Qorvo ACT41000-104-REF01 User manual
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USER’S GUIDE UG146
ACT41000-104-REF01 User’s Guide
Description
ACT41000-104-REF01 reference design provides both the drain and gate voltages for many of Qorvo’s RF PAs. It automatically
searches for and optimizes the optimal RF PA gate voltage to set the required Idq bias current. This reference design demonstrates
how Qorvo’s ACT41000 simplifies RF PA system level design and cost. The design is specifically configured for the QPA2211, but it
can be easily modified for many other RF PAs.
This document describes the characteristics and operation of the Qorvo ACT41000EVK-104-REF01 reference design. It provides setup
and operation instructions, schematic, layout, BOM, GUI, and test data. The design demonstrates the ACT41000QI104-T (22V) power
management IC. Other ACT41000QIxxx options can be evaluated on this EVK by replacing the IC and any other necessary
components. The initial design is optimized for the QPA2211.
Functions
The design accepts an input voltage range up to 40V. The minimum input voltage is dependent on the drain voltage being tested. With
the QPA2211 22V drain voltage, the design works down to 24V. The ACT41000 converts the input voltage to the high-power RF PA
drain voltage of 22V at up to 4A. Typical RF PA drain voltages are the range of 20V to 24V. The design also includes a 2nd on-board
power supply to generate the negative RF gate voltage. Input power for the gate voltage supply comes from the ACT41000 auxiliary 5V
bias output.
To fully utilize the reference design features, the user must connect the reference design to a PC to use the graphical user interface
(GUI) software. The GUI allows the user to program the exact voltage and current for the specific RF PA being tested. The user can
use GUI to set the Idq bias current requirement and the design autonomously finds and stores the optimal gate voltage for the Idq bias
current. After the optimal gate bias voltage is found, the user can then apply an RF signal to test the RF PA functionality. The GUI gives
the user full control over the drain voltage, the drain current limit, and the gate voltage. The overall system design consists of two
separate PCBs, the ACT41000-104-REF01 board and an RF PA EVK, that the user must manually wire together.
Figure 1. Reference Design Picture
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EVK Contents
The ACT41000EVK-104-REF01 evaluation kit comes with the following items:
•PCB assembly
Required Equipment
•ACT41000EVK-104-REF01
•Power supply - 24~40V @ 5A for full power operation
•Oscilloscope - 100MHz, 4 channels
•Digital Multi-meters (DMM)
•Windows compatible PC with spare USB port
•USB cable shown in Figure 3
Hardware Setup
Figure 2. Reference Setup with QPA2211
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Quick Start
Hardware Connections
Refer to Figure 2 for hardware connections.
1. Connect a DC power supply to connector for input voltage (VIN). Please ensure the correct power supply polarity.
2. Connect Digital Multi-Meters to VIN, Vdrain and Vgate to monitor the input voltage, drain and gate voltages.
3. Add a digital Multi-Meter in series with VIN and Vdrain if you want to observe input and output current.
4. Be careful to keep the input voltage within the specifications.
5. Connect the PCB to the PC with a USB cable.
6. If connecting an RF input source to the RF PA, ensure that it disabled.
Figure 3. Board-USB-Laptop Connection
GUI Setup
1. Refer to the end of this document for detailed instructions to install the ACT41000-104-REF01 GUI.
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Recommended Operating Conditions
The ACT41000-104-REF01 is designed for a 24V-40V input voltage. The maximum operating voltage is determined by the
IC’s maximum input voltage rating of 40V. The minimum operating voltage is determined by the IC’s output voltage setting.
The default ACT41000QI104 output voltage is 22V, so the design should be operated with Vin greater than 22V by default.
See Figure 5 for details on modifying this drain volage. The maximum output current is configured by the CMI and external
components. The default hardware design is rated at 4A, but the default current limit setting is 4003.84mA. The switching
frequency is set to 450kHz to optimize efficiency. The customer can easily reconfigure the EVK for different switching
frequencies and output voltages after referring to the datasheet for the required component changes. The output voltage
can be changed via I2C either before or after the output voltage is enabled.
Table 1. Recommended Operating Conditions
Parameter
Description
Min
Typ
Max
Unit
VIN
Input voltage
24
-
40
V
Vdrain
Drain voltage
3
-
22
V
Idrain
Drain current
0
-
4
A
Vgate
Gate voltage
-5
-
0
V
Igate
Gate current
0
-
50
mA
Frequency
Switching frequency
450
KHz
Refence Design Operation
GUI Functions
After setting up the hardware and GUI, the reference design can be powered on. Figure 4 shows the main GUI functions.
Figure 4. ACT41000 Power Amplifier GUI Functions
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Figure 8 shows the QPA2211 datasheet bias sequence requirements. The default GUI and hardware settings are compatible
with the QPA2211 but can easily be modified to support other RF PAs. Complete the following steps to configure the GUI
setup for other RF PAs. The following figures show the QPA2211 settings and bias procedure. This reference design
automatically performs both the Bias Up and Bias Down Procedure.
Figure 8. QPA2211 Bias Sequence
Configure the GUI Inputs
1. Ensure that the input power supply is connected to VIN is between 24V and 40V, and that the current limit is set
greater than 4A.
2. Turn on the input power supply.
3. Open GUI that was installed on the computer. GUI interface and functional buttons are shown in Figure 5 and 6.
4. Click the CONNECT button. If the GUI and the PCB communicate properly, the CONNECT button turns blue. If the
button does not turn blue, disconnect and reconnect the USB cable.
5. Change the default RLIM and Rcs resistor values if these components were physically changed on the PCB. The GUI
must have the correct values to properly calculate the current limits.
6. Select Id Current Limit, the drain current maximum limit, for the RF PA being tested.
7. Set Idq, the drain bias current, for the RF PA being tested.
8. Set PA Vdrain, the RF PA drain voltage, for the RF PA being tested.
9. Set Vgate Min, the minimum allowable gate voltage, for the search routine. This is the starting voltage for the Vgate
search routine. It must be greater than -5V.
10. Set Vgate Max, the maximum allowable gate voltage, for the Vgate search routine. It must be lower than 0V.
11. Select Step, the gate voltage step resolution.A smaller step results in a more accurate search result, but takes longer
to find the required gate voltage.
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Bias Search
1. Click the BIAS SEARCH button. Note that the search routine can be stopped at any time by pressing the “STOP” button.
2. The GUI sets the ACT41000 current limit to programmed Idq Current Limit threshold and then simultaneously sweeps
the Vgate voltage while measuring the drain current. When the drain current crosses the programmed Idq threshold,
the GUI displays the optimized bias gate voltage value. If there is a setup issue and the and the optimized Vgate voltage
is not found, the GUI displays “not found”.
3. Figure 7 shows the bias search routine.
4. After the optimal bias point is found, click to either move to begin test the RF PAfunctionality or to power down the test.
To avoid damaging the RF PA, always click the “BIAS DOWN” button to power down the system.
RF Testing
1. If moving forward with RF testing, the EVK changes the ACT41000 current limit to the Id Current Limit threshold.
2. The GUI now allows the user to manually change the PAVdrain voltage and the Vgate voltage. For safety, the allowable
Vgate range is still bounded by the Vgate Min and Max settings.
3. Apply RF to the RF PA EVK.
4. To avoid damaging the RF PA, always click the “BIAS DOWN” button to power down the system.
Modifications to Test a Different RF PA
TheACT41000-104-REF01 default settings are compatible with the QPA2211. The design can be easily modified to support
any other RF PAs with drain voltages up to 24V and drain currents up to 4A. Typically, only four modifications needed to
test a different RF PA. These include the following.
PA Vdrain Voltage - Drain voltage during the search routine and the RF testing. This voltage is generated by theACT41000.
The PA drain voltage defaults to 22V but can be changed to a different voltage via the GUI. It can also be changed by
replacing the ACT41000-104 with a different version of the IC with a different default output voltage. Refer to theACT41000
datasheet for additional details and equations.
Id Current Limit – Drain current limit threshold during RF testing. This current is the same as the ACT41000EVK-104 output
current limit, which is set to 4A. The current limit is a function of the 20mΩ current sense resister (R5), the 16kΩ ILIM resistor
(R9), and the I2C ILIM Output Current Limit bits which are set to 100uA by default. The ACT41000 integrates a digital-to-
analog converter (ILIM DAC) for the purpose of generating the reference current used by the Current Limit block. Although
any of these three items can be used to change the Id Current Limit, the easiest way to change the output current limit is
with the ILIM DAC field in the GUI. Note that the RILIM and Rcs resistance values in the GUI must always match the actual
hardware values. The output current limit is easily changed by modifying any of these three parameters. Refer to the
ACT41000 datasheet for additional details and equations.
Idq Current – The RF PA Drain current threshold that corresponds to the optimal gate voltage. The Idq current setting is
achieved by changing the ACT41000 I2C ILIM current limit bits. The Idq step size is always 1/256 of the maximum Id
allowable current. If a smaller Id step size is needed, the user must reduce the maximum allowable Id current by changing
resistors on the PCB.
Vgate Min and Vgate Max – The minimum and maximum allowable voltages that can be applied to the gate. These two
voltages can only be adjusted using the GUI inputs.
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Bill of Materials
Item Ref Des
QTY
Description Package MFR Part number
1 C1, C3, C27, C30, C36,
C38, C39, C40 8 Cap, Ceramic, 100nF, 25V, 20%, X5R 0603 Standard Standard
2 C2 1 Cap, Ceramic, 22uF, 10V, 20%, X5R 0805 Standard Standard
3 C4 1 Cap, Ceramic, 4.7uF, 10V, 20%, X5R 0603 Standard Standard
4 C5, C8, C10, C11 4 Cap, Ceramic, 1uF, 50V, 20%, X5R 0603 Standard Standard
5 C6, C7, C31, C32, C35,
C37, C43 7 Cap, Ceramic, 10uF, 16V, 20%, X5R 0603 Murata GRT188R61C106ME13D
6 C9 1
Cap, Aluminium Electrolytic, 100uF,
50V
8x11.5 Wurth 860010674014
7 C12, C13, C14, C15,
C16, C17 6 Cap, Ceramic, 10uF, 50V, 10%, X5R 1206 TDK CGA5L3X5R1H106K160AB
8 C18, C19, C20, C21,
C22, C23, C44, C45,
C46, C47 10 Cap, Ceramic, 22uF, 35V, 20%, X5R 1206 TDK C3216X5R1V226M160AC
9 C24 0 NP 0603 Standard Standard
10 C25 1 Cap, Ceramic, 470pF, 16V, 20%, X5R 0603 Standard Standard
11 C26 0 NP 8x11.5 Wurth 860010674014
12 C28, C29 2 Cap, Ceramic, 1uF, 50V, 10%, X7R 0805 Murata GCJ21BR71H105KA01L
13 C33 1 Cap, Ceramic, 2.2uF, 10V, 10%, X7R 0603 Murata GRM188R71A225KE15
14 C34 1 Cap, Ceramic, 5.6nF, 10V, 20%, X5R 0603 Standard Standard
15 C41, C42 2 Cap, Ceramic, 100nF, 16V, 20%, X5R 0603 Standard Standard
16 D1 1 Diode, RED 0805 Std Std
17 D2 1 Diode, GREEN 0805 Std Std
18 J1 1
Connector, RCPT 5POS MICRO USB
R/A
/ Amphenol FCI 10103594-0001LF
19 J2, J3, J4 3 Connector, Screw Terminal, 3.50, 2P / Wurth 691214110002S
20 J5, J6 2 Header, Unshrouded , 2.54, Male, 2P / Wurth 61300211121
21 L1 1 Inductor, 47uH, 0.71A , SMD 4025 Wurth 74404043470A
22 L2 1 Inductor, 6.8uH, 6.4A , SMD 8040 Wurth 74437358068
23 L3 1 Inductor, 22uH, 1.11A , SMD 4025 Wurth 74404043220A
24 R1 1 Res, 220Ω 0603 Standard Standard
25 R2, R11 2 Res, 5.1kΩ 0603 Standard Standard
26 R3, R4, R34 3 Res, 1kΩ 0603 Standard Standard
27 R5, R6 2 Res, 33Ω 0603 Standard Standard
28 R7, R8, R9, R10, R12,
R17, R19, R25, R41,
R42, R43 11 Res, 10kΩ 0603 Standard Standard
29 R13, R15, R35 3 Res, 0Ω 0805 Standard Standard
30 R14, R36 0 NP 0805 Standard Standard
31 R16, R18, R27, R28,
R39, R40 6 Res, 0Ω 0603 Standard Standard
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USER’S GUIDE UG146
32 R20, R22, R26 0 NP 0603 Standard Standard
33 R21 1 Res, 200kΩ, 1% 0603 Standard Standard
34 R23 1 Res, 16kΩ, 1% 0603 ROHM
Semiconductor KTR03EZPF1602
35 R24 1 Res, 20mΩ, 1%, 1W 0612 ROHM
Semiconductor LTR18EZPFSR020
36 R29 1 Res, 100Ω 0603 Standard Standard
37 R30, R33 2 Res, 10kΩ, 1% 0603 ROHM
Semiconductor SFR03EZPF1002
38 R31, R32 2 Res, 20kΩ, 1% 0603 ROHM
Semiconductor SFR03EZPF2002
39 R37 1 Res, 154kΩ, 1% 0603 Standard Standard
40 R38 1 Res, 30.1kΩ, 1% 0603 Standard Standard
41 U1 1 IC, FT260 VQFN FTDI FT260
42 U2 1 IC, ACT41000
QFN 5x5-
32L
Qorvo/Active-
semi
ACT41000
43 U3 1 IC, MAX17580 / Maxim MAX17580
44 U4 1 IC, ADA4841-1YRJZ-R2 / Analog
Devices Inc ADA4841-1YRJZ-R2
45 U5 1 IC, AD5627RBRMZ-1REEL7 / Analog
Devices Inc AD5627RBRMZ-1REEL7
46 Vd, Vg, VIN 3 Test Point, Red / KeyStone TESTPOINT 5000
47 GND, GND1, GND2 3 Test Point, Black / KeyStone TESTPOINT 5001
48 PCB 1 PCB, ACT41000-104-REF01 / / PCB-0351-01
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