Programmable PA controller for GSM/GPRS quad-band applications

The programmable analog power amplifier (PA) control loop of a fully-integrated GSM/GPRS quad-band transceiver (Duvuvier et al., 2003) is presented. The control loop is based on a fully-integrated PA controller which meets all ETSI GSM/GPRS requirements. Both the gain and the bandwidth of the PA control loop are programmable as well as the stand-by voltage delivered to the PA. These features, together with a high driving capability (8.4mA @ 2.5V), make this solution capable to interface vast combinations of PAs, couplers and detectors. The proposed PA controller has been integrated in a BiCMOS SiGe 0.35μm process and measures 0.33mm₂. The current consumption from a single 2.8V power supply is 2.8mA without load and 7.2mA in the application (using Hitachi´s PF08109 PA).