the low-frequency voltage VDC based on the second target voltage VTGTB.

Accordingly, the control circuit 22 can cause the second hybrid circuit 24B to operate in the switch mode and cause the first hybrid circuit 24A to operate in the LDO mode.

[0032] In another non-limiting example, the control circuit 22 determines that the second target voltage VTGTB has an equal RMS level as the first target voltage VTGTA. AS such, the control circuit 22 can determine the duty cycle based on any of the first target voltage VTGTA and the second target voltage VTGTB to thereby cause the MCP 18 to generate the low-frequency voltage VDC based on either the first target voltage VTGTA or the second target voltage VTGTB. Accordingly, the control circuit 22 can cause the second hybrid circuit 24B and the first hybrid circuit 24A to both operate in the switch mode.

[0033] The first voltage circuit 14A may provide the first modulated voltage VCCA to a first power amplifier circuit 28A (denoted as “PA”) for amplifying a first radio frequency (RF) signal 30A. The second voltage circuit 14B may provide the second modulated voltage VCCB to a second power amplifier circuit 28B (denoted as “PA”) for amplifying a second RF signal 30B. In a non-limiting example, the first RF signal 30A may be amplified for transmission in a licensed band and the second RF signal 30B may be amplified for transmission in an unlicensed band. In this regard, the power management apparatus 10 can be configured to enable communications based on, for example, a licensed-assisted access (LAA) scheme. In another non-limiting example, the first RF signal 30A and the second RF signal 30B may be amplified for simultaneous transmission in a licensed band(s) to enable communications based on, for example, a dualconnectivity (DC) scheme. In another non-limiting example, the first RF signal 30A and the second RF signal 30B may be amplified for simultaneous transmission in an unlicensed band(s) to enable communications based on, for example, a Wi-Fi multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) scheme.

[0034] In an embodiment, the first voltage circuit 14A and the second voltage circuit 14B are each coupled to a respective one of the first power amplifier circuit 28A and the second power amplifier circuit 28B via a respective one of a first conductive line 32A and a second conductive line 32B. Notably, the first conductive line 32A and the second conductive line 32B can each introduce respective trace inductance that can distort a respective one of the first modulated voltage VCCA and the second modulated voltage VCCB to potentially cause amplitude clipping at a respective one of the first power amplifier circuit 28A and the second power amplifier circuit 28B.

[0035] In this regard, the PMIC 12 may be configured to include a first voltage equalizer 34A and a second voltage equalizer 34B (both denoted as “VRF”). The first voltage equalizer 34A and/or the second voltage equalizer 34B can be configured to equalize the first target voltage VTGTA and/or the second target voltage VTGTB to help offset the trace inductance caused by the first conductive line 32A and/or the second conductive line 32B. Notably, the trace inductance caused by the first conductive line 32A and/or the second conductive line 32B can correspond to a transfer function having a second-order complex pole term. In this regard, to offset the trace inductance caused by the first conductive line 32A and/or the second conductive line 32B, the first voltage equalizer 34A and/or the second voltage equalizer 34B can be configured to equalize the first target voltage VTGTA and/or the second target voltage VTGTB based on a transfer function with a second-order complex-zero term. For an example of the first voltage equalizer 34A and the second voltage equalizer 34B, please refer to U.S. Patent Application Number 17/412,823, entitled “EQUALIZER CIRCUIT AND RELATED POWER MANAGEMENT CIRCUIT.”

[0036] Alternative to configuring the power management apparatus 10 to provide the first modulated voltage VCCA and the second modulated voltage VCCB based exclusively on the PMIC 12, it is also possible to provide the first modulated voltage VCCA and the second modulated voltage VCCB based on more than the PMIC 12. In this regard, Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary power management apparatus 36 configured according to another embodiment of the present disclosure to include a PMIC 38 and a distributed PMIC (DPMIC) 40 separated from the PMIC 38. Common elements between Figures 1 and 2 are shown therein with common element numbers and will not be re-described herein.

[0037] In contrast to the PMIC 12 in Figure 1 , the second voltage circuit 14B is instead provided in the DPMIC 40 that is physically separated from the PMIC 38 (e.g., in different dies). Such configuration can provide an increased flexibility as to where the first power amplifier circuit 28A and the second power amplifier circuit 28B can be provided in a wireless communication device (e.g., smart phone). For example, the first power amplifier circuit 28A can be disposed close to an antenna(s) mounted on a top side of the wireless communication device, while the second power amplifier circuit 28B can be so disposed close to an antenna(s) mounted on a bottom side of the wireless communication device. [0038] Those skilled in the art will recognize improvements and modifications to the preferred embodiments of the present disclosure. All such improvements and modifications are considered within the scope of the concepts disclosed herein and the claims that follow.