阅读说明：本技术 使用开关调节器将电压选择性地供应到多个放大器的方法和装置 (Method and apparatus for selectively supplying voltage to a plurality of amplifiers using a switching regulator ) 是由 金柱承 梁东一 李暎玟 于 2019-10-28 设计创作，主要内容包括：各种实施例公开了一种方法和装置,所述装置包括：天线；开关调节器；通信芯片,所述通信芯片包括放大器和可操作地连接到所述放大器和所述开关调节器的线性调节器,所述通信芯片被配置为通过所述天线从所述电子装置发送射频信号；以及控制电路,所述控制电路被配置为控制所述通信芯片,使得所述线性调节器向所述放大器提供与输入到所述放大器的输入信号的包络相对应的电压,所述输入信号与所述射频信号相对应。(Various embodiments disclose a method and apparatus, the apparatus comprising: an antenna; a switching regulator; a communication chip including an amplifier and a linear regulator operatively connected to the amplifier and the switching regulator, the communication chip configured to transmit a radio frequency signal from the electronic device through the antenna; and a control circuit configured to control the communication chip such that the linear regulator supplies the amplifier with a voltage corresponding to an envelope of an input signal input to the amplifier, the input signal corresponding to the radio frequency signal.)

1. An electronic device, comprising:

an antenna;

a switching regulator;

a communication chip including an amplifier and a linear regulator operatively connected to the amplifier and the switching regulator, the communication chip configured to transmit a radio frequency signal from the electronic device through the antenna; and

a control circuit configured to control the communication chip such that the linear regulator provides the amplifier with a voltage corresponding to an envelope of an input signal input to the amplifier, the input signal corresponding to the radio frequency signal.

2. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the control circuit comprises an envelope tracking digital-to-analog converter (ETDAC), or an ET DAC is included in the communication chip.

3. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the switching regulator is a first switching regulator, the communication chip is a first communication chip, the amplifier is a first amplifier, and the linear regulator is a first regulator, wherein the electronic device further comprises:

an envelope tracking ET modulator comprising a second switching regulator and a second linear regulator; and

a second communication chip operatively connected to the ET modulator and including a second amplifier.

4. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the communication chip is a first communication chip, the amplifier is a first amplifier, and the linear regulator is a first linear regulator, wherein the electronic device further comprises: a second communication chip including a second amplifier and a second linear regulator, and the switching regulator being operatively connected to the second communication chip.

5. The electronic device according to claim 4, wherein the first communication chip is arranged closer to a lower end of the electronic device than an upper end of the electronic device, the second communication chip is arranged closer to the upper end of the electronic device than the lower end of the electronic device, and the switching regulator is arranged such that an electrical path between the switching regulator and the second communication chip is longer than an electrical path between the switching regulator and the first communication chip.

6. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the amplifier is a first amplifier, wherein the communication chip further comprises a second amplifier.

7. The electronic device of claim 6, wherein the second amplifier is configured to amplify a radio frequency signal received by the electronic device.

8. The electronic device of claim 6, wherein the first amplifier is a power amplifier and the second amplifier is a low noise amplifier.

9. The electronic device defined in claim 1 wherein the control circuitry comprises an envelope tracking digital-to-analog converter (ETDAC) that is configured to adjust the envelope to track the radio-frequency signals that are to be transmitted through the antenna.

10. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the switching regulator and the communication chip are arranged such that an electrical path between the switching regulator and the linear regulator included in the communication chip is longer than an electrical path between the linear regulator and the amplifier.

11. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the control circuit is included in the communication chip, and the switching regulator and the communication chip are arranged such that an electrical path between the switching regulator and the linear regulator included in the communication chip is longer than an electrical path between the control circuit and the linear regulator.

12. An electronic device, comprising:

an antenna;

a switching regulator;

an amplifier operatively connected to the switching regulator;

a linear regulator operatively connected to the switching regulator and the amplifier; and

an envelope tracking digital-to-analog converter (ET DAC) configured to control the linear regulator to provide a voltage to the amplifier corresponding to an envelope of an input signal input to the amplifier, the input signal corresponding to a radio frequency signal to be transmitted through the antenna,

wherein a first circuit path between the switching regulator and the linear regulator is longer than a second circuit path between the linear regulator and the amplifier.

13. The electronic device of claim 12, wherein the first circuit path is longer than a third circuit path between the ET DAC and the linear regulator.

14. A communication chip for mounting on a circuit board of an electronic device to amplify a radio frequency signal to be transmitted or received through an antenna of the electronic device, the communication chip comprising:

an amplifier; and

a linear regulator configured to control a switching regulator of the electronic device to supply a voltage corresponding to an envelope of an input signal input to the amplifier,

the input signal corresponds to a radio frequency signal to be transmitted through the antenna.

15. The communication chip of claim 14, wherein a first electrical path between the amplifier and the linear regulator is shorter than a second electrical path between the switching regulator and the linear regulator when the communication chip is mounted on the circuit board of the electronic device.

16. The communication chip of claim 15, wherein the second circuit path is longer than a third circuit path between an envelope tracking digital-to-analog converter (ETDAC) and the linear regulator.

17. The communication chip of claim 14, further comprising a low noise amplifier, wherein

A low noise amplifier configured to amplify the radio frequency signal received through the antenna, and

the amplifier is configured to amplify a radio frequency signal to be transmitted through the antenna.

18. The communication chip of claim 14, further comprising an envelope tracking digital-to-analog converter (ET DAC) operatively connected to the linear regulator, the ET DAC configured to control the linear regulator to provide a voltage to the amplifier corresponding to an envelope of an input signal input to the amplifier, the input signal corresponding to the radio frequency signal to be transmitted through the antenna.

19. The communication chip of claim 14, wherein the linear regulator is configured to adjust a voltage corresponding to the envelope of the input signal to track the envelope.

20. The communication chip of claim 14, wherein the linear regulator is configured to regulate a signal output from the switching regulator such that a voltage corresponding to the envelope is output.

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to a method and apparatus for selectively supplying a voltage to a plurality of amplifiers using a switching regulator.

Background

The development of wireless communication systems has been directed to supporting higher data transmission rates in order to meet the ever-increasing demand for wireless data services. In order to support a high data transmission rate, a wide signal bandwidth and a complicated signal modulation scheme are required, thereby increasing a peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR). Therefore, a power amplifier that consumes a large amount of power inside an electronic device is required to have high efficiency and high linearity characteristics.

In order to have high efficiency and high linearity characteristics in terms of wideband and high PAPR signals, Envelope Tracking (ET) technology has been applied to fourth generation (4G) communication systems. Unlike conventional amplifiers that use a fixed supply voltage, the ET technique uses the envelope signal of the RF input signal, which is applied to an amplifier (e.g., an RF power amplifier), as the supply voltage of the amplifier, thereby reducing power consumption. Since the ET technique adjusts the envelope signal so that the voltage (Vcc) applied to the amplifier tracks the envelope of the RF signal, power consumption is minimized, thereby enabling efficient operation of the amplifier. The amplifier generates third-order intermodulation distortion during signal amplification (IMD3), and the third-order intermodulation distortion may present an optimum point (sweet spot). If ET technology is applied to the amplifier, the amplifier may have higher linearity characteristics than a conventional power amplifier because Vcc shaping can track the optimum point.

The evolution of wireless communication systems from third generation (3G) to 4G is accompanied by a sudden increase in transmission rates and a positive development of differentiated services in the mobile service market. However, the development of mobile communication networks has not been stopped, and comprehensive research into new 5G mobile communication, such as enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), ultra-reliable and low-delay communication (URLLC), and large machine type communication (mtc), has been conducted domestically and internationally. Practical implementations of 5G mobile communication may be roughly divided into Sub 65G and mmWave 5G. Sub 65G and mmWave 5G have more complex signal modulation schemes than 4G LTE signals for faster ultra-high data transmission and therefore have wider bandwidth and larger PAPR. The wide signal bandwidth makes it difficult to develop a modulator with tracking capability, but the demand for ET technology is increasing because transmitting a signal with a large PAPR further reduces the efficiency of the RF power amplifier. Therefore, developers of RF system chipset solutions and ET modulators are focusing on developing wideband ET modulators so that the ET technology can be applied to 5G.

The above information is presented merely as background information to aid in understanding the present disclosure. No determination has been made, nor has an assertion been made, as to whether any of the above can be applied as prior art to the present disclosure.

Disclosure of Invention

Technical problem

Embodiments of the present disclosure may disclose a method and apparatus in which a linear regulator of an Envelope Tracking (ET) modulator is included in a transmission circuit so that the ET technique may be applied to signals having a wide bandwidth without any and/or reduced restrictions on the distance between the ET modulator and the transmission circuit.

Solution to the problem

An electronic device according to various example embodiments may include: an antenna; a switching regulator; a communication chip including an amplifier and a linear regulator operatively connected to the amplifier and the switching regulator, the communication chip configured to transmit a radio frequency signal from the electronic device through the antenna; and a control circuit configured to control the communication chip such that the linear regulator supplies the amplifier with a voltage corresponding to an envelope of an input signal input to the amplifier, the input signal corresponding to the radio frequency signal.

An electronic device according to various example embodiments may include: an antenna; a switching regulator; an amplifier operatively connected to the switching regulator; a linear regulator operatively connected to the switching regulator and the amplifier; and an envelope tracking digital-to-analog converter (ET DAC) configured to control the linear regulator to provide the amplifier with a voltage corresponding to an envelope of an input signal input to the amplifier, the input signal corresponding to a radio frequency signal to be transmitted through the antenna, wherein a first circuit between the switching regulator and the linear regulator is longer than a second circuit path between the linear regulator and the amplifier.

A communication chip for mounting on a circuit board of an electronic device to amplify a radio frequency signal to be transmitted or received through an antenna of the electronic device according to various example embodiments may include: an amplifier; and a linear regulator configured to control a switching regulator of the electronic device to supply a voltage corresponding to an envelope of an input signal input to the amplifier, the input signal corresponding to a radio frequency signal to be transmitted through the antenna.

Advantageous effects of the invention

Various example embodiments of the present disclosure, a linear regulator of an ET modulator is included in a transmission circuit so that the ET technique can be applied to signals having a wide bandwidth without any and/or reduced restrictions on the distance between the ET modulator and the transmission circuit.

According to various example embodiments, an electronic device has a power amplifier configured with a small number of ET modulators such that uplink carrier aggregation (ULCA) or e-ULTRA-NR dual connectivity (endec) techniques may be implemented in conjunction with the electronic device.

Drawings

The above and other aspects, features and advantages of certain embodiments of the present disclosure will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example electronic device in a network environment, in accordance with various embodiments;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example electronic device for supporting legacy network communications and 5G network communications, in accordance with various embodiments;

fig. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example configuration of an electronic device having an ET modulator applied to a transmit circuit, in accordance with various embodiments;

fig. 4A is a diagram illustrating an example configuration of an ET modulator, in accordance with various embodiments;

fig. 4B is a diagram illustrating an example configuration of an ET modulator, in accordance with various embodiments;

fig. 4C is a diagram illustrating an example configuration of an ET modulator, in accordance with various embodiments;

fig. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example current diagram of an ET modulator, in accordance with various embodiments;

fig. 6A is a diagram showing an example configuration of an electronic apparatus to which an ET modulator is applied according to an example embodiment;

fig. 6B is a diagram illustrating an example configuration of an electronic device having an ET modulator applied to a transmit circuit, in accordance with various embodiments;

fig. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example voltage measurement plot obtained by simulating an ET modulator, in accordance with various embodiments;

fig. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example configuration of an electronic device including a transmission circuit having an ET modulator applied thereto, in accordance with various embodiments;

fig. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example configuration of an electronic device including a transmission circuit having an ET modulator applied thereto, in accordance with various embodiments;

fig. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example configuration of an electronic device including a transmission circuit having an ET modulator applied thereto, in accordance with various embodiments; and is

Fig. 11 is a flow diagram illustrating an example method for operating an electronic device, in accordance with various embodiments.

Detailed Description

An electronic device according to various embodiments may be one of various types of electronic devices. The electronic devices may include, for example, without limitation, portable communication devices (e.g., smartphones), computer devices, portable multimedia devices, portable medical devices, cameras, wearable devices, home appliances, and the like. According to the embodiments of the present disclosure, the electronic device is not limited to those described above.

It should be understood that various embodiments of the present invention and the terms used herein are not intended to limit technical features set forth herein to particular embodiments, and include various changes, equivalents, or alternatives to the corresponding embodiments. With respect to the description of the figures, like reference numerals may be used to refer to like or related elements. It will be understood that the singular form of a noun corresponding to an item may include one or more of the things unless the relevant context clearly dictates otherwise. As used herein, each of the phrases such as "a or B," "at least one of a and B," "at least one of a or B," "A, B or C," "at least one of A, B and C," and "at least one of A, B or C" may include all possible combinations of items enumerated together in the corresponding one of the phrases. As used herein, terms such as "1 st" and "2 nd" or "first" and "second" may be used to simply distinguish a corresponding component from another component and not to limit the components in other respects (e.g., importance or order). It will be understood that if an element (e.g., a first element) is referred to as being "coupled with," "coupled to," "connected with," or "connected to" another element (e.g., a second element), with or without the terms "operatively" or "communicatively," that element may be directly (e.g., wiredly), wirelessly, or via a third element coupled with the other element.

As used herein, the term "module" may include a unit implemented in hardware, software, or firmware, or any combination thereof, and may be used interchangeably with other terms (e.g., "logic," "logic block," "part," or "circuitry"). A module may be a single integral component, or a minimal unit or piece thereof, adapted to perform one or more functions. For example, according to an embodiment, the module may be implemented in the form of an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC).

Fig. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an electronic device 101 in a network environment 100, in accordance with various embodiments.

Referring to fig. 1, an electronic device 101 in a network environment 100 may communicate with an electronic device 102 via a first network 198 (e.g., a short-range wireless communication network) or with an electronic device 104 or a server 108 via a second network 199 (e.g., a long-range wireless communication network). According to an embodiment, the electronic device 101 may communicate with the electronic device 104 via the server 108. According to an embodiment, the electronic device 101 may include a processor 120, a memory 130, an input device 150, a sound output device 155, a display device 160, an audio module 170, a sensor module 176, an interface 177, a haptic module 179, a camera module 180, a power management module 188, a battery 189, a communication module 190, a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM)196, or an antenna module 197. In some embodiments, at least one of the components (e.g., display device 160 or camera module 180) may be omitted from electronic device 101, and one or more other components may be added in electronic device 101. In some embodiments, some of the components may be implemented as a single integrated circuit. For example, sensor module 176 (e.g., a fingerprint sensor, an iris sensor, or a light sensor) may be implemented embedded in display device 160 (e.g., a display).

The processor 120 may execute software (e.g., the program 140), such as to control at least one other component (e.g., hardware or software component) of the electronic device 101 coupled with the processor 120, and may perform various data processing or calculations. According to an example embodiment, as at least part of the data processing or computation, processor 120 may load commands or data received from another component (e.g., sensor module 176 or communication module 190) in volatile memory 132, process the commands or data stored in volatile memory 132, and store the resulting data in non-volatile memory 134. According to an embodiment, the processor 120 may include a primary processor 121, such as a Central Processing Unit (CPU) or an Application Processor (AP), and a secondary processor 123, such as a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU), an Image Signal Processor (ISP), a sensor center processor, or a Communications Processor (CP), which may operate independently of or in conjunction with the primary processor 121. Additionally or alternatively, the secondary processor 123 may be adapted to consume less power than the primary processor 121, or be dedicated to a specified function. The secondary processor 123 may be implemented separately from the primary processor 121 or as part of the primary processor.

The secondary processor 123, along with the primary processor 121, may control at least some of the functions or states related to at least one of the components of the electronic device 101 (e.g., the display device 160, the sensor module 176, or the communication module 190) when the primary processor 121 is in an inactive (e.g., sleep) state, instead of the primary processor 121, or when the primary processor 121 is in an active state (e.g., executing an application). According to an embodiment, the auxiliary processor 123 (e.g., an image signal processor or a communication processor) may be implemented as part of another component (e.g., the camera module 180 or the communication module 190) that is functionally related to the auxiliary processor 123.

The memory 130 may store various data used by at least one component of the electronic device 101 (e.g., the processor 120 or the sensor module 176). The various data may include, for example, software (e.g., program 140) and input data or output data for commands related thereto. The memory 130 may include volatile memory 132 or non-volatile memory 134.

The programs 140 may be stored as software in the memory 130 and may include, for example, an Operating System (OS)142, middleware 144, or applications 146.

The input device 150 may receive commands or data from outside of the electronic device 101 (e.g., a user) to be used by other components of the electronic device 101 (e.g., the processor 120). The input device 150 may include, for example, a microphone, a mouse, or a keyboard.

The sound output device 155 may output a sound signal to the outside of the electronic device 101. The sound output device 155 may include, for example, a speaker or a receiver. The speaker may be used for general purposes such as playing multimedia or playing a recording, and the receiver may be used for incoming calls. According to embodiments, the receiver may be implemented separately from or as part of the speaker.

Display device 160 may visually provide information to an exterior (e.g., user) of electronic device 101. The display device 160 may include, for example, a display, a hologram device, or a projector, and control circuitry that controls a corresponding one of the display, hologram device, and projector. According to embodiments, the display device 160 may include touch circuitry adapted to detect a touch, or sensor circuitry (e.g., a pressure sensor) adapted to measure an intensity of a force incurred by the touch.

The audio module 170 may convert sound into an electrical signal and vice versa. According to an embodiment, the audio module 170 may obtain sound via the input device 150 or output sound via the sound output device 155 or a headset of an external electronic device (e.g., electronic device 102) coupled directly (e.g., wired) or wirelessly with the electronic device 101.

The sensor module 176 may detect an operating state of the electronic device 101 (e.g., power or temperature) or an environmental state external to the electronic device 101 (e.g., a state of a user), and then generate an electrical signal or data value corresponding to the detected state. According to an embodiment, the sensor module 176 may include, for example, a gesture sensor, a gyroscope sensor, an atmospheric pressure sensor, a magnetic sensor, an acceleration sensor, a grip sensor, a proximity sensor, a color sensor, an Infrared (IR) sensor, a biometric sensor, a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, or a light sensor.

The interface 177 may support one or more specified protocols to be used for the electronic device 101 to couple directly (e.g., wired) or wirelessly with an external electronic device (e.g., the electronic device 102). According to an embodiment, the interface 177 may include, for example, a High Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI), a Universal Serial Bus (USB) interface, a Secure Digital (SD) card interface, or an audio interface, among others.

Connection end 178 may include a connection via which electronic device 101 may be physically connected with an external electronic device (e.g., electronic device 102). According to an embodiment, the connection end 178 may include, for example, an HDMI connection, a USB connection, an SD card connection, or an audio connection (e.g., a headphone connection).

The haptic module 179 may convert the electrical signals into mechanical stimuli (e.g., vibration or movement) or electrical stimuli that may be recognized by the user via their haptic or kinesthetic sensations. According to an embodiment, the haptic module 179 may include, for example, a motor, a piezoelectric element, or an electrical stimulator.

The camera module 180 may capture still images or moving images. According to an embodiment, the camera module 180 may include one or more lenses, an image sensor, an image signal processor, or a flash.

The power management module 188 may manage power supplied to the electronic device 101. According to an example embodiment, the power management module 188 may be implemented as at least a portion of a Power Management Integrated Circuit (PMIC), for example.

The battery 189 may supply power to at least one component of the electronic device 101. According to an embodiment, battery 189 may comprise, for example, a non-rechargeable primary battery, a rechargeable secondary battery, or a fuel cell.

The communication module 190 may support establishing a direct (e.g., wired) communication channel or a wireless communication channel between the electronic device 101 and an external electronic device (e.g., the electronic device 102, the electronic device 104, or the server 108), and performing communication via the established communication channel. The communication module 190 may include one or more communication processors that may operate independently of the processor 120 (e.g., an Application Processor (AP)) and support direct (e.g., wired) communication or wireless communication. According to an embodiment, the communication module 190 may include a wireless communication module 192 (e.g., a cellular communication module, a short-range wireless communication module, or a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) communication module), or a wired communication module 194 (e.g., a Local Area Network (LAN) communication module or a Power Line Communication (PLC) module). A corresponding one of these communication modules may be via a first network 198 (e.g., a short-range communication network such as Bluetooth)^TMWireless fidelity (Wi-Fi), direct or infrared data association (IrDA), or a second network 199, such as a telecommunications network, e.g., a cellular network, the internet, or a computer network (e.g., LAN or wide area network WAN), in communication with an external electronic device. These various types of communication modules may be implemented as a single component (e.g., a single chip), or may be implemented as multiple components (e.g., multiple chips) that are separate from one another. The wireless communication module 192 may use subscriber information (e.g., international mobile) stored in the subscriber identity module 196Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI)) to identify and authenticate the electronic device 101 in a communication network, such as the first network 198 or the second network 199.

The antenna module 197 may transmit signals or power to or receive signals or power from the outside of the electronic device 101 (e.g., an external electronic device). According to an embodiment, the antenna module 197 may include one or more antennas and, thus, at least one antenna appropriate for a communication scheme used in a communication network (e.g., the first network 198 or the second network 199) may be selected, for example, by the communication module 190 (e.g., the wireless communication module 192). Signals or power are then transmitted or received between the communication module 190 and the external electronic device via the selected at least one antenna.

At least some of the components described above may be coupled to each other and communicate signals (e.g., commands or data) therebetween via an inter-peripheral communication scheme such as a bus, General Purpose Input and Output (GPIO), Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI), or Mobile Industry Processor Interface (MIPI).

According to an embodiment, commands or data may be transmitted or received between the electronic device 101 and the external electronic device 104 via the server 108 coupled with the second network 199. Each of the electronic devices 102 and 104 may be the same type or a different type of device as the electronic device 101. According to embodiments, all or some of the operations performed at the electronic device 101 may be performed at one or more of the external electronic devices 102, 104, or 108. For example, if the electronic device 101 should automatically perform a function or service, or perform a function or service in response to a request from a user or another device, the electronic device 101 may request one or more external electronic devices to perform at least a portion of the function or the service instead of or in addition to performing the function or the service. The one or more external electronic devices that received the request may perform at least a portion of the requested function or service, or an additional function or additional service related to the request, and transmit the result of the performance to the electronic device 101. Electronic device 101 may provide the result as at least a part of the request to reply with or without further processing of the result. To this end, cloud computing, distributed computing, or client-server computing techniques, for example, may be used.

Various embodiments as set forth herein may be implemented as software (e.g., program 140) comprising one or more instructions stored in a storage medium (e.g., internal memory 136 or external memory 138) readable by a machine (e.g., electronic device 101). For example, a processor (e.g., processor 120) of a machine (e.g., electronic device 101) may call at least one of the one or more instructions stored in the storage medium and execute the instructions, with or without one or more other components, under control of the processor. This allows the machine to be operated to perform at least one function in accordance with the at least one instruction invoked. The one or more instructions may include code generated by a compiler or code executable by a translator. The machine-readable storage medium may be provided in the form of a non-transitory storage medium. Where a "non-transitory" storage medium is a tangible device and does not include signals (e.g., electromagnetic waves), this term does not distinguish between where data is semi-permanently stored in the storage medium and where data is temporarily stored in the storage medium.

According to an embodiment, a method according to various embodiments of the present invention may be included and provided in a computer program product. The computer program product may be transacted as a product between a seller and a buyer. The computer program product may be distributed in the form of a machine-readable storage medium (e.g., compact disc read only memory (CD-ROM)), or via an application Store (e.g., Play Store)^TM) Online distribution (e.g., download or upload), or directly between two user devices (e.g., smartphones). If distributed online, at least a portion of the computer program product may be temporarily created or at least temporarily stored in a machine-readable storage medium (e.g., a memory of a manufacturer's server, a server of an application store, or a relay server).

According to various embodiments, each of the components (e.g., modules or programs) described above may comprise a single entity or multiple entities. According to various embodiments, one or more of the components described above may be omitted, or one or more other components may be added. Alternatively or in addition, multiple components (e.g., modules or programs) may be integrated into a single component. In this case, according to various embodiments, the integrated component may still perform one or more functions of each of the plurality of components in the same or similar manner as performed by the corresponding one of the plurality of components prior to integration. Operations performed by the module, the program, or another component may occur sequentially, in parallel, repeatedly, or heuristically, or one or more of the operations may be performed in a different order, or omitted, or one or more other operations may be added, according to various embodiments.

Fig. 2 is a block diagram 200 illustrating an example electronic device 101 for supporting legacy network communications and 5G network communications, in accordance with various embodiments.

Referring to fig. 2, the electronic device 101 may include a first communication processor (e.g., including processing circuitry) 212, a second communication processor (e.g., including processing circuitry) 214, a first Radio Frequency Integrated Circuit (RFIC)222, a second RFIC 224, a third RFIC 226, a fourth RFIC 228, a first Radio Frequency Front End (RFFE)232, a second RFFE 234, a first antenna module (e.g., including at least one antenna) 242, a second antenna module (e.g., including at least one antenna 244), and an antenna 248. The electronic device 101 may further include a processor (e.g., including processing circuitry) 120 and a memory 130.

The network 199 may include a first network (e.g., a legacy network) 292 and a second network (e.g., a 5G network) 294. According to another embodiment, electronic device 101 may further comprise at least one of the components shown in fig. 1, and network 199 may further comprise at least one different network. According to an embodiment, the first communication processor 212, the second communication processor 214, the first RFIC222, the second RFIC 224, the fourth RFIC 228, the first RFFE 232, and the second RFFE 234 may form at least a portion of the wireless communication module 192. According to another embodiment, the fourth RFIC 228 may be omitted or included as part of the third RFIC 226.

The first communication processor 212 may include various communication processing circuits and support establishing a communication channel in a frequency band to be used for wireless communication with the first network 292 and conventional network communication over the established communication channel. According to various embodiments, the first network may be a legacy network including, for example, but not limited to, a 2G, 3G, 4G, or Long Term Evolution (LTE) network. The second communication processor 214 may support establishing a communication channel corresponding to a specified frequency band (e.g., about 6GHz to about 60GHz) of the frequency bands to be used for wireless communication with the second network 294, and for example, but not limited to, 5G network communication over the established communication channel. According to various embodiments, the second network 294 may be, for example, a 5G network referenced by the third generation partnership project (3 GPP). In addition, according to embodiments, the first communication processor 212 or the second communication processor 214 may support establishing a communication channel corresponding to another specified frequency band (e.g., about 6GHz or lower) of the frequency bands to be used for wireless communication with the second network 294, and, for example, conducting 5G network communication through the established communication channel. According to an embodiment, the first communication processor 212 and the second communication processor 214 may be implemented within a single chip or a single package. According to various embodiments, the first communication processor 212 or the second communication processor 214 may be disposed within a single chip or a single package, for example, with the processor 120, the auxiliary processor 123, or the communication module 190.

The first RFIC222 may convert baseband signals generated by the first communication processor 212 during transmission to Radio Frequency (RF) signals of about 700MHz to about 3GHz, which may be used for a first network 292 (e.g., a legacy network). During reception, RF signals may be acquired from a first network 292 (e.g., a legacy network) through an antenna (e.g., the first antenna module 242) and may be pre-processed through an RFFE (e.g., the first RFFE 232). The first RFIC222 may convert the pre-processed RF signals to baseband signals so that the first communication processor 212 may process the baseband signals.

The second RFIC 224 may convert baseband signals generated by the first communication processor 212 or the second communication processor 214 into RF signals (hereinafter, referred to as 5G Sub6 RF signals) in a Sub6 frequency band (e.g., about 6GHz or lower) that may be used for the second network 294 (e.g., 5G network). During reception, the 5G Sub6 RF signals may be acquired from the second network 294 (e.g., 5G network) by an antenna (e.g., the second antenna module 244) and may be pre-processed by an RFFE (e.g., the second RFFE 234). The second RFIC 224 may convert the pre-processed 5G Sub6 RF signals to baseband signals that may be processed by a communication processor corresponding to the first communication processor 212 or the second communication processor 214.

The third RFIC 226 may convert the baseband signals generated by the second communication processor 214 into RF signals (hereinafter, referred to as 5G Above6 signals) in a 5G Above6 frequency band (e.g., about 6GHz to about 60GHz), which may be used for the second network 294 (e.g., 5G network). During reception, a 5G Above6 RF signal may be acquired from the second network 294 (e.g., 5G network) through an antenna (e.g., antenna 248) and may be preprocessed through the third RFFE 236. The third RFIC 226 may convert the pre-processed 5G Above6 signal to a baseband signal so that the second communication processor 214 may process the baseband signal. According to an embodiment, the third RFFE 236 may be formed as part of the third RFIC 226.

According to embodiments, the electronic device 101 may include, or be at least part of, a fourth RFIC 228 separate from the third RFIC 226. In this example, the fourth RFIC 228 may convert the baseband signals generated by the second communication processor 214 into RF signals (hereinafter, referred to as IF signals) in an intermediate frequency band (e.g., about 9GHz to about 11GHz), and then deliver the IF signals to the third RFIC 226. The third RFIC 226 may convert the IF signal to a 5G Above6 RF signal. During reception, 5G Above6 RF signals may be received from the second network 294 (e.g., 5G network) by an antenna (e.g., antenna 248) and the 5G Above6 RF signals may be converted to IF signals by the third RFIC 226. The fourth RFIC 228 may convert the IF signal to a baseband signal so that the second communication processor 214 may process the baseband signal.

According to embodiments, first RIFC 222 and second RFIC 224 may be implemented, for example, as at least a portion of a single chip or a single package. According to an embodiment, the first RFFE 232 and the second RFFE 234 may be implemented as at least a portion of a single chip or a single package, for example. According to an embodiment, at least one of the first antenna module 242 or the second antenna module 244 may be omitted or coupled to the other antenna module in order to process RF signals in a plurality of corresponding frequency bands.

According to an embodiment, the third RFIC 226 and the antenna 248 may be arranged on the same substrate to form a third antenna module 246. For example, the wireless communication module 192 or the processor 120 may be disposed on a first substrate (e.g., a main PCB). In this example, the third RFIC 226 may be formed on a partial area (e.g., a lower surface) of a second substrate (e.g., a sub-PCB) separate from the first substrate, and the antenna 248 may be disposed in another partial area (e.g., an upper surface), thereby forming a third antenna module 246. The third RFIC 226 and the antenna 248 may be arranged on the same substrate so that the length of the transmission line between them may be reduced. This may reduce the loss (e.g., attenuation) of signals in a high frequency band (e.g., about 6GHz to about 60GHz) for 5G network communications, for example, due to the transmission line. Accordingly, the electronic device 101 may improve the quality or speed of communication with the second network 294 (e.g., a 5G network).

According to an embodiment, the antenna 248 may comprise, for example, an antenna array comprising a plurality of antenna elements that may be used for beamforming. In this example, the third RFIC 226 may include a plurality of phase shifters 238 corresponding to the plurality of antenna elements as part of the third RFFE 236, for example. During transmission, each of the plurality of phase shifters 238 may shift the phase of a 5G Above6 RF signal to be transmitted to the outside of the electronic device 101 (e.g., a base station of a 5G network) through a corresponding antenna element. During reception, each of the plurality of phase shifters 238 may shift the phase of an externally received 5G Above6 RF signal to the same or substantially the same phase through a corresponding antenna element. This enables transmission or reception by beamforming between the electronic apparatus 101 and the outside.

The second network 294 (e.g., a 5G network) may operate independently of the first network 292 (e.g., a legacy network) (e.g., a stand-alone (SA)) or when connected to the first network (e.g., a non-stand-alone (NSA)). For example, a 5G network may include an access network (e.g., a 5G Radio Access Network (RAN) or a next generation network (NG RAN)) and may not include a core network (e.g., a Next Generation Core (NGC)). In this example, the electronic device 101 may access an access network of the 5G network and then access an external network (e.g., the internet) under control of a core network (e.g., Evolved Packet Core (EPC)) of a legacy network. Protocol information for communicating with a legacy network (e.g., an LTE protocol network) or protocol information for communicating with a 5G network (e.g., New Radio (NR) protocol information) may be stored in the memory 130 and may be accessed by another component (e.g., the processor 120, the first communication processor 212, or the second communication processor 214).

Fig. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example configuration of an electronic device having an ET modulator applied to a transmit circuit, in accordance with various embodiments.

Referring to fig. 3, an electronic device (e.g., electronic device 101 in fig. 1) according to various embodiments may include a first transmission circuit 310, a second transmission circuit 320, a control circuit 330, and a switching regulator 340.

The first transmission circuit 310 (e.g., the first RFFE 232 in fig. 2) may include a first amplifier 311 and a first linear regulator 313. The first transmission circuit 310 may encode an RF signal (e.g., a first transmission signal) associated with a communication (e.g., a wireless communication), may modulate it according to a transmission scheme, and may output the signal. The RF signal input from the wireless communication module (e.g., the wireless communication module 192 in fig. 1 or the first communication processor 212 in fig. 2) to the first transmission circuit 310 may have a level of a weak signal having a low gain and a low output power. Since the RF signal may have severe signal attenuation or noise, the first transmission circuit 310 may amplify power of the RF signal when transmitting the RF signal to the base station and then transmit it in order to improve transmission efficiency with respect to the signal attenuation or noise.

According to various embodiments, the first transmission circuit 310 may amplify a first transmission signal (e.g., an RF input signal) into a signal (e.g., an RF output signal) having a high gain and a high output using the first amplifier 311. The first amplifier 311 may be configured to amplify the first transmission signal. The first amplifier 311 may provide loading energy to a weak signal (e.g., an AC signal) using a power source (e.g., a fixed supply voltage) from a power management module (e.g., the power management module 188 in fig. 1) of the electronic device 101 to achieve a larger AC waveform to amplify the first transmission signal. If the first amplifier 311 amplifies the first transmission signal using a fixed power supply, unnecessary power consumption may occur. Since the first amplifier 311 consumes a large amount of power in the electronic device 101, the first amplifier may need to have high efficiency and high linearity characteristics. In order to make the first amplifier 311 have high efficiency and high linearity characteristics, an Envelope Tracking (ET) technique may be applied to the first amplifier 311.

According to various embodiments, for example, the ET technique may refer to a technique of applying an envelope signal of an RF input signal, which is input to an amplifier (e.g., the first amplifier 311 or the second amplifier 321), as a power supply voltage of the first amplifier 311 or the second amplifier 321, thereby reducing power consumption. Since the ET technique will adjust the envelope signal so that the voltage (Vcc) applied to the amplifier tracks the RF envelope, power consumption is minimized and/or reduced, thereby ensuring that the amplifier operates at high efficiency. The ET modulator to which the ET technology is applied may include a linear regulator, a comparator, or a switching regulator, and the first transmission circuit 310 may include a linear regulator (e.g., the first linear regulator 313) or a comparator (e.g., a first comparator (not shown) included in the ET modulator).

According to various embodiments, the comparator is not separately shown in fig. 3, however, since the first linear regulator 313 controls an input to a switching regulator (e.g., the switching regulator 340 in fig. 3), it is understood that the first linear regulator 313 may include a comparator. The first comparator may compare the input voltage with a reference voltage, may detect whether the input exceeds the reference voltage, and may output the result as a digital value (e.g., 0 or 1). For example, the first comparator may compare the output from the switching regulator 340 with the output from the first linear regulator 313, and may output a digital value of, for example, 0 or 1.

According to various embodiments, the first linear regulator 313 may be configured to supply the first amplifier 311 with a first voltage based on an envelope corresponding to a first specified frequency band of the first transmission signal. The first linear regulator 313, which controls (or adjusts) the voltage, is designed to operate with a linear relationship between the input and the output. Since the first linear regulator 313 has a high speed characteristic, it can amplify a high frequency signal among envelope signals of the input signal applied to the first amplifier 311. For example, the first linear regulator 313 may control (or adjust) the first voltage such that the first voltage applied to the first amplifier 311 tracks (or follows) an envelope corresponding to the first specified frequency band. By adjusting the first voltage to correspond to the envelope, the first linear regulator 313 may reduce the power used by the first amplifier 311 to amplify the first transmission signal.

According to various embodiments, the first linear regulator 313 may regulate and thus compensate for noise generated by the switching regulator 340. Even though the low frequency signal from the switching regulator 340 may be distorted by traces (e.g., signal lines that deliver the signal from the switching regulator 340), the first linear regulator 313 adjusts the low frequency signal and thus generates an envelope signal. Therefore, the inductance caused by the distance between the switching regulator 340 and the first amplifier 311 may not be considered.

According to various embodiments, the first specified frequency band may be a frequency band configured in the first transmission circuit 310. For example, the first designated frequency band may be at least one of a frequency band of about 700MHz to about 3GHz for a first network (e.g., first network 292 or a legacy network in fig. 2), a Sub6 frequency band (e.g., about 6GHz or lower) for a second network (e.g., second network 294 or a 5G network in fig. 2), an intermediate frequency band (e.g., about 9HHz to about 11GHz), or a 5G Above6 frequency band (e.g., about 6GHz to 60 GHz).

The second transmission circuit 320 (e.g., RFFE 234 in fig. 2) may include a second amplifier 321 and a second linear regulator 323. The second transmission circuit 320 may encode an RF signal (e.g., a second transmission signal) associated with a communication (e.g., a wireless communication), may modulate it according to a transmission scheme, and may output the signal. The RF signal input from the wireless communication module 192 (e.g., the first communication processor 212 or the second communication processor 214 in fig. 2) to the second transmission circuit 320 may have a level of a weak signal having a low gain and a low output power. The second transmission circuit 320 may amplify a second transmission signal (e.g., an RF input signal) into a signal (e.g., an RF output signal) having high gain and high output using the second amplifier 321. The second amplifier 321 may be configured to amplify the second transmission signal. The second amplifier 321 may amplify the second transmission signal by energizing a weak signal (e.g., an AC signal) with energy by applying a power source (e.g., a fixed supply voltage) from a power management module (e.g., the power management module 188 in fig. 1) of the electronic device 101 such that a larger AC waveform is achieved.

According to various embodiments, the second transmission circuit 320 may include a linear regulator (e.g., the second linear regulator 323) or a comparator (e.g., a second comparator (not shown)) included in the ET modulator. Although the comparator is not separately shown in fig. 3, the second linear regulator 323 controls an input to the switching regulator 340, and thus it can be understood that the comparator may be included in the second linear regulator 323. The second comparator may compare the input voltage with a reference voltage, may detect whether the input exceeds the reference voltage, and may output the result as a digital value (e.g., 0 or 1).

According to various embodiments, the second linear regulator 323 may be configured to supply the second voltage to the second amplifier 321 based on an envelope corresponding to a second specified frequency band of the second transmission signal. The second linear regulator 323 may amplify a high frequency signal among envelope signals of the input signal applied to the second amplifier 321. For example, the second linear regulator 323 may control (or adjust) the second voltage such that the second voltage applied to the second amplifier 321 tracks an envelope corresponding to the second specified frequency band. The second linear regulator 323 may reduce the power used by the second amplifier 321 to amplify the second transmission signal by adjusting the second voltage to correspond to the envelope. In addition, the second linear regulator 323 can regulate and thus compensate for noise generated by the switching regulator 340.

According to various embodiments, the second designated frequency band may be a frequency band configured in the second transmission circuit 320. The second designated frequency band may be the same as or different from the first designated frequency band. For example, the second designated frequency band may be at least one of a frequency band of about 700MHz to about 3GHz for the first network 292 (e.g., legacy network), a Sub6 frequency band (e.g., about 6GHz or lower) for the second network 294 (or 5G network), an intermediate frequency band (e.g., about 9HHz to about 11GHz), or a 5G Above6 frequency band (e.g., about 6GHz to 60 GHz).

The switching regulator 340 may be electrically connected to the first amplifier 311 and the second amplifier 321. The switching regulator 340, which adjusts (or controls) a voltage, may provide a desired voltage when a switching element (e.g., MOSFET) is turned on or off. The switching regulator 340 may amplify a low frequency signal among envelope signals of input signals applied to the first and second amplifiers 311 and 321. The switching regulator 340 may turn on or off the switching element under the control of the control circuit 330.

The control circuit 330 may be configured such that, when the first transmission signal is transmitted to an external electronic device (e.g., the electronic device 102 or the electronic device 104 in fig. 1) through the first transmission circuit 310, the third voltage is supplied to the first amplifier 311 using the switching regulator 340 based on an envelope corresponding to a third frequency band lower than the first designated frequency band of the first transmission signal. The control circuit 330 may be configured such that, when the second transmission signal is transmitted to the external electronic device through the second transmission circuit 320, the fourth voltage is supplied to the second amplifier 321 using the switching regulator 340 based on an envelope corresponding to a third frequency band lower than a second specified frequency band of the second transmission signal. According to various embodiments, the control circuit 330 may refer to, for example, a comprehensive concept including a circuit for controlling wireless communication according to various embodiments, such as a communication processor (e.g., the processor 120, the first communication processor 212, or the second communication processor 214 in fig. 2), an RFIC (e.g., the first RFIC222 or the second RFIC 224 in fig. 2), a wireless communication module (e.g., the wireless communication module 192 in fig. 1 or 2), or an envelope tracking digital-to-analog converter (ET DAC).

According to various embodiments, the control circuit 330 may control the third voltage such that the output voltage of the switching regulator 340 tracks an envelope corresponding to the third frequency band. The control circuit 330 may control the fourth voltage such that the output voltage of the switching regulator 340 tracks an envelope corresponding to the fourth frequency band.

Although expressions such as "first" and "second" are used in fig. 3 to distinguish transmission circuits (e.g., the first transmission circuit 310 and the second transmission circuit 320), amplifiers (e.g., the first amplifier 311 and the second amplifier 321), and linear regulators (e.g., the first linear regulator 313 and the second linear regulator 323), these elements perform the same function, and such use of the expressions "first" and "second" is merely for ease of identification and does not limit the present disclosure in any way. In another embodiment, the first transmission circuit 310 and the second transmission circuit 320 may be configured to process signals in different frequency bands.

Fig. 4A is a diagram illustrating an example configuration of an ET modulator according to various embodiments, fig. 4B is a diagram illustrating an example configuration of an ET modulator according to various embodiments, and fig. 4C is a diagram illustrating an example configuration of an ET modulator according to various embodiments.

Referring to fig. 4A, an Envelope Tracking (ET) modulator 400 may apply an envelope signal of an input signal, which is applied to an amplifier (e.g., the first amplifier 311 or the second amplifier 321) as a power supply voltage of the first amplifier 311 or the second amplifier 321, thereby reducing power consumption. Such an ET modulator 400 may include two types of regulators (hybrid structure) in order to have high efficiency and high linearity characteristics. For example, ET modulator 400 may include a linear regulator 410 and/or a switching regulator 430. ET modulator 400 may include a comparator 420 configured to compare the output from linear regulator 410 and control the input to switching regulator 430. For example, the ET modulator 400 in fig. 4A may be referred to as a "second type ET modulator".

The linear regulator 410 (e.g., the first linear regulator 311 or the second linear regulator 321 in fig. 3) that controls (or adjusts) the voltage may compare the output voltage with a reference voltage and output a predetermined voltage. The linear regulator 410 is designed to operate with a linear relationship between the input and the output. The linear regulator 410 may amplify a high frequency signal among envelope signals of the input signal applied to the first amplifier 311 or the second amplifier 321.

According to various embodiments, the linear regulator 410 may regulate and thus compensate for noise generated by the switching regulator 430. For example, even though the low frequency signal from the switching regulator 340 may be distorted by traces (e.g., signal lines that deliver the signal from the switching regulator 340), the linear regulator 410 regulates the low frequency signal and thus generates an envelope signal. The linear regulator 410 has a high speed characteristic, and thus can track an envelope signal in a wide bandwidth, but may have low efficiency (e.g., a small amount of current output). Since the linear regulator 410 has a high speed and the switching regulator 430 has a low speed, the linear regulator 410 may serve as a master device that controls the switching regulator 430, and the switching regulator 430 may serve as a slave device.

The comparator 420 functions to control an operational relationship between the linear regulator 410 and the switching regulator 430. If the linear regulator 410 and the switching regulator 430 operate independently of each other, problems such as divergence or oscillation may occur. Accordingly, the current directivity of the linear regulator 410 is sensed by the comparator 420, and the on/off state of the switching regulator 430 is controlled accordingly. For example, if the linear regulator 410 outputs a (SOURCING) current through the output terminal (OUT), the switching regulator 430 operates in an on state, and upon receiving the (SINKING) current, the switching regulator 430 operates in an off state. Thus, the input to the comparator 420 becomes the envelope signal and the output from the comparator becomes the digital signal. Therefore, since the input bandwidth of the comparator 420 increases in proportion to the bandwidth of the envelope signal, it is more advantageous to design the comparator closer to the linear regulator 410 than the switching regulator 430 is to simplify the broadband signal.

The switching regulator 430 (e.g., the switching regulator 340 in fig. 3) that adjusts (or controls) the voltage is designed to supply a desired voltage when a switching element (e.g., MOSFET) is turned on or off. The switching regulator 430 may amplify a low frequency signal among envelope signals of the input signal applied to the amplifier (the first amplifier 311 or the second amplifier 321). For example, the switching regulator 430 may turn on the switching element until the output voltage reaches a necessary level, so that power is supplied from the input terminal to the output terminal. If the output voltage reaches a desired level, the switching regulator 430 may turn off the switching element so that the input power is not consumed. For example, if the switching regulator 430 turns on the switching element, power may be supplied to the output terminal (out) through the inductor 440, and if the switching element is turned off, power accumulated in the inductor 440 may be supplied to the output terminal. The output power may be increased if the switching element is turned on, and the output power may be decreased if the switching element is turned off. Using this principle, the switching regulator 430 can control the output power. The switching regulator 430 may output a large amount of current (or voltage) (e.g., high efficiency), but has low speed, and thus may have difficulty tracking the envelope signal in a wide bandwidth.

Referring to fig. 4B, the ET modulator 450 may be designed to include the switching-only regulator 430. If ET modulator 450 may be included in an electronic device (e.g., electronic device 101 in fig. 1), linear regulator 410 and comparator 420 may be included in a transmission circuit (e.g., first transmission circuit 310 or second transmission circuit 320 in fig. 3). The ET modulator 450 in fig. 4B may be referred to as a "first type ET modulator".

Referring to fig. 4C, ET modulator 470 may include linear regulator 410, comparator 420, switching regulator 430, and/or multiplexer 480. The linear regulator 410 (e.g., the first linear regulator 311 or the second linear regulator 321 in fig. 3), the comparator 420, and the switching regulator 430 (e.g., the switching regulator 340 in fig. 3) have been described in detail with reference to fig. 3 and 4A, and a repeated description thereof will not be provided herein. The ET modulator 470 in fig. 4C may be referred to as a "third type ET modulator".

Multiplexer 480 may be a combinational circuit configured to select one from multiple input lines and connect it to a single output line. Simply referred to as a "MUX," the multiplexer 480 has a single output associated with multiple input data, and is therefore also referred to as a data selector. If the ET modulator 470 is connected to at least two transmission circuits, the multiplexer 480 may control the signal input to the switching regulator 430 if one transmission circuit includes a linear regulator and if the other transmission circuit does not include a linear regulator. For example, if the transmission circuit includes linear regulators (e.g., the first transmission circuit 310 and the second transmission circuit 320 in fig. 3), the multiplexer 480 may output a signal (e.g., EXT _ CMP) output from the linear regulators included in the transmission circuit to the switching regulator 430 as an input signal. If the transmission circuit does not include a linear regulator, the multiplexer 480 may output a signal output from the linear regulator 410 included in the ET modulator 470 to the switching regulator 430 as an input signal.

Fig. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example current diagram of an ET modulator, in accordance with various embodiments.

Referring to fig. 5, an ET modulator (e.g., ET modulator 400 in fig. 4A, ET modulator 450 in fig. 4B, or ET modulator 470 in fig. 4C) may control a switching regulator (e.g., switching regulator 340 in fig. 3 or switching regulator 430 in fig. 4A-4C) or a linear regulator (e.g., linear regulators 313 and 323 in fig. 3 or linear regulator 410 in fig. 4A or 4C) to output an envelope signal 510. The envelope signal 510 may be generated using a low frequency signal 520 generated by a switching regulator and a high frequency signal 530 generated by a linear regulator. The ET modulator may control the envelope signal 510 applied to an amplifier (e.g., the first amplifier 311 or the second amplifier 321 in fig. 3) in order to reduce the power consumed by the electronic device 101.

According to various embodiments, a comparator (e.g., comparator 420 in fig. 4A to 4C) compares a current 530 output from a linear regulator (e.g., linear regulator 410 in fig. 4A to 4C) with a comparison reference value, thereby generating a digital signal for controlling a switching regulator (e.g., switching regulator 340 in fig. 3 or switching regulator 430 in fig. 4A and 4B). Digital signal is 1 or 0: 1 corresponds to a signal for operating the switching regulator in an on state, and 0 corresponds to a signal for operating the switching regulator in an off state.

Fig. 6A is a diagram showing an example configuration of an electronic apparatus to which an ET modulator is applied according to an example embodiment.

Referring to fig. 6A, an electronic device (e.g., electronic device 101 in fig. 1) according to an example may include a communication processor (e.g., first communication processor 212), an RFIC (e.g., RFIC222 in fig. 2), ET modulator 400, and transmission circuitry 600.

The communication processor 212 may include various processing circuitry and support establishing a communication channel in a frequency band to be used for wireless communication with a network (e.g., the second network 199 in fig. 1) and supporting network communication over the established communication channel. According to various embodiments, the network may be a legacy network including, for example, but not limited to, a 2G, 3G, 4G, or Long Term Evolution (LTE) network. The communication processor 212 may further include an envelope tracking digital-to-analog converter (ET DAC) 660.

ET DAC 660 may include an envelope detector and a Digital Signal Processor (DSP). The envelope detector may convert an in-phase (I)/quadrature-phase (Q) signal into an envelope signal. The I/Q signal may refer to, for example, a signal having a modulation frequency, and may be input to the linear regulator 410 as an in-phase "I" signal having a phase of 0 ° and as a quadrature "Q" signal having a phase of 90 °. The digital signal processor may adjust the shape or delay of the envelope signal output from the envelope detector. The amplifier may generate third order intermodulation distortion (IMD3) during signal amplification, and the third order intermodulation distortion may present an optimum. The shape may correspond to the tracking optimum point, thereby controlling the envelope signal. The digital signal processor may control the envelope signal such that the envelope signal tracks the transmission signal amplified by the transmission circuit 600. According to various embodiments, although ET DAC 660 is shown in the illustration as being included in communication processor 212, ET DAC 660 may be included in RFIC 222.

During transmission, the RFIC222 may convert baseband signals generated by the communication processor 212 into radio frequency signals for the network (e.g., a frequency band of about 600MHz to about 6 GHz).

ET modulator 400 may include a linear regulator 410, a comparator 420, and/or a switching regulator 430. The linear regulator 410 (the first linear regulator 311 or the second linear regulator 321 in fig. 3), the comparator 420, and the switching regulator 430 (e.g., the switching regulator 340 in fig. 3) have been described in detail with reference to fig. 3 and 4A, and a repeated description thereof will not be provided herein.

Transmit circuit 600 may include a Power Amplifier (PA)610, a Low Noise Amplifier (LNA)620, a filter/duplexer 630, a plurality of Mobile Industry Processor Interface (MIPI) controllers 640, and an Antenna Switch (ASW) 650. The power amplifier 610 (e.g., the first amplifier 311 or the second amplifier 321 IN fig. 3) may amplify the transmission signal (e.g., PA _ IN). The low noise amplifier 620 may amplify the received signal. The filter/duplexer 630 may be connected to an antenna (e.g., the first antenna module 242 in fig. 2) of the electronic device 101 in order to separate the transmit/receive frequencies of the electronic device 101. Filter/duplexer 630 may include multiple filters or duplexers over respective frequency bands. A plurality of MIPI controllers 640 may control transmission signals or reception signals. An Antenna Switch (ASW)650 may select a frequency band of a signal to be transmitted/received. The antenna switch 650 may control the switch according to a frequency band of a signal to be transmitted/received.

Since the envelope signal output from the ET DAC 660 may be input to the ET modulator 400, distortion of the envelope signal input to the ET modulator 400 may become severe. Signal distortion may increase in proportion to distance 670 (e.g., the distance between ET modulator 400 and transmission circuit 600) and in proportion to signal bandwidth. Therefore, the ET modulator 400 according to the comparative example may be installed at a small distance, preferably a minimum distance 670, from the transmission circuit 600. If the ET technique is applied to a signal having a wide bandwidth of 100MHz or more, as in the case of 5G, fatal distortion may occur due to the distance 670 between the ET modulator 400 and the transmission circuit 600.

Fig. 6B is a diagram illustrating an example configuration of an electronic device having an ET modulator applied to a transmit circuit, in accordance with various embodiments.

Referring to fig. 6B, an electronic device (e.g., electronic device 101 in fig. 1) according to the present disclosure may include a communication processor (e.g., first communication processor 212), an RFIC (e.g., RFIC222 in fig. 2), an ET modulator 450, and a transmission circuit 310 (e.g., transmission circuit 310 in fig. 3).

The communication processor 212 may include various processing circuitry and support establishing a communication channel in a frequency band to be used for wireless communication with a network (e.g., the second network 294 in fig. 2) and supporting network communication over the established communication channel. According to various embodiments, the network may include, for example, but not limited to, a 2G, 3G, 4G, or Long Term Evolution (LTE) network or a 5G network defined by the third generation partnership project (3 GPP).

During transmission, the RFIC222 may convert baseband signals generated by the communication processor to radio frequency signals for the network (e.g., about 6HGz or lower).

ET modulator 450 may include switching regulator 430. The ET modulator 450 may be a first type ET modulator as shown in fig. 4B. The switching regulator 430 has already been described in detail with reference to fig. 3 or 4A, and a repetitive description thereof will not be repeated here.

Transmission circuit 310 may include an amplifier 311 (e.g., first amplifier 311 or second amplifier 321 in fig. 3), a linear regulator 313 (e.g., first linear regulator 313 or second linear regulator 323 in fig. 3), a comparator 420 (e.g., comparator 420 in fig. 4A), a low noise filter 620, a filter/duplexer 630, a plurality of MIPI controllers 640, an Antenna Switch (ASW)650, and/or an ET DAC 660. The ET DAC 660 may convert the I/Q signal into an envelope signal and input the envelope signal to the linear regulator 410 as an in-phase "I" signal having a phase of 0 ° and as a quadrature "Q" signal having a phase of 90 °. The elements of the transmission circuit 310 have already been described in detail with reference to fig. 3, 4A, and 6A, and a repetitive description thereof will not be repeated here.

According to various embodiments, since the envelope signal output from the ET DAC 660 included in the transmission circuit 310 is directly input to the linear regulator 313 included in the transmission circuit 310, the envelope signal may have little or no distortion. The signal distortion may increase in proportion to the distance 670 (e.g., the distance between the ET modulator 440 and the transmit circuit 310) and in proportion to the signal bandwidth. However, since ET DAC 660 and linear regulator 313 are included in transmission circuit 310, linear regulator 313 outputs the final envelope signal for a wide bandwidth signal of about 100MHz or higher, as in the case of 5G, and signal distortion may be little or no depending on distance 670.

According to various embodiments, amplifier 311, low noise amplifier 620, filter/duplexer 630, plurality of MIPI controllers 640, and Antenna Switch (ASW)650 included in transmission circuit 310 may use, for example, a Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS)/silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafer process. In addition, the ET modulator including the linear regulator 313, the comparator 420, and the switching regulator 430 may also use, for example, a CMOS/SOI wafer process. Therefore, if the linear regulator 313 and the comparator 420, which are some elements of the ET modulator, are included in the transmission circuit 310, the chip size does not change, and more efficient and cost-effective chip manufacturing can be facilitated.

Fig. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example voltage measurement plot obtained by simulating an ET modulator, in accordance with various embodiments.

Referring to fig. 7, the voltage measurement graph may be obtained by simulating the output voltage of an ET modulator (e.g., ET modulator 400 in fig. 4A, ET modulator 450 in fig. 4B, or ET modulator 470 in fig. 4C). If the ET modulator supports 100MHz band signals and if the circuit is configured such that the distance between the ET modulator and the transmission circuit is, for example, about 5cm, the first signal 710 may be an envelope input signal, the second signal 720 may be a conventional envelope output signal, and the third signal 730 may be an envelope output signal according to the present disclosure. According to the related art, after an envelope signal is generated by a linear regulator (e.g., the linear regulator 410 of fig. 4A or 4C), a signal output to a switching regulator (e.g., the switching regulator 430 of fig. 4A or 4C) may be distorted due to an inductance caused by a long path (e.g., a distance of 5 cm). The second signal 720 cannot track the first signal 710 due to distortion caused by inductance. According to the present disclosure, a linear regulator (e.g., the first linear regulator 313 or the second linear regulator 323 in fig. 3) is included in a transmission circuit (e.g., the first transmission circuit 310 or the second transmission circuit 320 in fig. 3) such that the linear regulator outputs a final envelope signal. Although the third signal 730 is 5cm from the broadband signal (e.g., about 100MHz band), the third signal 730 has little or no distortion caused by inductance and thus can track the first signal 710.

Fig. 8 is a diagram showing an example configuration of an electronic apparatus including a transmission circuit to which an ET modulator is applied according to various embodiments, fig. 9 is a diagram showing an example configuration of an electronic apparatus including a transmission circuit to which an ET modulator is applied according to various embodiments, and fig. 10 is a diagram showing an example configuration of an electronic apparatus including a transmission circuit to which an ET modulator is applied according to various embodiments.

According to an embodiment, the antenna capable of transmission may be present inside an electronic device (e.g., electronic device 101 in fig. 1). For example, electronics for 4G may typically use an antenna at the bottom of the electronics to transmit RF signals to a base station. However, in order to increase uplink throughput (T-put), an uplink carrier aggregation (ULCA) technique is applied to the 4G electronic devices, and an evolved universal radio access new radio (UTRA-NR) dual connectivity technique is applied to the 5G electronic devices. In order to transmit two or more independent RF signals simultaneously in this manner, it is necessary to use not only an antenna at the bottom of the electronic device but also an antenna at the top of the electronic device. According to an embodiment, various RF signals may be transmitted using only the bottom antenna, but parasitic components such as intermodulation distortion (IMD)/harmonics may make it difficult to meet the 3GPP spurious specifications and may cause sensitivity degradation. Therefore, as shown in fig. 8, 9, and 10, the ET modulator and the transmission circuit may be arranged and configured on the top and bottom of the electronic device in various types for top/bottom transmission (Tx).

According to various embodiments, the electronic device may be configured such that the ET modulator (e.g., the first type ET modulator 450 in fig. 4B or fig. 6B) includes only the switching regulator (e.g., the switching regulator 430 in fig. 4B or fig. 6B), and the transmission circuit (e.g., the transmission circuit 310 in fig. 6B) (hereinafter, referred to as "first type transmission circuit") includes the linear regulator (e.g., the linear regulator 313 in fig. 6B) and the comparator (e.g., the comparator 420 in fig. 6B). This can compensate not only for noise generated by the switching regulator, but also for distortion caused by trace inductance inside the electronic device. This enables various embodiments to be implemented using minimal and/or reduced ET modulators without being limited by the distance between the ET modulator and the transmit circuitry, even where there is a need to support ULCA/endec without using multiple complex ET modulators (e.g., the second type ET modulator 400 in fig. 4A) at the top and bottom of the electronic device. In addition, using a simple ET modulator (e.g., the first type ET modulator 430) may have advantages in terms of size, mounting area, unit price, or circuit arrangement (for design freedom).

In the following description with reference to fig. 8 and 9, an ET modulator including only a switching regulator (e.g., the switching regulator 430 in fig. 4B or 6B) will be referred to as a "first-type ET modulator" as in the case of an ET modulator (e.g., the ET modulator 450 in fig. 4B or 6B) according to various embodiments, and an ET modulator including a switching regulator (e.g., the switching regulator 430 in fig. 4A or 6A), a linear regulator (e.g., the linear regulator 410 in fig. 4A or 6A), and a comparator (e.g., the comparator 420 in fig. 4A or 6A) will be referred to as a "second-type ET modulator" as in the case of an ET modulator (e.g., the ET modulator 430 in fig. 4B or 6B) having an existing structure. Also, in the following description, as in the case of the transmission circuit (e.g., the transmission circuit 310 in fig. 6B) according to various embodiments, the transmission circuit including the linear regulator (e.g., the linear regulator 313 in fig. 6B) and the comparator (e.g., the comparator 420 in fig. 6B) will be referred to as a "first-type transmission circuit", and the transmission circuit having an existing structure (e.g., the transmission circuit 600 in fig. 6A) will be referred to as a "second-type transmission circuit".

Fig. 8 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an electronic apparatus according to an example embodiment. Referring to fig. 8, an electronic device (e.g., the electronic device 101 in fig. 1) according to the first embodiment may include a first type transmission circuit 1810, a first type transmission circuit 2820, a first type ET modulator 1830, a first type transmission circuit 3840, a first type transmission circuit 4850, a first type ET modulator 2860, a first type transmission circuit 5870, a first antenna module (e.g., the first antenna module 242 in fig. 2), a second antenna module (e.g., the second antenna module 244 in fig. 2), a third antenna module (e.g., the third antenna module 246 in fig. 2), a fourth antenna module (e.g., the fourth antenna module 248 in fig. 2), and a fifth antenna module 880.

The first-type transmitting circuits 1810 to 5870 may be the first transmitting circuit 310 or the second transmitting circuit 320 shown in fig. 3 or 6B. The first-type transmission circuits 1810 to 5870 (e.g., 810, 820, 840, 850, and 870) may include a linear regulator (e.g., the first linear regulator 313 or the second linear regulator 323) or a comparator. Each of the first-type transmitting circuits 1810 to 5870 may amplify a transmission signal in a different frequency band or the same frequency band. For example, the first-type transmission circuits 1810 to 5870 may be configured to process signals in different frequency bands.

The first-type ET modulator 1830 or the first-type ET modulator 2860 may include a switching regulator (e.g., the switching regulator 340 in fig. 3 or the switching regulator 430 in fig. 4B). The first type ET modulator 1830 or the first type ET modulator 2860 may refer to the ET modulator 450 in fig. 4B.

The first to fifth antenna modules 242 to 880 (e.g., 242, 244, 246, 248, 880) may transmit the first to fifth transmission signals, which have been amplified by the first to first type transmission circuits 1810 to 5870, to the base station through the network.

According to various embodiments, the first-type transmit circuit 1810 and the first-type transmit circuit 2820 may be disposed on a top of the electronic device 101, and the first-type ET modulator 2860 and the first-type transmit circuit 5870 may be disposed on a bottom of the electronic device 101. Since the first-type transmitting circuits 1810 to 5870 include the linear regulators in the present disclosure, the first-type ET modulator 2860 may be electrically connected to the first-type transmitting circuits 1810 and the first-type transmitting circuits 2820 even if the first-type ET modulator 2860 is disposed on the bottom of the electronic device 101. The first-type ET modulator 2860 may have little or no difficulty in providing the envelope signal even if the distance from the first-type transmission circuit 1810 and the first-type transmission circuit 2820 increases. For example, since the final envelope signal is output from the linear regulators included in the first-type transmission circuit 1810 and the first-type transmission circuit 2820, little or no signal distortion may occur.

According to the prior art, at least one ET modulator may be required for every two transmission circuits, because the envelope output signal from the ET modulator is distorted if the frequency band is widened or if the distance between the ET modulator (e.g. the second type ET modulator) and the transmission circuit is increased. The electronic apparatus 101 according to the first embodiment can configure a circuit using a small number of ET modulators because the first-type transmission circuit 1810 to the first-type transmission circuit 5870 include linear regulators so that the envelope output signal from the ET modulator is not distorted even if the frequency band is widened or even if the distance between the ET modulator (e.g., the first-type ET modulator) and the transmission circuit (e.g., the first-type transmission circuit) is increased.

Fig. 9 is a diagram showing an example configuration of an electronic apparatus according to another example embodiment.

Referring to fig. 9, an electronic apparatus (e.g., the electronic apparatus 101 in fig. 1) according to an example embodiment may include a first type transmission circuit 1810, a first type transmission circuit 2820, a second type ET modulator 910, a second type transmission circuit 1920, a second type transmission circuit 9930, a first type ET modulator 830, a first type transmission circuit 3940, a first antenna module (e.g., the first antenna module 242 in fig. 2), a second antenna module (e.g., the second antenna module 244 in fig. 2), a third antenna module (e.g., the third antenna module 246 in fig. 2), a fourth antenna module (e.g., the fourth antenna module 248 in fig. 2), and a fifth antenna module 880.

The first type transmission circuit 1810, the first type transmission circuit 2820, or the first type transmission circuit 3940 may be the first transmission circuit 310 or the second transmission circuit 320 shown in fig. 3 or 6B. The first type transmission circuit 1810, the first type transmission circuit 2820, and/or the first type transmission circuit 3940 may include a linear regulator (e.g., the first linear regulator 313 or the second linear regulator 323) or a comparator. Each of the first type transmission circuit 1810, the first type transmission circuit 2820, and/or the first type transmission circuit 3940 may amplify transmission signals in different frequency bands or the same frequency band. For example, the first-type transmission circuits 1810 to 3940 may be configured to process signals in different frequency bands.

The second-type transmission circuit 1920 and/or the second-type transmission circuit 2930 may be the transmission circuit 600 shown in fig. 6A. For example, second-type transmission circuit 1920 or second-type transmission circuit 2930 may not include a linear regulator or comparator, and may include, for example, a Power Amplifier (PA)610, a Low Noise Amplifier (LNA)620, a filter/duplexer 630, a plurality of MIPI controllers 640, and an Antenna Switch (ASW) 650.

The second type ET modulator 910 may include a linear regulator (e.g., linear regulator 410 in fig. 4A), a comparator (e.g., comparator 420 in fig. 4A), and a switching regulator (e.g., switching regulator 430 in fig. 4A). The second type ET modulator 910 may be the ET modulator 400 shown in fig. 4A.

The first type ET modulator 830 may include a switching regulator (e.g., the switching regulator 340 in fig. 3 or the switching regulator 430 in fig. 4B). The first type ET modulator 830 may be referred to as the ET modulator 450 in fig. 4B.

The first to fifth antenna modules 242 to 880 may transmit the first to fifth transmission signals, which have been amplified by the first to first type transmission circuits 1810 to 3940, the second type transmission circuit 1920, and the second type transmission circuit 2930, to the base station through the network.

According to various embodiments, the first-type transmit circuit 1810 and the first-type transmit circuit 2820 may be disposed on a top of the electronic device 101, and the first-type ET modulator 830 may be disposed on a bottom of the electronic device 101. Since the first-type transmitting circuit 1810 and the first-type transmitting circuit 2820 include the linear regulator in the present disclosure, the first-type ET modulator 830 may be electrically connected to the first-type transmitting circuit 1810 and the first-type transmitting circuit 2820 even if the first-type ET modulator 830 is arranged on the bottom of the electronic device 101. The first-type ET modulator 830 may have little or no difficulty in providing the envelope signal even if the distance from the first-type transmission circuit 1810 and the first-type transmission circuit 2820 increases. For example, since the final envelope signal is output from the linear regulators included in the first-type transmission circuit 1810 and the first-type transmission circuit 2820, little or no signal distortion may occur.

According to various embodiments, the second-type ET modulator 910 may be connected to the second-type transmission circuit 1920 and the second-type transmission circuit 2930. Since the envelope signal output from the second-type ET modulator 910 is directly transmitted to the second-type transmission circuit 1920 and the second-type transmission circuit 2930, little or no signal distortion occurs. The electronic apparatus 101 according to the second embodiment can configure a circuit using a small number of ET modulators because the envelope output signal from the first-type ET modulator 830 is not distorted even if the frequency band is widened or even if the distance between the first-type ET modulator 830 and the first-type transmission circuit 1810 and the first-type transmission circuit 2820 is increased.

Even where ULCA/ENDC support is desired, various embodiments may be implemented using a reduced or minimal ET modulator, without the limitation of the distance between the ET modulator and the transmission circuitry. In addition, using a simple ET modulator (e.g., a first type ET modulator) may have advantages in terms of size, mounting area, unit price, or circuit arrangement (for design freedom).

Fig. 10 is a diagram showing an example configuration of an electronic apparatus according to another example embodiment.

Referring to fig. 10, an electronic apparatus (e.g., electronic apparatus 101 in fig. 1) according to another example embodiment may include a first type transmission circuit 810, a second type transmission circuit 1920, a second type ET modulator 910, a second type transmission circuit 21010, a second type transmission circuit 31020, a third type ET modulator 1030, a second type transmission circuit 41040, a first antenna module (e.g., first antenna module 242 in fig. 2), a second antenna module (e.g., second antenna module 244 in fig. 2), a third antenna module (e.g., third antenna module 246 in fig. 2), a fourth antenna module (e.g., fourth antenna module 248 in fig. 2), and a fifth antenna module 880.

The first type transmission circuit 810 may be the first transmission circuit 310 or the second transmission circuit 320 shown in fig. 3 or 6B. The first type transmission circuit 810 may include a linear regulator (e.g., the first linear regulator 313 or the second linear regulator 323) or a comparator.

The second-type transmission circuit 1920, the second-type transmission circuit 21010, the second-type transmission circuit 31020, or the second-type transmission circuit 41040 may be the transmission circuit 600 shown in fig. 6A. For example, the second-type transmission circuit 1920, the second-type transmission circuit 21010, the second-type transmission circuit 31020, or the second-type transmission circuit 41040 may not include a linear regulator or a comparator, and may include, for example, a Power Amplifier (PA)610, a Low Noise Amplifier (LNA)620, a filter/duplexer 630, a plurality of MIPI controllers 640, and an Antenna Switch (ASW) 650.

The second type ET modulator 910 may include a linear regulator (e.g., linear regulator 410 in fig. 4A), a comparator (e.g., comparator 420 in fig. 4A), and a switching regulator (e.g., switching regulator 430 in fig. 4A). The second type ET modulator 910 may be the ET modulator 400 shown in fig. 4A.

The third type ET modulator 1030 may include a linear regulator (e.g., linear regulator 410 in fig. 4C), a comparator (e.g., comparator 420 in fig. 4C), a switching regulator (e.g., switching regulator 430 in fig. 4C), and a multiplexer (e.g., multiplexer 480 in fig. 4C). The third type ET modulator 1030 may be the ET modulator 470 shown in fig. 4C.

The first to fifth antenna modules 242 to 880 (e.g., 242, 244, 246, 248, 880) may transmit the first to fifth transmission signals, which have been amplified by the first and second type transmission circuits 810 and 1920 to 41040, to the base station through the network.

According to various embodiments, the first type of transmission circuitry 810 and the second type of transmission circuitry 1920 may be disposed on a top of the electronic device 101, and the third type of ET modulator 1030 may be disposed on a bottom of the electronic device 101. The third-type ET modulator 1030 may control a signal input to the switching regulator when the envelope signal is supplied to the first-type transmission circuit 810 using the multiplexer 480, and when the envelope signal is supplied to the second-type transmission circuit 1920 and the second-type transmission circuit 41040.

For example, when amplifying a first transmission signal of the first type transmission circuit 810 including a linear regulator, the typed ET modulator 1030 may output a signal output from the linear regulator included in the first type transmission circuit 810 to the switching regulator 430 as an input signal. When amplifying the transmission signals of the second-type transmission circuit 1920 and the second-type transmission circuit 41040 that do not include the linear regulator, the third-type ET modulator 1030 may output a signal output from the linear regulator 410 included in the third-type ET modulator 1030 to the switching regulator 430 as an input signal.

In the present disclosure, the first-type transmission circuit 810 includes a linear regulator, and the third-type ET modulator 1030 includes a linear regulator, a comparator, a switching regulator, and a multiplexer, so that even if the third-type ET modulator 1030 is arranged on the bottom of the electronic device 101, the third-type ET modulator 1030 can be electrically connected to the first-type transmission circuit 810 and the second-type transmission circuit 1920. For example, since the final envelope signal is output from the linear regulator included in the first type transmission circuit 810 or the linear regulator included in the third type ET modulator 1030, little or no signal distortion occurs.

According to various embodiments, the second-type ET modulator 910 may be connected to the second-type transmission circuit 21010 and the second-type transmission circuit 31020. Since the envelope signal output from the second-type ET modulator 910 is directly transmitted to the second-type transmission circuit 21010 and the second-type transmission circuit 31020, little or no signal distortion occurs. The electronic apparatus 101 according to this example embodiment may have a circuit configured using a small number of ET modulators because the final envelope output signal is not distorted even if the frequency band is widened or even if the distance between the third-type ET modulator 1030 and the first-type transmission circuit 810 or the second-type transmission circuit 1920 is increased.

As described above, an electronic device according to various embodiments may include: a first transmission circuit, the first transmission circuit comprising: a first amplifier configured to amplify a first transmission signal; and a first linear regulator configured to supply a first voltage to the first amplifier based on an envelope corresponding to a first specified frequency band of the first transmission signal; a second transmission circuit, the second transmission circuit comprising: a second amplifier configured to amplify a second transmission signal; and a second linear regulator configured to supply a second voltage to the second amplifier based on an envelope corresponding to a second specified frequency band of the second transmission signal; a switching regulator electrically connected to the first amplifier and the second amplifier; and a control circuit. The control circuit may be configured based on the first transmission signal transmitted to the external electronic device through the first transmission circuit, and supply the third voltage to the first amplifier using the switching regulator based on an envelope corresponding to a third frequency band lower than the first specified frequency band of the first transmission signal. In addition, the control circuit 330 may be configured based on the second transmission signal transmitted to the external electronic device through the second transmission circuit, and supply the fourth voltage to the second amplifier using the switching regulator based on an envelope corresponding to a third frequency band lower than a second specified frequency band of the second transmission signal.

According to various example embodiments, the first transmission circuit may further include a first comparator configured to compare the first voltage and the third voltage, and the second transmission circuit may further include a second comparator configured to compare the second voltage and the fourth voltage.

According to various example embodiments, the first linear regulator may be configured to control the first voltage to track an envelope corresponding to a first specified frequency band, and the second linear regulator may be configured to control the second voltage to track an envelope corresponding to a second specified frequency band.

According to various example embodiments, the first linear regulator and/or the second linear regulator may be configured to regulate and thus compensate for noise generated by the switching regulator.

According to various example embodiments, the first specified frequency band may be different from the second specified frequency band.

According to various example embodiments, the first transmission circuit may further include a multiplexer, and the control circuit may be configured to control the multiplexer to control the voltage input to the switching regulator.

As described above, an electronic device according to various example embodiments may include: a first transmission circuit, the first transmission circuit comprising: a first amplifier configured to amplify a first transmission signal; and a first linear regulator configured to provide a first envelope signal to the first amplifier based on an envelope corresponding to a first specified frequency band of the first transmission signal; a second transmission circuit, the second transmission circuit comprising: a second amplifier configured to amplify a second transmission signal; an Envelope Tracking (ET) modulator comprising an ET modulation circuit electrically connected to a first amplifier and a second amplifier; and a control circuit. The control circuit may be configured based on a first transmission signal transmitted to the external electronic device through the first transmission circuit to provide the first envelope signal to the first amplifier using the ET modulator. In addition, the control circuit may be configured based on a second transmission signal transmitted to the external electronic device through the second transmission circuit to provide the second envelope signal output from the ET modulator to the second amplifier.

According to various example embodiments, the ET modulator may include a switching regulator, and the control circuit may be configured to provide the first envelope signal generated from the high frequency signal output from the first linear regulator and the low frequency signal output from the switching regulator to the first amplifier.

According to various example embodiments, the ET modulator may include a switching regulator and a second linear regulator, and the control circuit 330 may be configured to provide a second envelope signal generated by a high frequency signal output from the second linear regulator and a low frequency signal output from the switching regulator to the second amplifier 321.

According to various example embodiments, the ET modulator may include a switching regulator, the second transmission circuit may further include a second linear regulator, and the control circuit may be configured to provide a second envelope signal generated from a high frequency signal output from the second linear regulator and a low frequency signal output from the switching regulator to the second amplifier.

According to various example embodiments, the ET modulator may further include a second linear regulator, a switching regulator, and a multiplexer, and the control circuit may be configured to control the multiplexer to control the signal input to the switching regulator.

According to various example embodiments, based on amplifying the first transmission signal of the first transmission circuit, the control circuit 330 may be configured to control the multiplexer to output the signal output from the first linear regulator to the switching regulator as an input signal.

According to various example embodiments, the ET modulator may further include a second linear regulator, and the control circuit may be configured to control the multiplexer to output a signal output from the second linear regulator included in the ET modulator to the switching regulator as the input signal, based on amplifying the second transmission signal of the second transmission circuit.

As described above, an electronic device according to various example embodiments may include: a first transmission circuit, the first transmission circuit comprising: a first amplifier configured to amplify a first transmission signal; and a first linear regulator configured to provide a first voltage to the first amplifier based on an envelope corresponding to a first specified frequency band of the first transmission signal; a second transmission circuit, the second transmission circuit comprising: a second amplifier configured to amplify a second transmission signal; an Envelope Tracking (ET) modulator comprising an ET modulation circuit electrically connected to a first amplifier and a second amplifier, the ET modulator comprising a second linear regulator configured to supply a second voltage based on an envelope phase second amplifier corresponding to a second specified frequency band of a second transmission signal; and a control circuit. The control circuit 330 may be configured based on the first transmission signal transmitted to the external electronic device through the first transmission circuit, and supply the third voltage to the first amplifier using the ET modulator based on an envelope corresponding to a third frequency band lower than the first designated frequency band of the first transmission signal. In addition, the control circuit 330 may be configured based on the second transmission signal transmitted to the external electronic device through the second transmission circuit, and supply the fourth voltage to the second amplifier using the switching regulator based on an envelope corresponding to a third frequency band lower than a second specified frequency band of the second transmission signal.

According to various example embodiments, the ET modulator may further include a switching regulator, and the control circuit may be configured to supply the third voltage to the first amplifier using the switching regulator, and supply the fourth voltage to the second amplifier using the switching regulator.

According to various example embodiments, the first transmission circuit may further include a first comparator configured to compare the first voltage and the third voltage, and the ET modulator may further include a second comparator configured to compare the second voltage and the fourth voltage.

According to various example embodiments, the ET modulator may further include a switching regulator and a multiplexer, and the control circuit 330 may be configured to control the multiplexer to control the voltage input to the switching regulator.

According to various example embodiments, based on amplifying the first transmission signal of the first transmission circuit, the control circuit may be configured to control the multiplexer to output the signal output from the first linear regulator to the switching regulator as an input signal. In addition, based on amplifying the second transmission signal of the second transmission circuit, the control circuit may be configured to control the multiplexer to output a signal output from the second linear regulator included in the ET modulator to the switching regulator as an input signal.

According to various example embodiments, the ET modulator 450 may further include a switching regulator, and the first linear regulator or the second linear regulator may be configured to regulate and thus compensate for noise generated by the switching regulator.

According to various example embodiments, the first specified frequency band may be different from the second specified frequency band.

Fig. 11 is a flow diagram illustrating an example method for operating an electronic device, in accordance with various embodiments.

Referring to fig. 11, in operation 1101, the control circuit 330 of the electronic device 101 may detect a transmission signal. According to an embodiment, the control circuit 330 may refer to a comprehensive concept including a circuit for controlling wireless communication according to various example embodiments, such as a communication processor (e.g., the processor 120, the first communication processor 212, or the second communication processor 214 in fig. 2), an RFIC (e.g., the first RFIC222 or the second RFIC 224 in fig. 2), a wireless communication module (e.g., the wireless communication module 192 in fig. 1 or 2), or an ET DAC.

According to an embodiment, an electronic device may include: a first transmission circuit including a first amplifier configured to amplify a first transmission signal and a first linear regulator configured to supply a first voltage to the first amplifier based on an envelope corresponding to a first specified frequency band of the first transmission signal; and a second transmission circuit including a second amplifier configured to amplify a second transmission signal and a second linear regulator configured to supply a second voltage to the second amplifier based on an envelope corresponding to a second specified frequency band of the second transmission signal. According to an embodiment, the first specified frequency band may be different from the second specified frequency band. According to an embodiment, an electronic device may include an ET modulator including an ET modulation circuit electrically connected to a first amplifier and a second amplifier. According to various embodiments, the ET modulator may comprise a switching regulator. According to an embodiment, the first transmission circuit may further include a first comparator configured to compare the first voltage and the third voltage, and the second transmission circuit may further include a second comparator configured to compare the second voltage and the fourth voltage. According to an embodiment, the first linear regulator may be configured to control the first voltage to track an envelope corresponding to the first specified frequency band, and may be configured to regulate and thus compensate for noise generated by the switching regulator. According to an embodiment, the second linear regulator may be configured to control the second voltage to track an envelope corresponding to the second specified frequency band, and may be configured to regulate and thus compensate for noise generated by the switching regulator.

In operation 1103, the control circuit 330 may determine whether the transmission signal corresponds to the first transmission signal or the second transmission signal.

If the transmission signal is the first transmission signal in operation 1103 (e.g., yes in operation 1103), the control circuit 330 may control to supply the first transmission signal to the first amplifier 311 based on an envelope corresponding to a frequency band lower than the designated frequency band of the first transmission signal in operation 1105. According to an embodiment, when the first transmission signal is transmitted to the external electronic device through the first transmission circuit 310, the control circuit 330 may perform control based on an envelope corresponding to a third frequency band lower than the first designated frequency band of the first transmission signal, so that the third voltage is supplied to the first amplifier 311 using the switching regulator 340 or 430.

If the transmission signal is the second transmission signal in operation 1103 (e.g., no in operation 1103), the control circuit 330 may control to supply the second transmission signal to the second amplifier 321 based on an envelope corresponding to a frequency band lower than the designated frequency band of the second transmission signal in operation 1107. According to an embodiment, when the second transmission signal is transmitted to the external electronic device through the second transmission circuit 320, the control circuit 330 may control based on an envelope corresponding to a third frequency band lower than a second designated frequency band of the second transmission signal such that the fourth voltage is supplied to the second amplifier 321 using the switching regulator 340 or 430.

Various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure disclosed herein and illustrated in the drawings are merely examples given to easily describe technical details of the present disclosure and to assist understanding of the present disclosure, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, it should be understood that all modifications and changes or forms of modifications and changes derived from the technical idea of the present disclosure, other than the embodiments disclosed herein, fall within the scope of the present disclosure.