技术领域Technical Field
本发明的实施例大体上涉及移动装置。更具体地，本发明的实施例涉及移动装置的毫米波(mm波)前端模块。Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to mobile devices. More specifically, embodiments of the present invention relate to a millimeter wave (mm-wave) front-end module for a mobile device.
背景技术Background technique
随着无线通信技术的发展，通常可使用多模式或多频带无线系统。这样的系统可以将不同的功能划分为不同的集成电路(IC)装置。例如，无线系统可以包括调制解调器或基带处理器、收发器、控制电路、接收电路、或发射电路等。这样的多个IC装置有时不方便且成本低效。As wireless communication technology develops, multi-mode or multi-band wireless systems are often used. Such systems can divide different functions into different integrated circuit (IC) devices. For example, a wireless system may include a modem or baseband processor, a transceiver, a control circuit, a receiving circuit, or a transmitting circuit, etc. Such multiple IC devices are sometimes inconvenient and cost-ineffective.
附图说明BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
在附图的图中，通过示例而非限制的方式示出本发明的实施例，在附图中，相似的附图标记指示相似的元素。Embodiments of the invention are illustrated by way of example, and not by way of limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings in which like references indicate similar elements.
图1是示出根据本发明的一个实施例的无线通信装置的示例的框图。FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a wireless communication device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
图2是示出根据本发明的一个实施例的RF前端集成电路的示例的框图。FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of an RF front-end integrated circuit according to one embodiment of the present invention.
图3是示出根据本发明的一个实施例的RF前端集成电路的示例的示意图。FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of an RF front-end integrated circuit according to an embodiment of the present invention.
图4是示出根据本发明的一个实施例的发射器的示例的示意图。FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a transmitter according to an embodiment of the present invention.
图5是示出根据本发明的一个实施例的接收器的示例的示意图。FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a receiver according to an embodiment of the present invention.
图6是示出根据本发明的另一实施例的RF前端集成电路的示例的示意图。FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing an example of an RF front-end integrated circuit according to another embodiment of the present invention.
图7是示出根据本发明的另一实施例的RF前端集成电路的示例的框图。FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing an example of an RF front-end integrated circuit according to another embodiment of the present invention.
具体实施方式Detailed ways
将参考以下所讨论的详情描述本发明的各种实施例和方面，并且附图将示出各种实施例。以下的描述和附图是对本发明的说明并且不应被解释为限制本发明。描述了许多具体详情以提供对本发明的各种实施例的透彻理解。然而，在某些情况下，未描述众所周知的或常规的详情，以提供本发明的实施例的简明讨论。Various embodiments and aspects of the present invention will be described with reference to the details discussed below, and the accompanying drawings will illustrate various embodiments. The following description and accompanying drawings are illustrations of the present invention and should not be construed as limiting the present invention. Many specific details are described to provide a thorough understanding of various embodiments of the present invention. However, in some cases, well-known or conventional details are not described to provide a concise discussion of embodiments of the present invention.
说明书中对“一个实施例”或“实施例”的引用意指结合实施例所描述的具体特征、结构或特性可以包括在本发明的至少一个实施例中。短语“在一个实施例中”在本说明书中的各个地方的出现不一定全部是指相同的实施例。References in the specification to "one embodiment" or "an embodiment" mean that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment may be included in at least one embodiment of the invention. The appearances of the phrase "in one embodiment" in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment.
根据一些实施例，毫米波(mm波)前端IC装置包括一个或多个mm波收发器阵列。各mm波收发器发射和接收具有可变振幅和相移的相干mm波信号。mm波前端IC芯片还包括耦合至mm波收发器的宽频带(wideband)频率合成器。全基带或宽频带频率合成器生成本地振荡器(local oscillator，LO)信号并将其提供至各mm波收发器，以使得mm波收发器能够混频、调制和/或解调mm波信号。mm波宽频带收发器阵列和宽频带频率合成器可以在单个IC芯片内被实现为单个mm波前端IC芯片或封装件。According to some embodiments, a millimeter wave (mm wave) front-end IC device includes one or more mm wave transceiver arrays. Each mm wave transceiver transmits and receives coherent mm wave signals with variable amplitude and phase shift. The mm wave front-end IC chip also includes a wideband frequency synthesizer coupled to the mm wave transceiver. A full baseband or wideband frequency synthesizer generates a local oscillator (LO) signal and provides it to each mm wave transceiver so that the mm wave transceiver can mix, modulate and/or demodulate the mm wave signal. The mm wave wideband transceiver array and the wideband frequency synthesizer can be implemented as a single mm wave front-end IC chip or package within a single IC chip.
宽频带频率合成器包括锁相环(phase-lock loop，PLL)电路或块以基于时钟参考信号来生成LO信号，该时钟参考信号可以由本地振荡器来提供。各mm波收发器包括：全频带或宽频带发射器，用于发射mm波信号；以及全频带或宽频带接收器，用于接收频带内(例如，大约在24至43千兆赫兹或GHz的范围内)的mm波信号；以及发射和接收(T/R)开关，其耦合至发射器和接收器。T/R开关用于在给定时间点将mm波天线耦合至发射器或接收器。The wideband frequency synthesizer includes a phase-lock loop (PLL) circuit or block to generate an LO signal based on a clock reference signal, which can be provided by a local oscillator. Each mm-wave transceiver includes: a full-band or wideband transmitter for transmitting mm-wave signals; and a full-band or wideband receiver for receiving mm-wave signals within a frequency band (e.g., approximately in the range of 24 to 43 gigahertz or GHz); and a transmit and receive (T/R) switch coupled to the transmitter and receiver. The T/R switch is used to couple the mm-wave antenna to the transmitter or receiver at a given point in time.
根据本发明的方面，RF前端IC装置包括第一收发器，用于在预定频带内根据第一振幅和相移设置来发射和接收与第一RF信道相关联的RF信号。RF前端IC装置还包括第二收发器，用于在所述预定频带内根据第二振幅和相移设置来发射和接收与第二RF信道相关联的RF信号。所述第二振幅和相移设置可以不同于所述第一振幅和相移设置。RF前端IC装置还包括频率合成器，其耦合至所述第一收发器和所述第二收发器以在宽频谱中进行频率同步。所述频率合成器生成至所述第一收发器和所述第二收发器的LO信号，以使得所述第一收发器和所述第二收发器能够分别发射和接收与所述第一RF信道和所述第二RF信道相关联的RF信号。所述第一收发器、所述第二收发器和所述频率合成器嵌入在单个IC芯片内。According to aspects of the present invention, an RF front-end IC device includes a first transceiver for transmitting and receiving RF signals associated with a first RF channel according to a first amplitude and phase shift setting within a predetermined frequency band. The RF front-end IC device also includes a second transceiver for transmitting and receiving RF signals associated with a second RF channel according to a second amplitude and phase shift setting within the predetermined frequency band. The second amplitude and phase shift setting may be different from the first amplitude and phase shift setting. The RF front-end IC device also includes a frequency synthesizer coupled to the first transceiver and the second transceiver for frequency synchronization in a wide frequency spectrum. The frequency synthesizer generates LO signals to the first transceiver and the second transceiver so that the first transceiver and the second transceiver can transmit and receive RF signals associated with the first RF channel and the second RF channel, respectively. The first transceiver, the second transceiver and the frequency synthesizer are embedded in a single IC chip.
根据一个实施例，与所述第一RF信道相关联的RF信号要经由第一天线来发射和接收，所述第一天线被配置为根据所述第一振幅和相移设置来进行辐射和接收。与所述第二RF信道相关联的RF信号要经由第二天线来发射和接收，所述第二天线被配置为根据所述第二振幅和相移设置来进行辐射和接收。According to one embodiment, RF signals associated with the first RF channel are to be transmitted and received via a first antenna, the first antenna being configured to radiate and receive according to the first amplitude and phase shift setting. RF signals associated with the second RF channel are to be transmitted and received via a second antenna, the second antenna being configured to radiate and receive according to the second amplitude and phase shift setting.
在一个实施例中，所述第一收发器和所述第二收发器各自包括：发射器，用于将第一RF信号发射到第一远程装置；接收器，用于从第二远程装置接收第二RF信号；以及开关，其耦合至所述发射器和所述接收器。所述开关被配置为在给定时间点将所述发射器或所述接收器耦合至与所述收发器相关联的天线。In one embodiment, the first transceiver and the second transceiver each include: a transmitter for transmitting a first RF signal to a first remote device; a receiver for receiving a second RF signal from a second remote device; and a switch coupled to the transmitter and the receiver. The switch is configured to couple the transmitter or the receiver to an antenna associated with the transceiver at a given point in time.
在一个实施例中，所述发射器包括：第一中频(intermediate frequency，IF)同相和正交(in-phase and quadrature，IQ)生成器(IFIQ生成器)，用于基于从调制解调器或基带处理器接收到的IF信号来生成IFIQ信号。所述发射器还包括：第一LO IQ(LOIQ)生成器，用于基于从所述频率合成器接收到的LO信号来生成LOIQ信号。所述发射器还包括：第一混频器，其耦合至所述第一IFIQ生成器和所述第一LOIQ生成器以基于所述IFIQ信号和所述LOIQ信号来生成所述第一RF信号。In one embodiment, the transmitter includes: a first intermediate frequency (IF) in-phase and quadrature (IQ) generator (IFIQ generator) for generating an IFIQ signal based on an IF signal received from a modem or a baseband processor. The transmitter also includes: a first LO IQ (LOIQ) generator for generating an LOIQ signal based on an LO signal received from the frequency synthesizer. The transmitter also includes: a first mixer coupled to the first IFIQ generator and the first LOIQ generator to generate the first RF signal based on the IFIQ signal and the LOIQ signal.
在一个实施例中，各个收发器还包括：第一IF放大器，其耦合至所述第一IFIQ生成器和所述第一混频器。所述第一IF放大器被配置为放大所述IFIQ信号并将放大后的IFIQ信号提供至所述第一混频器。各个收发器还包括：第一宽带(broadband)放大器(也称为RF放大器)，其耦合至所述第一混频器以放大从所述第一混频器接收到的所述第一RF信号。In one embodiment, each transceiver further includes: a first IF amplifier coupled to the first IFIQ generator and the first mixer. The first IF amplifier is configured to amplify the IFIQ signal and provide the amplified IFIQ signal to the first mixer. Each transceiver further includes: a first broadband amplifier (also referred to as an RF amplifier) coupled to the first mixer to amplify the first RF signal received from the first mixer.
在一个实施例中，所述第一IF放大器包括：第二IF放大器，用于接收和放大从所述IFIQ信号导出的同相IF信号。将所述同相IF信号与从所述LOIQ信号导出的同相LO信号进行混频。所述第一IF放大器还包括：第三IF放大器，用于接收和放大从所述IFIQ信号导出的正交IF信号。将所述正交IF信号与从所述LOIQ信号导出的正交LO信号进行混频。In one embodiment, the first IF amplifier includes: a second IF amplifier for receiving and amplifying an in-phase IF signal derived from the IFIQ signal, and mixing the in-phase IF signal with an in-phase LO signal derived from the LOIQ signal. The first IF amplifier also includes: a third IF amplifier for receiving and amplifying a quadrature IF signal derived from the IFIQ signal, and mixing the quadrature IF signal with a quadrature LO signal derived from the LOIQ signal.
在一个实施例中，所述接收器包括：第二宽带/RF放大器，其被配置为接收所述第二RF信号；第二LOIQ生成器，用于基于从所述频率合成器接收到的LO信号来生成LOIQ信号；以及第二混频器，其耦合至所述第二宽带放大器和所述第二LOIQ生成器。所述第二混频器被配置为基于放大后的第二RF信号和所述LOIQ信号来生成IFIQ信号。所述接收器还包括：第四IF放大器，其耦合至所述第二混频器以接收和放大来自所述第二混频器的IFIQ信号。所述接收器还包括IFIQ组合器，其耦合至所述第四IF放大器以基于所述IFIQ信号来生成组合IF信号。In one embodiment, the receiver includes: a second broadband/RF amplifier configured to receive the second RF signal; a second LOIQ generator for generating an LOIQ signal based on the LO signal received from the frequency synthesizer; and a second mixer coupled to the second broadband amplifier and the second LOIQ generator. The second mixer is configured to generate an IFIQ signal based on the amplified second RF signal and the LOIQ signal. The receiver also includes: a fourth IF amplifier coupled to the second mixer to receive and amplify the IFIQ signal from the second mixer. The receiver also includes an IFIQ combiner coupled to the fourth IF amplifier to generate a combined IF signal based on the IFIQ signal.
在一个实施例中，所述第四IF放大器包括：第五IF放大器，用于接收和放大从所述IFIQ信号导出的同相IF信号；以及第六IF放大器，用于接收和放大从所述IFIQ信号导出的正交IF信号。所述IFIQ组合器被配置为将所述同相IF信号和所述正交IF信号组合以生成组合IF信号。In one embodiment, the fourth IF amplifier includes: a fifth IF amplifier for receiving and amplifying an in-phase IF signal derived from the IFIQ signal; and a sixth IF amplifier for receiving and amplifying a quadrature IF signal derived from the IFIQ signal. The IFIQ combiner is configured to combine the in-phase IF signal and the quadrature IF signal to generate a combined IF signal.
根据本发明的另一方面，RF前端IC装置包括：收发器阵列，所述收发器中的各收发器对应于RF信道之一。所述RF信道中的各RF信道包括移相器，所述移相器被配置为在预定频带内根据相应相移设置来发射和接收RF信号，包括根据所述相应相移设置对所述RF信号的相位进行偏移或补偿。RF前端IC装置还包括频率合成器，其耦合至所述收发器中的各收发器以在宽频谱中进行频率同步。所述频率合成器针对所述收发器中的各收发器生成LO信号以使所述收发器中的各收发器能够在其相应RF信道内发射和接收所述RF信号。RF前端IC装置还包括上变频器，其耦合至所述收发器中的各收发器以及所述频率合成器。所述上变频器被配置为基于LO信号将第一中频(IF)信号上变频为要由所述收发器发射的第一RF信号。RF前端IC装置还包括下变频器，其耦合至所述收发器中的各收发器以及所述频率合成器。所述下变频器被配置为基于所述LO信号将从所述收发器接收到的第二RF信号下变频为第二IF信号。所述收发器阵列、所述频率合成器、所述上变频器和所述下变频器嵌入在单个IC芯片内。According to another aspect of the present invention, an RF front-end IC device includes: a transceiver array, each transceiver in the transceivers corresponds to one of the RF channels. Each of the RF channels includes a phase shifter, which is configured to transmit and receive RF signals according to a corresponding phase shift setting within a predetermined frequency band, including offsetting or compensating the phase of the RF signal according to the corresponding phase shift setting. The RF front-end IC device also includes a frequency synthesizer, which is coupled to each of the transceivers in the transceivers to perform frequency synchronization in a wide frequency spectrum. The frequency synthesizer generates an LO signal for each of the transceivers in the transceivers so that each of the transceivers in the transceivers can transmit and receive the RF signal within its corresponding RF channel. The RF front-end IC device also includes an up-converter, which is coupled to each of the transceivers in the transceiver and the frequency synthesizer. The up-converter is configured to up-convert a first intermediate frequency (IF) signal to a first RF signal to be transmitted by the transceiver based on the LO signal. The RF front-end IC device also includes a down-converter, which is coupled to each of the transceivers in the transceiver and the frequency synthesizer. The down converter is configured to down-convert a second RF signal received from the transceiver into a second IF signal based on the LO signal. The transceiver array, the frequency synthesizer, the up converter, and the down converter are embedded in a single IC chip.
在一个实施例中，所述上变频器包括：IFIQ生成器，用于接收所述第一IF信号；LOIQ生成器，用于从所述频率合成器接收所述LO信号以基于所述LO信号来生成LOIQ信号；以及上变频混频器，其耦合至所述IFIQ生成器和所述LOIQ生成器。所述上变频混频器被配置为基于第一IF信号和所述LOIQ信号来生成所述第一RF信号。在一个实施例中，所述上变频器还包括：IF放大器，其耦合在所述IFIQ生成器和所述上变频混频器之间以放大所述第一IF信号。所述上变频器还包括功率分配器，其耦合至所述上变频混频器以将所述第一RF信号分割为多个第一RF子信号。各个第一RF子信号被提供至所述收发器之一以进行发射。In one embodiment, the up-converter includes: an IFIQ generator for receiving the first IF signal; an LOIQ generator for receiving the LO signal from the frequency synthesizer to generate an LOIQ signal based on the LO signal; and an up-conversion mixer coupled to the IFIQ generator and the LOIQ generator. The up-conversion mixer is configured to generate the first RF signal based on the first IF signal and the LOIQ signal. In one embodiment, the up-converter also includes: an IF amplifier coupled between the IFIQ generator and the up-conversion mixer to amplify the first IF signal. The up-converter also includes a power divider coupled to the up-conversion mixer to split the first RF signal into a plurality of first RF sub-signals. Each first RF sub-signal is provided to one of the transceivers for transmission.
在一个实施例中，所述下变频器包括：LOIQ生成器，用于从所述频率合成器接收所述LO信号以基于所述LO信号来生成LOIQ信号；下变频混频器，其耦合至所述LOIQ生成器。所述下变频混频器被配置为基于从所述收发器接收到的所述第二RF信号和所述LOIQ信号来生成IFIQ信号。所述下变频器还包括IFIQ组合器，其基于从所述下变频混频器接收到的所述IFIQ信号来生成所述第二IF信号。在一个实施例中，所述下变频器还包括：功率组合器，其耦合在所述下变频混频器和所述收发器之间。所述功率组合器被配置为组合从所述收发器接收到的第二RF子信号以生成所述第二RF信号，各个第二RF子信号对应于所述收发器之一。所述下变频器还包括：IF放大器，其耦合在IFIQ组合器和所述下变频混频器之间以放大所述IFIQ信号。In one embodiment, the downconverter includes: a LOIQ generator for receiving the LO signal from the frequency synthesizer to generate an LOIQ signal based on the LO signal; and a downconverter mixer coupled to the LOIQ generator. The downconverter mixer is configured to generate an IFIQ signal based on the second RF signal and the LOIQ signal received from the transceiver. The downconverter also includes an IFIQ combiner, which generates the second IF signal based on the IFIQ signal received from the downconverter mixer. In one embodiment, the downconverter also includes: a power combiner coupled between the downconverter mixer and the transceiver. The power combiner is configured to combine the second RF sub-signals received from the transceiver to generate the second RF signal, each second RF sub-signal corresponding to one of the transceivers. The downconverter also includes: an IF amplifier coupled between the IFIQ combiner and the downconverter mixer to amplify the IFIQ signal.
在一个实施例中，所述收发器中的各收发器包括：发射器，用于将RF信号发射到第一远程装置；接收器，用于从第二远程装置接收RF信号；以及开关，其被配置为在给定时间点将所述发射器或所述接收器耦合至多个天线之一，其中所述天线中的各天线对应于所述收发器之一。In one embodiment, each of the transceivers includes: a transmitter for transmitting an RF signal to a first remote device; a receiver for receiving an RF signal from a second remote device; and a switch configured to couple the transmitter or the receiver to one of a plurality of antennas at a given point in time, wherein each of the antennas corresponds to one of the transceivers.
根据本发明的另一方面，所述RF前端IC装置包括：频率合成器，其具有PLL电路和LO缓冲器，以基于时钟信号来生成LO信号；IFIQ生成器，用于从调制解调器或基带处理器接收第一IF信号，以生成第一IFIQ信号；IFIQ组合器，用于基于第二IFIQ信号来生成第二IF信号。所述第二IF信号要由所述调制解调器或所述基带处理器来处理。所述RF前端IC装置还包括：多个收发器，其耦合至所述频率合成器。所述收发器中的各收发器与被配置为在预定频带内根据振幅和相移设置之一来发射和接收RF信号的RF信道之一相关联。According to another aspect of the present invention, the RF front-end IC device includes: a frequency synthesizer having a PLL circuit and an LO buffer to generate an LO signal based on a clock signal; an IFIQ generator for receiving a first IF signal from a modem or a baseband processor to generate a first IFIQ signal; and an IFIQ combiner for generating a second IF signal based on a second IFIQ signal. The second IF signal is to be processed by the modem or the baseband processor. The RF front-end IC device also includes: a plurality of transceivers coupled to the frequency synthesizer. Each of the transceivers is associated with one of the RF channels configured to transmit and receive RF signals according to one of the amplitude and phase shift settings within a predetermined frequency band.
在一个实施例中，所述收发器中的各收发器包括：发射器，其耦合至所述频率合成器，以使用所述LO信号将所述第一IFIQ信号上变频为要发射至第一远程装置的第一RF信号。各收发器还包括：接收器，其耦合至所述频率合成器，以使用所述LO信号将从第二远程装置接收到的第二RF信号下变频为第二IFIQ信号。所述多个收发器、所述频率合成器、所述IFIQ生成器和所述IFIQ组合器嵌入在单个IC芯片内。In one embodiment, each of the transceivers includes a transmitter coupled to the frequency synthesizer to up-convert the first IFIQ signal into a first RF signal to be transmitted to a first remote device using the LO signal. Each transceiver also includes a receiver coupled to the frequency synthesizer to down-convert a second RF signal received from a second remote device into a second IFIQ signal using the LO signal. The plurality of transceivers, the frequency synthesizer, the IFIQ generator, and the IFIQ combiner are embedded in a single IC chip.
在一个实施例中，所述发射器包括：移相器，用于接收来自所述频率合成器的LO信号并根据预定偏移相位来对所述LO信号进行偏移；LOIQ生成器，用于基于相位偏移后的LO信号来生成LOIQ信号；以及上变频混频器，用于基于从调制解调器或基带处理器接收到的第一中频(IF)信号和所述LOIQ信号来生成所述第一RF信号。In one embodiment, the transmitter includes: a phase shifter for receiving the LO signal from the frequency synthesizer and offsetting the LO signal according to a predetermined offset phase; an LOIQ generator for generating an LOIQ signal based on the phase-shifted LO signal; and an up-conversion mixer for generating the first RF signal based on a first intermediate frequency (IF) signal received from a modem or a baseband processor and the LOIQ signal.
在一个实施例中，所述接收器包括：移相器，用于接收来自所述频率合成器的LO信号并根据预定偏移相位来对所述LO信号进行偏移；LOIQ生成器，用于基于相位偏移后的LO信号来生成LOIQ信号；以及下变频混频器，用于基于所述第二RF信号和所述LOIQ信号来生成所述第二IFIQ信号。在一个实施例中，所述收发器中的各收发器还包括耦合至所述发射器和所述接收器的开关。所述开关被配置为在给定时间点将所述发射器或所述接收器耦合至与相应收发器相关联的天线。In one embodiment, the receiver includes: a phase shifter for receiving the LO signal from the frequency synthesizer and shifting the LO signal according to a predetermined offset phase; a LOIQ generator for generating an LOIQ signal based on the phase-shifted LO signal; and a down-conversion mixer for generating the second IFIQ signal based on the second RF signal and the LOIQ signal. In one embodiment, each of the transceivers further includes a switch coupled to the transmitter and the receiver. The switch is configured to couple the transmitter or the receiver to the antenna associated with the corresponding transceiver at a given point in time.
图1是示出根据本发明一个实施例的无线通信装置的示例的框图。参考图1，无线通信装置100(也简称为无线装置)包括mm波前端模块101(也简称为RF前端模块)以及调制解调器或基带处理器102等。调制解调器可以包括IF到基带频率(IF/BF)下变频器、BF/IF上变频器和基带处理器(例如，数字处理器或DSP)。无线装置100可以是任何类型的无线通信装置，例如移动电话、膝上型计算机、平板计算机、网络设备装置(例如，物联网或IOT设备装置)等。可选地，无线装置100可以表示基站或蜂窝塔等。FIG1 is a block diagram showing an example of a wireless communication device according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG1 , a wireless communication device 100 (also referred to as a wireless device for short) includes a mm-wave front-end module 101 (also referred to as an RF front-end module for short) and a modem or baseband processor 102, etc. The modem may include an IF to baseband frequency (IF/BF) downconverter, a BF/IF upconverter, and a baseband processor (e.g., a digital processor or DSP). The wireless device 100 may be any type of wireless communication device, such as a mobile phone, a laptop computer, a tablet computer, a network device (e.g., an Internet of Things or IOT device), etc. Optionally, the wireless device 100 may represent a base station or a cellular tower, etc.
在无线电接收器电路中，RF前端(诸如mm波RF前端等)是天线直至并包括混频器级之间的所有电路的通用术语。RF前端由接收器中的所有组件构成，该接收器在将原始输入RF频率下的信号变频为较低中频之前处理这些信号。在微波和卫星接收器中，RF前端通常被称为低噪声块(low-noise block，LNB)或低噪声下变频器(low-noise downconverter，LND)，并且通常位于天线处或附近，使得来自天线的信号能够以更容易处理的中频被传送到接收器的其余部分。基带处理器是管理所有无线电功能(需要天线的所有功能)的网络接口中的装置(芯片或芯片的一部分)。In radio receiver circuits, the RF front end (such as mm-wave RF front ends, etc.) is a general term for all circuits between the antenna up to and including the mixer stage. The RF front end consists of all the components in the receiver that process the signals at the original input RF frequency before converting them to a lower intermediate frequency. In microwave and satellite receivers, the RF front end is often called a low-noise block (LNB) or low-noise downconverter (LND), and is usually located at or near the antenna so that the signal from the antenna can be transmitted to the rest of the receiver at an intermediate frequency that is easier to process. The baseband processor is a device (chip or part of a chip) in the network interface that manages all radio functions (all functions that require an antenna).
在一个实施例中，RF前端模块101包括RF收发器(例如，mm波RF收发器)的阵列。各个RF收发器经由多个mm波天线之一发射和接收特定频带(例如，诸如非重叠频率范围等的特定频率范围)内的相干RF信号(例如，mm波信号)。在mm波技术中，MM波占据从30GHz至300GHz的范围的频谱。前端IC芯片101还包括耦合至RF收发器的全频带或宽频带频率合成器。宽频带频率合成器生成本地振荡器(LO)信号并将其提供至各个RF收发器，以使得RF收发器能够对宽频带(例如，24～43GHz)内的RF信号进行混频、调制和/或解调。RF收发器阵列和宽频带频率合成器可以集成在单个IC芯片内作为单个RF前端IC芯片或封装件。In one embodiment, the RF front-end module 101 includes an array of RF transceivers (e.g., mm-wave RF transceivers). Each RF transceiver transmits and receives coherent RF signals (e.g., mm-wave signals) within a specific frequency band (e.g., a specific frequency range such as a non-overlapping frequency range) via one of a plurality of mm-wave antennas. In mm-wave technology, MM waves occupy a spectrum ranging from 30 GHz to 300 GHz. The front-end IC chip 101 also includes a full-band or wideband frequency synthesizer coupled to the RF transceiver. The wideband frequency synthesizer generates a local oscillator (LO) signal and provides it to each RF transceiver so that the RF transceiver can mix, modulate and/or demodulate RF signals within a wide band (e.g., 24 to 43 GHz). The RF transceiver array and the wideband frequency synthesizer can be integrated into a single IC chip as a single RF front-end IC chip or package.
注意，仅为了说明的目的，mm波前端模块被用作RF前端模块的示例。类似地，mm波收发器用作RF收发器的示例。然而，贯穿本申请所描述的技术还可适用于其它频谱或频带中的其它RF电路。Note that for illustration purposes only, a mm-wave front-end module is used as an example of an RF front-end module. Similarly, a mm-wave transceiver is used as an example of an RF transceiver. However, the techniques described throughout this application may also be applicable to other RF circuits in other spectrums or frequency bands.
图2是示出根据本发明的一个实施例的RF前端集成电路的示例的框图。RF前端IC装置101可以是mm波前端IC装置。参考图2，RF前端101包括耦合至RF收发器211～213的阵列的宽频带或全频带频率合成器200等。各个RF收发器211～213被配置为经由mm波天线221～223之一发射和接收相干RF信号，诸如具有可变振幅和相移的mm波信号等。通过为各个收发器221～223提供适当的振幅和相移设置，整个收发器阵列可以在期望方向(称为播送方向、或辐射角度或辐射方向)上引导一个或多个波束。在一个实施例中，各个收发器211～213被配置为从宽频带频率合成器200接收LO信号。针对特定频带(例如，24～43GHz频带)生成LO信号。为了发射和接收相应频带内的mm波信号，LO信号被各个收发器221～223用于混频、调制、解调。FIG2 is a block diagram showing an example of an RF front-end integrated circuit according to an embodiment of the present invention. The RF front-end IC device 101 may be a mm-wave front-end IC device. Referring to FIG2 , the RF front-end 101 includes a wideband or full-band frequency synthesizer 200 coupled to an array of RF transceivers 211 to 213, etc. Each RF transceiver 211 to 213 is configured to transmit and receive coherent RF signals, such as mm-wave signals with variable amplitude and phase shift, via one of the mm-wave antennas 221 to 223. By providing appropriate amplitude and phase shift settings for each transceiver 221 to 223, the entire transceiver array can guide one or more beams in a desired direction (referred to as a broadcast direction, or a radiation angle or radiation direction). In one embodiment, each transceiver 211 to 213 is configured to receive an LO signal from a wideband frequency synthesizer 200. The LO signal is generated for a specific frequency band (e.g., a 24 to 43 GHz frequency band). In order to transmit and receive mm-wave signals within the corresponding frequency bands, the LO signals are used by the respective transceivers 221 - 223 for mixing, modulation, and demodulation.
可选地，各个RF收发器221～223可以与不同的频带(诸如非重叠或最小重叠频率范围等)相关联。各个收发器被配置为使用由频率合成器200生成的针对相应频带的特定LO信号发射和接收相应频带内的RF信号。Alternatively, each RF transceiver 221-223 may be associated with a different frequency band, such as a non-overlapping or minimally overlapping frequency range, etc. Each transceiver is configured to transmit and receive RF signals within the corresponding frequency band using a specific LO signal generated by the frequency synthesizer 200 for the corresponding frequency band.
图3是示出根据本发明一个实施例的RF前端集成电路的示例的框图。RF前端IC装置300可以表示图2的RF前端IC装置101。参考图3，在一个实施例中，RF前端IC装置300包括频率合成器200和RF收发器301A～301B(统称为收发器301)的阵列。尽管示出存在两个RF收发器301A～301B，但是可以包括更多的RF收发器。频率合成器200被配置为生成针对各个收发器301的LO信号，以允许各个收发器将RF信号调制到要发射到远程装置的载波频率信号上以及从远程装置接收到的载波频率信号解调RF信号。各个收发器301与诸如天线302A～302B(统称为天线302)等的天线相关联。天线302可以位于能够根据特定播送方向或角度来发射和接收RF信号的移动装置的不同位置处。FIG3 is a block diagram showing an example of an RF front-end integrated circuit according to an embodiment of the present invention. The RF front-end IC device 300 may represent the RF front-end IC device 101 of FIG2 . Referring to FIG3 , in one embodiment, the RF front-end IC device 300 includes a frequency synthesizer 200 and an array of RF transceivers 301A-301B (collectively referred to as transceivers 301 ). Although two RF transceivers 301A-301B are shown, more RF transceivers may be included. The frequency synthesizer 200 is configured to generate an LO signal for each transceiver 301 to allow each transceiver to modulate an RF signal onto a carrier frequency signal to be transmitted to a remote device and demodulate an RF signal from a carrier frequency signal received from a remote device. Each transceiver 301 is associated with an antenna such as antennas 302A-302B (collectively referred to as antennas 302 ). Antenna 302 may be located at different locations of a mobile device capable of transmitting and receiving RF signals according to a specific broadcast direction or angle.
在本实施例中，RF前端IC装置300包括第一收发器301A，该第一收发器301A用于在预定频带内根据第一RF振幅和相移设置来发射和接收与第一RF信道相关联的RF信号。RF前端IC装置300还包括第二收发器301B，该第二收发器301B用于在预定频带内根据第二RF振幅和相移设置来发射和接收与第二RF信道相关联的RF信号。第二RF振幅和相移设置可以不同于第一RF振幅和相移设置。RF前端IC装置300还包括频率合成器200，该频率合成器200耦合至第一收发器301A和第二收发器301B以在宽频谱中进行频率同步。频率合成器200生成至第一收发器301A和第二收发器301B的LO信号，以使得第一收发器301A和第二收发器301B能够发射和接收分别与第一RF信道和第二RF信道相关联的RF信号。第一收发器301A、第二收发器301B和频率合成器200嵌入在单个IC芯片300内。In the present embodiment, the RF front-end IC device 300 includes a first transceiver 301A, which is used to transmit and receive RF signals associated with a first RF channel according to a first RF amplitude and phase shift setting within a predetermined frequency band. The RF front-end IC device 300 also includes a second transceiver 301B, which is used to transmit and receive RF signals associated with a second RF channel according to a second RF amplitude and phase shift setting within a predetermined frequency band. The second RF amplitude and phase shift setting may be different from the first RF amplitude and phase shift setting. The RF front-end IC device 300 also includes a frequency synthesizer 200, which is coupled to the first transceiver 301A and the second transceiver 301B to perform frequency synchronization in a wide frequency spectrum. The frequency synthesizer 200 generates LO signals to the first transceiver 301A and the second transceiver 301B so that the first transceiver 301A and the second transceiver 301B can transmit and receive RF signals associated with the first RF channel and the second RF channel, respectively. The first transceiver 301A, the second transceiver 301B, and the frequency synthesizer 200 are embedded in a single IC chip 300 .
根据一个实施例，经由被配置为根据第一RF振幅和相移设置进行辐射和接收的第一天线302A发射和接收与第一RF信道相关联的RF信号，以及经由被配置为根据第二RF振幅和相移设置进行辐射和接收的第二天线302B发射和接收与第二RF信道相关联的RF信号。注意，天线302可以不是RF前端IC装置300的一部分。According to one embodiment, RF signals associated with a first RF channel are transmitted and received via a first antenna 302A configured to radiate and receive according to a first RF amplitude and phase shift setting, and RF signals associated with a second RF channel are transmitted and received via a second antenna 302B configured to radiate and receive according to a second RF amplitude and phase shift setting. Note that the antenna 302 may not be part of the RF front-end IC device 300.
在一个实施例中，第一收发器301A和第二收发器301B各自包括：发射器(例如，发射器303A～303B，统称为发射器303)，用于向第一远程装置发射第一RF信号；接收器(例如，接收器304A～304B，统称为接收器304)，用于从第二远程装置接收第二RF信号；以及耦合至发射器和接收器的开关(例如，开关306A～306B，统称为开关306)。开关被配置为在给定时间点将发射器或接收器耦合至与收发器相关联的天线。也就是说，在任何给定时间点，发射器或接收器中的仅一者可以耦合至相应天线。In one embodiment, the first transceiver 301A and the second transceiver 301B each include: a transmitter (e.g., transmitters 303A-303B, collectively referred to as transmitter 303) for transmitting a first RF signal to a first remote device; a receiver (e.g., receivers 304A-304B, collectively referred to as receiver 304) for receiving a second RF signal from a second remote device; and a switch coupled to the transmitter and the receiver (e.g., switches 306A-306B, collectively referred to as switch 306). The switch is configured to couple the transmitter or the receiver to an antenna associated with the transceiver at a given point in time. That is, at any given point in time, only one of the transmitter or the receiver can be coupled to the corresponding antenna.
在一个实施例中，各个发射器303包括用以基于从调制解调器或基带处理器接收的IF信号生成IFIQ信号的第一IFIQ生成器(诸如IFIQ生成器311A～311B等)。各个发射器还包括用以基于从频率合成器200接收的LO信号来生成LOIQ信号的第一LOIQ生成器(例如，LOIQ生成器314A～314B)。各个发射器还包括耦合至第一IFIQ生成器和第一LOIQ生成器以基于IFIQ信号和LOIQ信号生成第一RF信号的第一混频器(例如，混频器313A～313B，统称为上变频混频器313)。In one embodiment, each transmitter 303 includes a first IFIQ generator (such as IFIQ generators 311A-311B) for generating an IFIQ signal based on an IF signal received from a modem or a baseband processor. Each transmitter also includes a first LOIQ generator (e.g., LOIQ generators 314A-314B) for generating an LOIQ signal based on an LO signal received from the frequency synthesizer 200. Each transmitter also includes a first mixer (e.g., mixers 313A-313B, collectively referred to as up-conversion mixers 313) coupled to the first IFIQ generator and the first LOIQ generator to generate a first RF signal based on the IFIQ signal and the LOIQ signal.
在一个实施例中，各个收发器301还包括耦合至第一IFIQ生成器和第一混频器的第一IF放大器(例如，IF放大器312A～312B，统称为IF放大器或放大器312)。第一IF放大器被配置为放大IFIQ信号并将放大后的IFIQ信号提供至第一混频器。各个收发器301还包括耦合至第一混频器以放大从第一混频器接收到的第一RF信号的第一宽带放大器(例如，宽带或RF放大器315A～315B，统称为宽带或RF放大器或放大器315)。In one embodiment, each transceiver 301 further includes a first IF amplifier (e.g., IF amplifiers 312A-312B, collectively referred to as IF amplifiers or amplifiers 312) coupled to the first IFIQ generator and the first mixer. The first IF amplifier is configured to amplify the IFIQ signal and provide the amplified IFIQ signal to the first mixer. Each transceiver 301 further includes a first broadband amplifier (e.g., broadband or RF amplifiers 315A-315B, collectively referred to as broadband or RF amplifiers or amplifiers 315) coupled to the first mixer to amplify the first RF signal received from the first mixer.
在一个实施例中，各个接收器304包括被配置为接收第二RF信号的第二宽带放大器(例如，RF放大器321A～321B，统称为RF放大器或放大器321)。各个接收器还包括用以基于从频率合成器200接收的LO信号生成LOIQ信号的第二LOIQ生成器(例如，LOIQ生成器323A～323B，统称为LOIQ生成器323)。各个接收器还包括耦合至第二宽带放大器和第二LOIQ生成器的第二混频器(例如，混频器322A～322B，统称为下变频混频器322)。第二混频器被配置为基于放大后的第二RF信号和LOIQ信号生成IFIQ信号。各个接收器还包括耦合至第二混频器以接收和放大来自第二混频器的IFIQ信号的第四IF放大器(例如，IF放大器324A～324B，统称为IF放大器或放大器324)。各个接收器还包括耦合至第四IF放大器以基于IFIQ信号生成组合的IF信号的IFIQ组合器(例如，IFIQ组合器325A～325B，统称为IFIQ组合器325)。In one embodiment, each receiver 304 includes a second broadband amplifier (e.g., RF amplifiers 321A-321B, collectively referred to as RF amplifiers or amplifiers 321) configured to receive a second RF signal. Each receiver also includes a second LOIQ generator (e.g., LOIQ generators 323A-323B, collectively referred to as LOIQ generators 323) for generating an LOIQ signal based on the LO signal received from the frequency synthesizer 200. Each receiver also includes a second mixer (e.g., mixers 322A-322B, collectively referred to as down-conversion mixers 322) coupled to the second broadband amplifier and the second LOIQ generator. The second mixer is configured to generate an IFIQ signal based on the amplified second RF signal and the LOIQ signal. Each receiver also includes a fourth IF amplifier (e.g., IF amplifiers 324A-324B, collectively referred to as IF amplifiers or amplifiers 324) coupled to the second mixer to receive and amplify the IFIQ signal from the second mixer. Each receiver also includes an IFIQ combiner (eg, IFIQ combiners 325A- 325B, collectively referred to as IFIQ combiner 325 ) coupled to the fourth IF amplifier to generate a combined IF signal based on the IFIQ signal.
在一个实施例中，频率合成器200包括：锁相环(PLL)电路231，用以基于时钟参考信号生成与预定频带相关联的LO信号；以及LO缓冲装置232，其耦合至PLL电路以对从LO信号导出的第一LO信号和第二LO信号进行缓冲并将它们分别提供至第一收发器和第二收发器。In one embodiment, the frequency synthesizer 200 includes: a phase-locked loop (PLL) circuit 231 for generating an LO signal associated with a predetermined frequency band based on a clock reference signal; and an LO buffer device 232, which is coupled to the PLL circuit to buffer a first LO signal and a second LO signal derived from the LO signal and provide them to the first transceiver and the second transceiver, respectively.
PLL是生成相位与输入信号的相位相关的输出信号的控制系统。虽然存在若干不同的类型，但最初容易将其视为由可变频率振荡器和相位检测器构成的电子电路。振荡器生成周期信号，并且相位检测器将该信号的相位与输入周期信号的相位进行比较，调整振荡器以保持相位匹配。将输出信号带回到输入信号以进行比较被称为反馈回路，这是因为输出被“反馈”到输入形成回路。将输入和输出相位保持在锁定步骤中还意味着将输入和输出频率保持相同。因此，除了同步信号之外，锁相环可以跟踪输入频率，或者其可以生成作为输入频率的倍数的频率。这些属性用于计算机时钟同步、解调和频率合成。锁相环广泛应用于无线电、电信、计算机和其它电子应用中。它们可以用于解调信号、从有噪声的通信信道恢复信号、以输入频率的倍数生成稳定频率(频率合成)、或在数字逻辑电路(诸如微处理器等)中分配精确定时的时钟脉冲。PLL is a control system that generates an output signal whose phase is related to the phase of the input signal. Although there are several different types, it is easy to initially think of it as an electronic circuit consisting of a variable frequency oscillator and a phase detector. The oscillator generates a periodic signal, and the phase detector compares the phase of the signal with the phase of the input periodic signal, adjusting the oscillator to keep the phase matching. Bringing the output signal back to the input signal for comparison is called a feedback loop, because the output is "fed back" to the input to form a loop. Keeping the input and output phases in lock step also means keeping the input and output frequencies the same. Therefore, in addition to the synchronization signal, the phase-locked loop can track the input frequency, or it can generate a frequency that is a multiple of the input frequency. These properties are used for computer clock synchronization, demodulation, and frequency synthesis. Phase-locked loops are widely used in radio, telecommunications, computers, and other electronic applications. They can be used to demodulate signals, recover signals from noisy communication channels, generate stable frequencies (frequency synthesis) at multiples of the input frequency, or distribute precisely timed clock pulses in digital logic circuits (such as microprocessors, etc.).
图4是示出根据一个实施例的发射器的示例的示意图。发射器400可以表示如上文所述的任何收发器中的任何发射器，诸如图3的发射器303等。参考图4，发射器400包括IFIQ生成器411、具有IF放大器412A和IF放大器412B的IF放大器412、混频器413、LOIQ生成器414、RF放大器415以及相位旋转器或移相器420。FIG4 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a transmitter according to an embodiment. Transmitter 400 may represent any transmitter in any transceiver as described above, such as transmitter 303 of FIG3 , etc. Referring to FIG4 , transmitter 400 includes an IFIQ generator 411, an IF amplifier 412 having an IF amplifier 412A and an IF amplifier 412B, a mixer 413, an LOIQ generator 414, an RF amplifier 415, and a phase rotator or phase shifter 420.
在一个实施例中，IF放大器412(包括第二IF放大器412A和第三IF放大器412B)可以表示IF放大器312。IFIQ生成器411被配置为生成同相(也称为I路径)IF信号和正交(也称为Q路径)IF信号。然后I路径IF信号和Q路径IF信号通过诸如IF放大器412A～412B等的相应IF放大器放大。在一个实施例中，LOIQ生成器414被配置为生成I路径LO信号和Q路径LO信号。In one embodiment, the IF amplifier 412 (including the second IF amplifier 412A and the third IF amplifier 412B) may represent the IF amplifier 312. The IFIQ generator 411 is configured to generate an in-phase (also referred to as an I path) IF signal and a quadrature (also referred to as a Q path) IF signal. The I path IF signal and the Q path IF signal are then amplified by corresponding IF amplifiers such as IF amplifiers 412A-412B. In one embodiment, the LOIQ generator 414 is configured to generate an I path LO signal and a Q path LO signal.
I路径LO信号和Q路径LO信号可以由相位旋转器420在相位上偏移。相位旋转器420可以包括用以对I路径LO信号进行移相的第一相位旋转器和用以对Q路径LO信号进行移相的第二相位旋转器。在一个实施例中，I路径IF信号和Q路径IF信号分别与I路径LO信号和Q路径LO信号进行混频，并通过上变频混频器413从IF上变频到RF以生成RF信号。然后RF信号可以通过RF放大器415放大以经由相关联的天线发射到远程装置。The I path LO signal and the Q path LO signal may be shifted in phase by a phase rotator 420. The phase rotator 420 may include a first phase rotator for shifting the phase of the I path LO signal and a second phase rotator for shifting the phase of the Q path LO signal. In one embodiment, the I path IF signal and the Q path IF signal are mixed with the I path LO signal and the Q path LO signal, respectively, and up-converted from IF to RF by an up-conversion mixer 413 to generate an RF signal. The RF signal may then be amplified by an RF amplifier 415 to be transmitted to a remote device via an associated antenna.
图5是示出根据一个实施例的接收器的示例的示意图。接收器500可以表示如上文所述的任何收发器中的任何接收器，诸如图3的接收器304等。参考图5，在一实施例中，接收器500包括相位旋转器或移相器520、RF放大器521、下变频混频器522、LOIQ生成器523、具有IF放大器424A和IF放大器424B的IF放大器524、以及IFIQ组合器525。FIG5 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a receiver according to an embodiment. Receiver 500 may represent any receiver in any transceiver as described above, such as receiver 304 of FIG3 . Referring to FIG5 , in an embodiment, receiver 500 includes a phase rotator or shifter 520, an RF amplifier 521, a down-conversion mixer 522, a LOIQ generator 523, an IF amplifier 524 having an IF amplifier 424A and an IF amplifier 424B, and an IFIQ combiner 525.
在一个实施例中，LOIQ生成器523将从频率合成器(例如，频率合成器200)接收的LO信号生成或分离为I路径LO信号和Q路径LO信号。I路径LO信号和Q路径LO信号可以由相位旋转器或移相器520在相位上偏移或旋转。相位旋转器520可以包括用于使I路径LO信号偏移的第一相位旋转器和用于使Q路径LO信号偏移的第二相位旋转器。从天线接收到的RF信号可以由RF放大器521放大并与偏移后的I路径LO信号和偏移后的Q路径LO信号进行混频，并由下变频混频器522从RF下变频到IF，以生成I路径IF信号和Q路径IF信号。然后，分别由IF放大器524A～524B放大I路径IF信号和Q路径IF信号。然后，放大后的I路径IF信号和Q路径IF信号被IFIQ组合器525组合以生成要由调制解调器或基带处理器处理的IF信号，其中IF信号包括同相分量和正交分量这两者。In one embodiment, the LOIQ generator 523 generates or separates the LO signal received from the frequency synthesizer (e.g., frequency synthesizer 200) into an I path LO signal and a Q path LO signal. The I path LO signal and the Q path LO signal can be offset or rotated in phase by a phase rotator or phase shifter 520. The phase rotator 520 may include a first phase rotator for offsetting the I path LO signal and a second phase rotator for offsetting the Q path LO signal. The RF signal received from the antenna can be amplified by the RF amplifier 521 and mixed with the offset I path LO signal and the offset Q path LO signal, and down-converted from RF to IF by the down-conversion mixer 522 to generate an I path IF signal and a Q path IF signal. Then, the I path IF signal and the Q path IF signal are amplified by IF amplifiers 524A-524B, respectively. Then, the amplified I path IF signal and the Q path IF signal are combined by the IFIQ combiner 525 to generate an IF signal to be processed by a modem or a baseband processor, wherein the IF signal includes both an in-phase component and an orthogonal component.
返回参考图3，在该实施例中，各个收发器301被配置为发射和接收相同频率或相同频带内的RF信号。然而，各个收发器301被配置为以不同振幅和相移设置来发射和接收RF信号。各个天线302连接到一个RF收发器，来以预定播送方向发射和接收RF信号。Referring back to FIG3 , in this embodiment, each transceiver 301 is configured to transmit and receive RF signals at the same frequency or within the same frequency band. However, each transceiver 301 is configured to transmit and receive RF signals at different amplitude and phase shift settings. Each antenna 302 is connected to an RF transceiver to transmit and receive RF signals in a predetermined broadcast direction.
在本实施例中，各个收发器301包括其自身的IFIQ生成器/组合器、上/下变频混频器和LOIQ生成器。具体地，各个收发器的各个发射器包括其自身的IFIQ生成器、上变频混频器和LOIQ生成器。各个收发器的各个接收器包括其自身的IFIQ组合器、下变频混频器和LOIQ生成器。然后通过接收器下变频和处理的IF信号流被调制解调器或基带处理器在例如数字域中进行处理。不同振幅和相位的IF信号可以进一步下变频为BF信号，然后由数字处理器通过将BF信号与振幅和相位补偿相组合来处理该BF信号，以提高BF信号的强度或振幅。可选地，振幅和相位补偿可以在IF信号被下变频为BF信号之前在IF级进行。In this embodiment, each transceiver 301 includes its own IFIQ generator/combiner, up/down conversion mixer and LOIQ generator. Specifically, each transmitter of each transceiver includes its own IFIQ generator, up conversion mixer and LOIQ generator. Each receiver of each transceiver includes its own IFIQ combiner, down conversion mixer and LOIQ generator. The IF signal stream down-converted and processed by the receiver is then processed by the modem or baseband processor in, for example, the digital domain. The IF signal of different amplitude and phase can be further down-converted to a BF signal, which is then processed by a digital processor by combining the BF signal with amplitude and phase compensation to increase the strength or amplitude of the BF signal. Optionally, amplitude and phase compensation can be performed at the IF stage before the IF signal is down-converted to the BF signal.
图6是示出根据另一实施例的RF前端IC装置的示例的示意图。RF前端IC装置600可以表示如上所述的RF前端IC装置101。在一个实施例中，RF前端IC装置600包括收发器301的阵列，各个收发器301对应于RF信道之一。各个RF收发器301包括被配置为在预定频带内根据各个播送方向发射和接收RF信号的移相器。RF前端IC装置还包括耦合至各个收发器301以在宽频谱中进行频率同步的频率合成器200。频率合成器200生成针对各个收发器301的LO信号以使得各个收发器301能够在其相应的RF信道内发射和接收RF信号。FIG6 is a schematic diagram showing an example of an RF front-end IC device according to another embodiment. The RF front-end IC device 600 may represent the RF front-end IC device 101 described above. In one embodiment, the RF front-end IC device 600 includes an array of transceivers 301, each transceiver 301 corresponding to one of the RF channels. Each RF transceiver 301 includes a phase shifter configured to transmit and receive RF signals according to each broadcast direction within a predetermined frequency band. The RF front-end IC device also includes a frequency synthesizer 200 coupled to each transceiver 301 for frequency synchronization in a wide frequency spectrum. The frequency synthesizer 200 generates an LO signal for each transceiver 301 so that each transceiver 301 can transmit and receive RF signals within its corresponding RF channel.
RF前端IC装置600还包括耦合至收发器301中的各收发器和频率合成器200的上变频器601。上变频器601被配置为基于LO信号将第一IF信号上变频为收发器301要发射的第一RF信号。RF前端IC装置600还包括耦合至收发器301中的各收发器和频率合成器200的下变频器602。下变频器602被配置为基于LO信号将从收发器301接收的第二RF信号下变频成第二IF信号。收发器301的阵列、频率合成器200、上变频器601和下变频器602嵌入在单个IC芯片中。The RF front-end IC device 600 further includes an up-converter 601 coupled to each transceiver in the transceiver 301 and the frequency synthesizer 200. The up-converter 601 is configured to up-convert the first IF signal to a first RF signal to be transmitted by the transceiver 301 based on the LO signal. The RF front-end IC device 600 further includes a down-converter 602 coupled to each transceiver in the transceiver 301 and the frequency synthesizer 200. The down-converter 602 is configured to down-convert the second RF signal received from the transceiver 301 to a second IF signal based on the LO signal. The array of transceivers 301, the frequency synthesizer 200, the up-converter 601, and the down-converter 602 are embedded in a single IC chip.
在一个实施例中，上变频器601包括：IFIQ生成器311，用以接收第一IF信号；LOIQ生成器314，用以从频率合成器200接收LO信号以基于LO信号生成LOIQ信号；以及上变频混频器313，其耦合至IFIQ生成器311和LOIQ生成器314。上变频混频器313被配置为基于第一IF信号和LOIQ信号生成第一RF信号。在一个实施例中，上变频器601还包括IF放大器312，其耦合在IFIQ生成器311和上变频混频器313之间以放大第一IF信号。上变频器601还包括功率分配器603，其耦合至上变频混频器313以将第一RF信号分割为多个第一RF子信号，其中各个第一RF子信号被提供至收发器301之一以进行发射。In one embodiment, the up-converter 601 includes: an IFIQ generator 311 for receiving a first IF signal; an LOIQ generator 314 for receiving an LO signal from the frequency synthesizer 200 to generate an LOIQ signal based on the LO signal; and an up-conversion mixer 313, which is coupled to the IFIQ generator 311 and the LOIQ generator 314. The up-conversion mixer 313 is configured to generate a first RF signal based on the first IF signal and the LOIQ signal. In one embodiment, the up-converter 601 also includes an IF amplifier 312, which is coupled between the IFIQ generator 311 and the up-conversion mixer 313 to amplify the first IF signal. The up-converter 601 also includes a power divider 603, which is coupled to the up-conversion mixer 313 to split the first RF signal into a plurality of first RF sub-signals, wherein each of the first RF sub-signals is provided to one of the transceivers 301 for transmission.
在一个实施例中，下变频器602包括：LOIQ生成器323，用以从频率合成器200接收LO信号以基于LO信号生成LOIQ信号；以及下变频混频器322，其耦合至LOIQ生成器323。下变频混频器322被配置为基于从收发器301接收到的第二RF信号和LOIQ信号来生成IFIQ信号。下变频器602还包括用以基于从下变频混频器323接收到的IFIQ信号生成第二IF信号的IFIQ组合器325。在一个实施例中，下变频器602还包括耦合在下变频混频器322和收发器301之间的功率组合器604。功率合成器604被配置为组合从收发器301接收到的第二RF子信号以生成第二RF信号，各个第二RF子信号对应于收发器301之一。下变频器602还包括耦合在IFIQ组合器325和下变频混频器322之间以放大IFIQ信号的IF放大器324。In one embodiment, the down converter 602 includes: an LOIQ generator 323 for receiving an LO signal from the frequency synthesizer 200 to generate an LOIQ signal based on the LO signal; and a down converter mixer 322 coupled to the LOIQ generator 323. The down converter mixer 322 is configured to generate an IFIQ signal based on the second RF signal and the LOIQ signal received from the transceiver 301. The down converter 602 also includes an IFIQ combiner 325 for generating a second IF signal based on the IFIQ signal received from the down converter mixer 323. In one embodiment, the down converter 602 also includes a power combiner 604 coupled between the down converter mixer 322 and the transceiver 301. The power combiner 604 is configured to combine the second RF sub-signals received from the transceiver 301 to generate a second RF signal, each second RF sub-signal corresponding to one of the transceivers 301. Downconverter 602 also includes IF amplifier 324 coupled between IFIQ combiner 325 and downconversion mixer 322 to amplify the IFIQ signal.
在一个实施例中，收发器301中的各个收发器包括：发射器(例如，发射器303)，用于向第一远程装置发射RF信号；接收器(例如，接收器304)，用于从第二远程装置接收RF信号；以及开关(例如，开关306)，其被配置为在给定时间点将发射器或接收器耦合至天线302之一。各个天线对应于收发器301之一。In one embodiment, each of the transceivers 301 includes a transmitter (e.g., transmitter 303) for transmitting an RF signal to a first remote device, a receiver (e.g., receiver 304) for receiving an RF signal from a second remote device, and a switch (e.g., switch 306) configured to couple the transmitter or the receiver to one of the antennas 302 at a given point in time. Each antenna corresponds to one of the transceivers 301.
根据一个实施例，类似于图3的RF前端IC装置300，RF前端IC装置600包括耦合至收发器301A～301B阵列的宽频带频率合成器200。各个收发器301包括发射器(例如，发射器303)和接收器(例如，接收器304)。然而，在本实施例中，IFIQ生成器/合成器、上变频/下变频混频器和LOIQ生成器被从收发器301的发射器303或接收器304中移除。在一个实施例中，所有收发器301使用和共享上变频器601和下变频器602。上变频器601包括IFIQ生成器、上变频混频器和LOIQ生成器，其功能和/或操作与上文描述的功能和/或操作相同或相似。下变频器602包括LOIQ生成器、下变频混频器和IFIQ组合器，其功能和/或操作与上文描述的功能和/或操作相同或相似。According to one embodiment, similar to the RF front-end IC device 300 of FIG. 3 , the RF front-end IC device 600 includes a wideband frequency synthesizer 200 coupled to an array of transceivers 301A-301B. Each transceiver 301 includes a transmitter (e.g., transmitter 303) and a receiver (e.g., receiver 304). However, in this embodiment, the IFIQ generator/synthesizer, the up-conversion/down-conversion mixer, and the LOIQ generator are removed from the transmitter 303 or the receiver 304 of the transceiver 301. In one embodiment, all transceivers 301 use and share the up-converter 601 and the down-converter 602. The up-converter 601 includes an IFIQ generator, an up-conversion mixer, and a LOIQ generator, and its functions and/or operations are the same or similar to those described above. Downconverter 602 includes a LOIQ generator, a downconversion mixer, and an IFIQ combiner, the functions and/or operations of which are the same or similar to those described above.
在发射路径上，在一个实施例中，上变频器601包括如上所述的IFIQ生成器311、IF放大器312、上变频混频器313和LOIQ生成器314。另外，上变频器601还包括功率分配器603，在本实例中为N路功率分配器。功率分配器603被配置为从混频器313接收RF信号，并将该RF信号分割为具有较低功率(例如，从混频器313接收的原始信号功率的1/N，其中N表示发射器313的数量)的多个RF信号，称为RF子信号。然后，将RF子信号馈送到发射器303以进行处理。In the transmission path, in one embodiment, the up-converter 601 includes the IFIQ generator 311, the IF amplifier 312, the up-conversion mixer 313, and the LOIQ generator 314 as described above. In addition, the up-converter 601 also includes a power divider 603, which is an N-way power divider in this example. The power divider 603 is configured to receive the RF signal from the mixer 313 and split the RF signal into a plurality of RF signals with lower power (e.g., 1/N of the original signal power received from the mixer 313, where N represents the number of transmitters 313), referred to as RF sub-signals. The RF sub-signals are then fed to the transmitter 303 for processing.
根据一个实施例，各个发射器303包括移相器(例如，移相器611A～611B，统称为移相器611)。与图4～5的相位旋转器420和520类似，移相器被配置为在期望的方向上偏移诸如生成的RF波束的信号。另外，各个发射器303可以包括可变增益放大器(例如，可变增益放大器612A～612B，统称为可变增益放大器612)。可变增益放大器612被配置为补偿由于移相器611的移相操作引起的振幅变化。在一个实施例中，响应于特定的偏移相位，可变增益放大器612被配置为基于偏移相位在查找表(未示出)中查找以获得增益值，并且调整可变增益放大器612的增益以用于振幅补偿。According to one embodiment, each transmitter 303 includes a phase shifter (e.g., phase shifters 611A-611B, collectively referred to as phase shifter 611). Similar to the phase rotators 420 and 520 of Figures 4-5, the phase shifter is configured to shift a signal such as a generated RF beam in a desired direction. In addition, each transmitter 303 may include a variable gain amplifier (e.g., variable gain amplifiers 612A-612B, collectively referred to as variable gain amplifier 612). The variable gain amplifier 612 is configured to compensate for amplitude changes caused by the phase shifting operation of the phase shifter 611. In one embodiment, in response to a specific offset phase, the variable gain amplifier 612 is configured to look up in a lookup table (not shown) based on the offset phase to obtain a gain value, and adjust the gain of the variable gain amplifier 612 for amplitude compensation.
在接收路径上，在一个实施例中，下变频器602包括下变频混频器322、LOIQ生成器323、IF放大器324和IFIQ组合器325。下变频混频器322、LOIQ生成器323、IF放大器324和IFIQ组合器325的功能和操作与上文描述的功能和操作相同或相似。另外，下变频器602包括功率组合器604。在本实施例中，功率组合器604被配置为组合来自所有接收器304的RF信号，例如，通过将RF信号的功率全部加在一起以增加信号强度。On the receiving path, in one embodiment, the down converter 602 includes a down converter mixer 322, a LOIQ generator 323, an IF amplifier 324, and an IFIQ combiner 325. The functions and operations of the down converter mixer 322, the LOIQ generator 323, the IF amplifier 324, and the IFIQ combiner 325 are the same or similar to those described above. In addition, the down converter 602 includes a power combiner 604. In this embodiment, the power combiner 604 is configured to combine the RF signals from all receivers 304, for example, by adding the power of the RF signals together to increase the signal strength.
根据一个实施例，各个接收器304包括移相器(例如，移相器613A～613B，统称为移相器613)。移相器613的功能或操作与移相器611相同或相似。各个接收器304还可以包括可变增益放大器(例如，可变增益放大器614A～614B，统称为可变增益放大器614)。可变增益放大器614的功能或操作与可变增益放大器612相同或相似。According to one embodiment, each receiver 304 includes a phase shifter (e.g., phase shifters 613A-613B, collectively referred to as phase shifter 613). The function or operation of phase shifter 613 is the same as or similar to that of phase shifter 611. Each receiver 304 may also include a variable gain amplifier (e.g., variable gain amplifiers 614A-614B, collectively referred to as variable gain amplifier 614). The function or operation of variable gain amplifier 614 is the same as or similar to that of variable gain amplifier 612.
在本实施例中，由于上变频器601和下变频器602的功能已经从收发器301中移除并且由所有收发器301共享，与图3中所示的结构相比，RF前端IC装置的物理尺寸和DC功耗可以减小。然而，由可变增益放大器612进行的查找操作可能引入延迟，这可能取决于具体情况而影响RF前端IC装置的波束切换性能。此外，图3所示的结构能够在数字域中同时发射或接收多个波束(多输入多输出(MIMO)操作)，而图6所示的结构仅能够在给定时间发射或接收一个波束。In this embodiment, since the functions of the up-converter 601 and the down-converter 602 have been removed from the transceiver 301 and are shared by all transceivers 301, the physical size and DC power consumption of the RF front-end IC device can be reduced compared to the structure shown in FIG3. However, the lookup operation performed by the variable gain amplifier 612 may introduce a delay, which may affect the beam switching performance of the RF front-end IC device depending on the specific situation. In addition, the structure shown in FIG3 is capable of transmitting or receiving multiple beams simultaneously in the digital domain (multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) operation), while the structure shown in FIG6 is only capable of transmitting or receiving one beam at a given time.
图7是示出根据另一实施例的RF前端IC装置的示例的示意图。RF前端IC装置700可以表示RF前端IC装置101。根据一个实施例，RF前端IC装置700包括频率合成器200，该频率合成器具有用以基于时钟信号生成LO信号的PLL电路和LO缓冲器；IFIQ生成器311，用以从调制解调器或基带处理器接收第一IF信号以生成第一IFIQ信号；以及IFIQ组合器325，用以基于第二IFIQ信号生成第二IF信号，第二IF信号由调制解调器或基带处理器进行处理。RF前端IC装置700还包括耦合至频率合成器200的多个收发器301。各个收发器301与被配置为在预定频带(例如，24～43GHz)内根据振幅和相移设置之一来发射和接收RF信号的RF信道之一相关联。FIG7 is a schematic diagram showing an example of an RF front-end IC device according to another embodiment. The RF front-end IC device 700 may represent the RF front-end IC device 101. According to one embodiment, the RF front-end IC device 700 includes a frequency synthesizer 200 having a PLL circuit and an LO buffer for generating an LO signal based on a clock signal; an IFIQ generator 311 for receiving a first IF signal from a modem or a baseband processor to generate a first IFIQ signal; and an IFIQ combiner 325 for generating a second IF signal based on a second IFIQ signal, the second IF signal being processed by the modem or the baseband processor. The RF front-end IC device 700 also includes a plurality of transceivers 301 coupled to the frequency synthesizer 200. Each transceiver 301 is associated with one of the RF channels configured to transmit and receive RF signals according to one of the amplitude and phase shift settings within a predetermined frequency band (e.g., 24 to 43 GHz).
在一个实施例中，收发器301中的各个收发器包括：发射器(例如，发射器303)，其耦合至频率合成器200以使用LO信号将第一IFIQ信号上变频为要发射至第一远程装置的第一RF信号；以及接收器(例如，接收器304)，其耦合至频率合成器200以使用LO信号将从第二远程装置接收到的第二RF信号下变频为第二IFIQ信号。收发器301、频率合成器200、IFIQ生成器311和IFIQ组合器325可以嵌入在单个IC芯片中。In one embodiment, each transceiver in the transceiver 301 includes: a transmitter (e.g., transmitter 303) coupled to the frequency synthesizer 200 to up-convert the first IFIQ signal to a first RF signal to be transmitted to a first remote device using an LO signal; and a receiver (e.g., receiver 304) coupled to the frequency synthesizer 200 to down-convert the second RF signal received from the second remote device to a second IFIQ signal using the LO signal. The transceiver 301, the frequency synthesizer 200, the IFIQ generator 311, and the IFIQ combiner 325 can be embedded in a single IC chip.
在一个实施例中，发射器303包括：移相器611，用于从频率合成器200接收LO信号并根据预定偏移相位对LO信号进行偏移；LOIQ生成器314，用于基于相位偏移后的LO信号来生成LOIQ信号；以及上变频混频器313，用于基于从调制解调器或基带处理器接收到的第一中频(IF)信号和LOIQ信号来生成第一RF信号。In one embodiment, the transmitter 303 includes: a phase shifter 611 for receiving the LO signal from the frequency synthesizer 200 and offsetting the LO signal according to a predetermined offset phase; an LOIQ generator 314 for generating an LOIQ signal based on the phase-shifted LO signal; and an up-conversion mixer 313 for generating a first RF signal based on a first intermediate frequency (IF) signal and the LOIQ signal received from a modem or a baseband processor.
在一个实施例中，接收器304包括：移相器613，用于从频率合成器200接收LO信号并根据预定偏移相位对LO信号进行偏移；LOIQ生成器323，用于基于相位偏移后的LO信号来生成LOIQ信号；以及下变频混频器322，用于基于第二RF信号和LOIQ信号来生成第二IFIQ信号。In one embodiment, the receiver 304 includes: a phase shifter 613 for receiving the LO signal from the frequency synthesizer 200 and offsetting the LO signal according to a predetermined offset phase; an LOIQ generator 323 for generating an LOIQ signal based on the phase-shifted LO signal; and a down-conversion mixer 322 for generating a second IFIQ signal based on the second RF signal and the LOIQ signal.
在本实施例中，由于只要LO信号足够大，混频器313和322的变频增益一般较少受LO信号振幅的影响，因此移相器611和613的增益变化可能不会影响混频器313和322的变频增益。因此，可变增益放大器612和614可以是可选的。然而，另一方面，由于发射器303和接收器304各自包括混频器，因此与图6中的结构相比，各个发射器和接收器的功耗可能更高。In this embodiment, since the conversion gain of the mixers 313 and 322 is generally less affected by the amplitude of the LO signal as long as the LO signal is large enough, the gain change of the phase shifters 611 and 613 may not affect the conversion gain of the mixers 313 and 322. Therefore, the variable gain amplifiers 612 and 614 may be optional. However, on the other hand, since the transmitter 303 and the receiver 304 each include a mixer, the power consumption of each transmitter and receiver may be higher than that of the structure in FIG6.
因此，取决于具体应用和/或IC布局限制，可以利用如图3和6～7中所示的不同实施例。如图3中所示的RF前端IC装置300可以在所有装置之中具有最佳灵活性。它也通过在数字域中处理各个收发器信道的IF信号来同时支持多个波束。然而，RF前端IC装置300可能需要最大的占用面积或尺寸以及DC功耗。如图6所示的RF前端IC装置600可以具有芯片的最小占用面积或尺寸以及DC功耗。然而，当形成特定方向的波束时，可能需要振幅和相移设置的2维校准，这可能导致波束切换期间的高延迟。就IC芯片的DC功耗和尺寸而言，如图7所示的RF前端IC装置700在RF前端IC装置300与RF前端IC装置600之间。Therefore, depending on the specific application and/or IC layout constraints, different embodiments as shown in Figures 3 and 6 to 7 may be utilized. The RF front-end IC device 300 as shown in Figure 3 may have the best flexibility among all devices. It also supports multiple beams simultaneously by processing the IF signals of each transceiver channel in the digital domain. However, the RF front-end IC device 300 may require the largest footprint or size and DC power consumption. The RF front-end IC device 600 as shown in Figure 6 may have the smallest footprint or size and DC power consumption of the chip. However, when forming a beam in a specific direction, 2-dimensional calibration of the amplitude and phase shift settings may be required, which may result in high delays during beam switching. In terms of DC power consumption and size of the IC chip, the RF front-end IC device 700 as shown in Figure 7 is between the RF front-end IC device 300 and the RF front-end IC device 600.
在前述说明书中，已经参考本发明的具体典型实施例描述了本发明的实施例。显然，在不脱离所附权利要求书中阐述的本发明的更宽泛的精神和范围的情况下，可以对其进行各种修改。因此，说明书和附图应被视为说明性意义而非限制性意义。In the foregoing description, embodiments of the present invention have been described with reference to specific exemplary embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, various modifications may be made thereto without departing from the broader spirit and scope of the present invention as set forth in the appended claims. Therefore, the description and drawings should be regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive.
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