Patent attributes
A Doherty amplifier circuit having a tunable impedance and phase (“TIP”) circuit to provide an adjustable alpha factor, which allows for a selection of power added efficiency (PAE) curves that are useful for applications having different modulations or to meet other criteria. Embodiments include a Doherty amplifier having a TIP circuit that provides for tunability of the impedance ZINV (resulting in an adjustable alpha factor) while maintaining the phase of the output of the carrier amplifier at 90° (for a selected polarity)±a low phase variation. Embodiments of the TIP circuit include one or more series-connected TIP cells comprising at least one TIP circuit combined with a tunable phase adjustment circuit. In operation, when the impedance of a TIP cell is adjusted, adjustments within the cell are also made to provide a phase shift correction back towards 90° (at the selected polarity).