Bias circuitry for stacked transistor power amplifier stages

Claim 2

A circuit for developing first and second, push-pull output currents responsive to an input current comprising: first, second, third, and fourth circuit nodes, said first and said second nodes being adapted for connecting to a source of said input current, said first and said third nodes being adapted for connection to a source of bias potential; first, second, third, fourth and fifth transistors of the same conductivity type, each having a base, an emitter and a collector electrode, and each having a forward current gain of substantially beta, the emitter electrodes of said first and said second and said fourth transistors each being direct current conductively coupled to said first node, the base electrodes of said first and said second transistors each being direct coupled from said second node, said first transistor collector electrode and said third transistor emitter electrode each being direct current conductively coupled to said second node, the collector electrodes of said fourth and said fifth transistors being direct current conductively coupled to said fourth node, said base electrodes of said third and said fifth transistors being direct coupled from said fourth node, said fourth transistor base electrode being direct coupled from said fifth transistor emitter electrode first and second resistive elements, with similar resistances but relatively beta-dependent and beta-independent, respectively, connected in series between said third and said fourth nodes; and utilization means connected to the collector electrodes of said second and said third transistors, respectively.

Claim 3

A circuit as claimed in claim 1 including: a sixth transistor of opposite conductivity type to said fourth transistor, said sixth transistor having a collector electrode direct current conductively coupled to said first node, having an emitter electrode connected to said third node, and having a base-emitter junction included in said direct coupled series combination with said first and said second resistors, and poled for easy conduction.

Claim 4

A circuit as claimed in claim 2 having seventh and eighth transistors of the same conductivity type as said first transistor and ninth and tenth transistors of the opposite conductivity type, each having a base and an emitter and a collector electrode, said ninth transistor collector electrode being direct coupled to said seventh transistor base electrode, said tenth transistor collector electrode being direct coupled to said eighth transistor base electrode, the base electrodes of said ninth and said tenth transistors being respectively direct coupled to separate ones of the collector electrodes of said second and said third transistors, said seventh transistor emitter electrode being direct current conductively coupled to said eighth transistor collector electrode and having said tenth transistor emitter electrode direct coupled therefrom and, first and second terminals adapted for application of a source of energizing potentials, said first terminal having said eighth transistor emitter electrode and said first node direct current conductively coupled thereto, said second terminal having said seventh transistor collector electrode said ninth transistor emitter electrode and said third node direct current conductively coupled thereto.

Claim 5

An integrated-circuit quasi-linear amplifier comprising: a first composite transistor including an input transistor and at least one output transistor of complementary conductivity type to said input transistor, said input transistor having a base electrode providing the ''''base'''' electrode of said first composite transistor, and having a collector region, each said output transistor having a base region direct coupled to said input transistor collector region, said input transistor having an emitter electrode and each said output transistor having a collector electrode, all direct current conductively coupled to the ''''emitter'''' electrode of said first composite transistor, each said output transistor having a collector electrode direct current conductively coupled to the ''''collector'''' electrode of said first composite transistor; a second composite transistor of substantially similar composition and consequently similar operational characteristics to said first composite transistor and thereby provided with a base, an emitter and a collector electrodes; means serially connecting the collector-to-cemitter paths of said first and said second composite transistors for application of operating potential means arranging said first and said second composite transistors in common emitter amplifier configurations, on being collector-loaded and the other being emitter-loaded; a first phase-splitting amplifier including first and second and third transistors, each having base and an emitter and collector electrodes and being of said complementary conductivity type, said first and said second transistors being connected in grounded-emitter amplifier configuration with their base electrodes direct coupled to said third transistor emitter electrode, said first transistor collector electrode being direct current conductively coupled to said third transistor emitter electrode, the collector electrodes of said second and said third transistors being direct coupled respectively to the base electrodes of said first and said second composite transistors; means for supplying a potential related to the common-emitter forward current gains of said first and said second composite transistor to the base electrode of said third transistor in said first phase-splitting amplifier.

Claim 6

An integrated-circuit quasi-linear amplifier comprising: a first composite transistor including an input transistor and at least one output transistor of complementary conductivity type to said input transistor, said input transistor having a base electrode providing the ''''base'''' electrode of said first composite transistor, and having a collector region, each said output transistor having a base region direct coupled to said input transistor collector region, said input transistor having an emitter electrode and each said output transistor having a collector electrode, all direct current conductively coupled to the ''''emitter'''' electrode of said first composite transistor, each said output transistor having a collector electrode direct current conductively coupled to the ''''collector'''' electrode of said first composite transistor; a second composite transistor of substantially similar composition and consequently similar operational characteristics to said first composite transistor and thereby provided with a base, an emitter and a collector electrodes; means serially connecting the collector-to-cemitter paths of said first and said second composite transistors for application of operating potential means arranging said first and said second composite transistors in common emitter amplifier configurations, on being collector-loaded and the other being emitter-loaded; a first phase-splitting amplifier including first and second and third transistors, each having base and an emitter and collector electrodes and being of said complementary conductivity type, said first and said second transistors being connected in grounded-emitter amplifier configuration with their base electrodes direct coupled to said third transistor emitter electrode, said first transistor collector electrode being direct current conductively coupled to said third transistor emitter electrode, the collector electrodes of said second and said third transistors being direct coupled respectively to the base electrodes of said first and said second composite transistors; means for supplying a potential related to the common-emitter forward current gains of said first and said second composite transistor to the base electrode of said third transistor in said first phase-splitting amplifier.

Claim 7

An integrated-circuit quasi-linear amplifier as claimed in claim 4 wherein said means for supplying a related potential includes: a Darlington configuration of transistors, having an output circuit which supplies said related potential and having an input circuit connected to its own said output circuit, and a source of current related to the common emitter forward current gains of said first and said second composite transistors, said source being coupled to said input circuit of said Darlington configuration.

Claim 8

An integrated circuit quasi-linear amplifier as claimed in claim 5 wherein said source of current comprises: a source of fixed bias potential; an auxiliary transistor of the same conductivity type as said input transistors connected in grounded-collector configuration having a base electrode connected to said Darlington configuration input circuit and having an emitter electrode, first and second resistors having substantially equal nominal resistance values, one being formed by the single diffusion process used to form the base regions of said vertical structure and the other a pinch type being formed by the diffusion processes used to form the base and the emitter regions of said vertical structure resistors, together connecting the emitter electrode of said auxiliary transistor to said source of fixed bias potential.

Claim 9

An integrated-circuit quasi-linear amplifier as claimed in claim 4 including: third and fourth composite transistors similar to said first and said second composite transistors, respectively, and similarly connected with respect to each other as said first and said second composite transistor; a second phase-splitting amplifier including fourth and fifth and sixth and seventh transistors, each having a base and an emitter and a collector electrode and being of said complementary conductivity type, said fourth and said fifth transistors being connected in grounded-emitter amplifier configuration with their base electrodes to which said fourth transistor collector electrode is direct current conductivity coupled, the base electrodes of said sixth and said seventh transistors being arranged to receive from said means for supplying a potential that potential, said fifth transistor collector electrode being direct current conductively coupled to said seventh transistor emitter electrode, the collector electrodes of said sixth and said seventh transistors being direct coupled respectively to the base electrodes of said fourth and said third composite transistors.

Claim 10

An integrated-circuit quasi-linear amplifier comprising: first and second similar transistors, respectively arranged in emitter-loaded and collector-loaded common emitter transistor amplifiers each having an input circuit and an output circuit, said output circuits being stacked for serial application of operating potential thereto, a phase-splitting amplifier comprising third and fourth and fifth transistors of opposite conductivity type to said first and second transistors, each having a base and an emitter and a collector electrode, said phase-splitting amplifier arranged to accept input signal currents applied between the interconnection of the emitter electrodes of said third and said fourth transistors, the interconnection of said third transistor base electrode and of its collector electrode and of said fourth transistor base electrode and of said fifth transistor emitter electrode said phase-splitting amplifier being responsive to said input signal currents to provide Class B push-pull signals to separate ones of said common-emitter transistor amplifier input circuits from the collector electrodes of said fourth and said fifth transistors respectively, said phase-splitting amplifier arranged to accept a bias potential direct coupled between the base electrode of said fifth transistor and said interconnection of the emitter electrodes of said third and fourth transistors.

Claim 11

An integrated-circuit quasi-linear amplifier comprising: first and second similar transistors, respectively arranged in emitter-loaded and collector-loaded common emitter transistor amplifiers each having an input circuit and an output circuit, said output circuits being stacked for serial application of operating potential thereto, a phase-splitting amplifier comprising third and fourth and fifth transistors of opposite conductivity type to said first and second transistors, each having a base and an emitter and a collector electrode, said phase-splitting amplifier arranged to accept input signal currents applied between the interconnection of the emitter electrodes of said third and said fourth transistors, the interconnection of said third transistor base electrode and of its collector electrode and of said fourth transistor base electrode and of said fifth transistor emitter electrode said phase-splitting amplifier being responsive to said input signal currents to provide Class B push-pull signals to separate ones of said common-emitter transistor amplifier input circuits from the collector electrodes of said fourth and said fifth transistors respectively, said phase-splitting amplifier arranged to accept a bias potential direct coupled between the base electrode of said fifth transistor and said interconnection of the emitter electrodes of said third and fourth transistors.

Claim 12

A quasi-linear amplifier as claimed in claim 8 wherein: a sixth transistor of said opposite conductivity type has a base electrode connected in common with said fifth transistor base electrode, has an emitter electrode connected to said fourth transistor and has a collector electrode connected to said first transistor base electrode, thereby providing a common-base amplifier to implement said provision of Class B signal to said first transistor base electrode.

Claim 13

A quasi-linear amplifier as claimed in claim 8 wherein said bias potential is provided by means comprising: a source for supplying substantially fixed potential; a sixth transistor of the same conductivity type as said first and said second transistors, said sixth transistor having emitter and collector electrodes and an emitter-to-collector path therebetween and having a base electrode; resistive means serially connected with said emitter-to-collector path of said sixth transistor to receive said substantially fixed potential; a plurality of semiconductor junctions in series connection with each other between the collector and the base electrodes of said sixth transistor and poled to conduct its base current, said bias potential being developed across said series connection responsive to said sixth transistor base current.

Claim 14

In an integrated circuit amplifier employing a transistor with base, emitter and collector electrodes, an improved circuit for supplying base current to the transistor to condition its collector current to be substantially independent of its common-emitter forward gain, equal to beta, comprising: impedance means formed concurrently with said transistor within said integrated circuit amplifier by common processing steps and having a resistance which varies substantially proportionally to the square root of saId beta; voltage source means applying a substantially constant potential across said impedance means for developing a current flow through said impedance means substantially inversely proportional to the square root of said beta; current amplifier means having an input circuit included within said impedance means for sensing the current flow through said impedance means, having an output circuit for supplying an output current to the base electrode of said transistor, and having a current gain substantially inversely proportional to the square root of the beta of said transistor.

Claim 15

In an integrated circuit amplifier employing a transistor with base, emitter and collector electrodes, an improved circuit for supplying base current to the transistor to condition its collector current to be substantially independent of its common-emitter forward gain, equal to beta, comprising: impedance means formed concurrently with said transistor within said integrated circuit amplifier by common processing steps and having a resistance which varies substantially proportionally to the square root of saId beta; voltage source means applying a substantially constant potential across said impedance means for developing a current flow through said impedance means substantially inversely proportional to the square root of said beta; current amplifier means having an input circuit included within said impedance means for sensing the current flow through said impedance means, having an output circuit for supplying an output current to the base electrode of said transistor, and having a current gain substantially inversely proportional to the square root of the beta of said transistor.

Claim 16

An improved circuit as set forth in claim 11 wherein said impedance means comprises a serial connection of a pinch resistor, formed by the same diffusion processes as the base and emitter regions of the transistor and thus having a beta-dependent resistance, and another resistive means, this one having a relatively beta-independent resistance compared to that of said pinch resistor.

Claim 17

An amplifier comprising in combination: first and second transistors of the same conductivity type, each having emitter and collector electrodes, with an emitter-to-collector path therebetween, each having a base electrode and both having the same common-emitter forward current gain, equal to beta; signal source means for supplying first and second input signal currents respectively to said first transistor base electrode and to said second transistor base electrode, said source means supplying said first and said second input signal currents at relatively high impedance levels compared to the impedances presented by the base electrodes of said first and said second transistors during their conduction; resistive means formed concurrently with said first and second transistors by the same manufacturing process, and thermally coupled to said first and said second transistors to sense their temperatures, whereby the resistance of said resistive means varies as does a positive power of said beta; voltage source means applying a potential across said resistive means to cause a current flow therethrough; means for sensing the current flow through said resistive means and for responding to supply at relatively high impedance level to that first transistor base electrode a first quiescent bias current, which varies inversely as does said beta; means for sensing the current flow through said resistive means and for responding to supply at relatively high impedance level to said second transistor base electrode a second quiescent bias current, which varies inversely as does said beta and is substantially equal to said first quiescent current; means for applying operating potentials to the emitter-to-collector paths of each of said first and second transistors; and means for coupling the emitter-to-collector paths to provide a push-pull output signal current in response to said first and said second input signal currents.

Claim 18

An amplifier comprising in combination: first and second transistors of the same conductivity type, each having emitter and collector electrodes, with an emitter-to-collector path therebetween, each having a base electrode and both having the same common-emitter forward current gain, equal to beta; signal source means for supplying first and second input signal currents respectively to said first transistor base electrode and to said second transistor base electrode, said source means supplying said first and said second input signal currents at relatively high impedance levels compared to the impedances presented by the base electrodes of said first and said second transistors during their conduction; resistive means formed concurrently with said first and second transistors by the same manufacturing process, and thermally coupled to said first and said second transistors to sense their temperatures, whereby the resistance of said resistive means varies as does a positive power of said beta; voltage source means applying a potential across said resistive means to cause a current flow therethrough; means for sensing the current flow through said resistive means and for responding to supply at relatively high impedance level to that first transistor base electrode a first quiescent bias current, which varies inversely as does said beta; means for sensing the current flow through said resistive means and for responding to supply at relatively high impedance level to said second transistor base electrode a second quiescent bias current, which varies inversely as does said beta and is substantially equal to said first quiescent current; means for applying operating potentials to the emitter-to-collector paths of each of said first and second transistors; and means for coupling the emitter-to-collector paths to provide a push-pull output signal current in response to said first and said second input signal currents.

Claim 19

An amplifier as set forth in claim 13 wherein said resistive means has a resistance proportional to the square root of said beta.

Claim 20

An amplifier as set forth in claim 14 wherein said resistive means comprises a serial connection of a pinch resistor and another resistor.

Claim 21

A quasi-linear amplifier comprising in combination: first and second terminals for connection of an operating potential therebetween; a third terminal for receiving an input signal; a fourth terminal for connection to an output load; first and second transistors of the same conductivity type, each having base and emitter and collector electrodes and having a common-emitter forward current gain, equal to beta, said first transistor collector electrode being connected to said first terminal, said first transistor emitter electrode and said second transistor collector electrode each being connected to said fourth terminal, said second transistor emitter electrode being connected to said second terminal; first signal rectifying means connected to respoNd to positive swings of said input signal at said third terminal for providing a first Class B signal current; second signal rectifying means connected to respond to negative swings of said input signal at said third terminal for providing a second Class B signal current; means applying the first and second Class B signal currents from said first and said second rectifying means, respectively, to respective separate ones of the base electrodes of said first and said second transistors; means for supplying to the base electrode of said first transistor a first quiescent bias current varying as a function of temperature and transistor manufacturing process inversely as said beta varies and being relatively small compared to the maximum amplitude of said first Class B signal; and means for supplying to the base electrode of said second transistor a second quiescent bias current, varying as a function of temperature and transistor manufacturing processes inversely as said beta varies, being relatively small compared to the maximum amplitude of said second Class B signal and being of substantially the same value as said first quiescent base current.

Claim 22

A quasi-linear amplifier comprising in combination: first and second terminals for connection of an operating potential therebetween; a third terminal for receiving an input signal; a fourth terminal for connection to an output load; first and second transistors of the same conductivity type, each having base and emitter and collector electrodes and having a common-emitter forward current gain, equal to beta, said first transistor collector electrode being connected to said first terminal, said first transistor emitter electrode and said second transistor collector electrode each being connected to said fourth terminal, said second transistor emitter electrode being connected to said second terminal; first signal rectifying means connected to respoNd to positive swings of said input signal at said third terminal for providing a first Class B signal current; second signal rectifying means connected to respond to negative swings of said input signal at said third terminal for providing a second Class B signal current; means applying the first and second Class B signal currents from said first and said second rectifying means, respectively, to respective separate ones of the base electrodes of said first and said second transistors; means for supplying to the base electrode of said first transistor a first quiescent bias current varying as a function of temperature and transistor manufacturing process inversely as said beta varies and being relatively small compared to the maximum amplitude of said first Class B signal; and means for supplying to the base electrode of said second transistor a second quiescent bias current, varying as a function of temperature and transistor manufacturing processes inversely as said beta varies, being relatively small compared to the maximum amplitude of said second Class B signal and being of substantially the same value as said first quiescent base current.

Claim 23

An amplifier as set forth in claim 16 wherein said means for supplying a first quiescent bias current comprises: impedance means formed concurrently with said first transistor by common processing steps and having a resistance, which resistance is a function of temperature and processing such as to be proportional to the square root of said beta; voltage source means applying a substantially constant potential across said impedance means for developing a current flowing through said impedance means inversely proportional to the square root of said beta; and current amplifier means having an input circuit included within said impedance means for sensing the current flow through said impedance means, having an output circuit for providing said first quiescent bias current, and having a current gain substantially inversely proportional to the square root of said beta.

Claim 24

An amplifier as set forth in claim 16 wherein said means for supplying a second quiescent bias current comprises: impedance means formed concurrently with said second transistor by common processing steps and having a resistance, which resistance is a function of temperature and processing such as to be proportional to the square root of said beta; voltage source means applying a substantially constant potential across said impedance means for developing a current flow through said impedance means inversely proportional to the square root of said beta; and current amplifier means having an input circuit included within said impedance means for sensing the current flow through said impedance means, having an output circuit for providing said second quiescent bias current and having a current gain substantially inversely proportional to the square root of said beta.