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TPS9103
POWER SUPPLY FOR GaAs POWER AMPLIFIERS
SLVS131A – OCTOBER 1995 – REVISED JULY 1996
15
POST OFFICE BOX 655303
DALLAS, TEXAS 75265
APPLICATION INFORMATION
introduction
Traditionally the RF power amplifier (PA) is powered directly from the battery, with a switching arrangement for
powering down when not in use. GaAs FET PAs require a negative bias voltage that must be present before
the supply is connected, or there is risk of destroying the FET. Logic must be provided to ensure the presence
of the negative bias voltage.
A secondary charge pump is necessary for systems in which the supply voltage is insufficiently high – the
negative bias produced from the charge pump is inadequate. In mobile telephony a second charge pump
(regulated or unregulated) may also be needed, e.g. for varicap diodes/VCOs and some preamplifiers. The
need for larger dynamic range or control-voltage range can become critical in certain applications.
the TPS9103 approach
The TPS9103 integrates a P-channel MOSFET high-side switch together with a selectable oscillator and charge
pump for the GaAs FET power-amplifier gate bias, which is monitored.
Complete precautions are taken to ensure that the PA supply is not enabled unless the gate bias is present while
V
CC
and V
DD
are also good. This protects the PA from inadvertent damage–without a major system size/cost
increase.
The bias regulation monitor is flexible, accommodating both fixed and programmable approaches. The fixed
resistors, provided internally, set the trip voltage to –0.6 x V
DD
. If V
DD
is 5 V, then the trip voltage is –3 V. Should
another value be preferred, it can be set by applying voltage divider to PGP. See the section “dimensioning the
external voltage divider” for more details.
The charge pump clock is also flexible. The on-chip oscillator runs at a nominal 50 kHz, or alternatively an
external oscillator can be connected to CLK. When an external clock is used, OSC_EN should be taken high
to disable the oscillator. When OSC_EN is low and the on-chip oscillator is used, CLK provides an unbuffered
clock output.
The circuit provides for a secondary charge pump driver. The buffered BCLK output can be used (with four
external components) to provide a higher supply, both for those system functions that require it and for those
GaAs PAs that need a more negative bias than is made possible by inverting the existing supply. This is
facilitated by use of single-cell Li-ion batteries.
Figure 14 shows the TPS9103 in a typical application.