International Business Machines Corporation

Semiconductor Components Industries, LLC

Roee Ben-Yishay

Danny Elad

Benny Sheinman

Oded Katz

Dan Corcos

Roi Carmon

Shraga Kraus

An automotive radar system that is switchable between one or more high power modes and one or more increased channel modes. The radar system includes multiple transmit antennas, an integrated circuit including a transmit chain generating a positive transmit signal and a negative transmit signal that together form a differential transmit signal, and a coupling interface. The coupling interface configurably couples the differential transmit signal to two transmit antennas of the multiple transmit antennas to selectively drive the two transmit antennas in either a differential mode or in a power-combining mode that combines power from the positive transmit signal and negative transmit signal to drive a first transmit antenna of the multiple transmit antennas while isolating a second transmit antenna of the two transmit antennas.

MIMO radar system with dual mode output power amplification

One illustrative dual mode frequency multiplier embodiment includes: a first and a second nonlinear element, a summation node, and a switchable phase shifter. The first and second nonlinear elements are driven by a differential signal to produce a first and a second branch signal each having even and odd harmonics, the even harmonics being in-phase and the odd harmonics being out of phase. The first and second branch signals combine at the summation node to form a combined signal. The switchable phase shifter couples the first nonlinear element to the summation node, providing the first branch signal with a phase shift switchable between 0 and 180&#xb0; to suppress either the odd or the even harmonics from the combined signal.

Dual-mode frequency multiplier

A method for internal calibration of a detector comprising using one or more hardware processors for the following actions. The method comprises an action of receiving a request for internal calibration of a detector comprising a switchable termination resistor (Dicke switch) and connecting electronically one or more internal calibration circuits to the termination resistor. The method comprises an action of applying two or more input voltage signals to the detector from the calibration circuit and measuring two or more output readings from the detector, each output reading corresponding to one of the input voltage signals. The method comprises an action of computing internal calibration coefficients based on the input voltage signals and the output readings. The method comprises an action of storing the internal calibration coefficients on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium connected to the hardware processor(s) for subsequent calibration of output values from the detector.

Self-calibration of a radiometric imager

A method includes providing a resonant attenuation circuit comprising a first active shorting device connected to a proximal end of an inductive element and a second active shorting device connected to a distal end of the inductive element. The method also includes providing a first control signal to the first active shorting device that places the first active shorting device in a region of operation where incremental increases or decreases in voltage change a shorting impedance of the second active shorting device. A signal attenuator includes a signal propagation path and a plurality of shorting units sequentially attached to the signal propagation path and a control circuit configured to control a level of attenuation provided by each shorting unit. The control circuit and a corresponding method activates subsequent shorting units only if all previous shorting units are at least partially activated.

Analog controlled signal attenuation

An attenuation circuit comprises a signal propagation path and a plurality of shorting units (e.g., devices) sequentially attached to the signal propagation path. In some embodiments, each of one or more initial shorting units of the plurality of shorting units have a dominant intermodulation product term for a full amplitude signal that is less than that of each of one or more subsequent shorting units of the plurality of shorting units. In some embodiments, each of one or more initial shorting units are less sensitive to control voltage changes than each of one or more subsequent shorting units. In some embodiments, each of one or more initial shorting units provide higher levels of attenuation than each of one or more subsequent shorting units. A method includes providing the above attenuation circuit and controlling a level of attenuation provided by each shorting unit of the plurality of shorting units.

Aspects of the present invention include a circuit that includes an input balun circuit responsive to an input signal, the input balun circuit being configured to provide two output signals that are out of phase with each other. The circuit further includes an actual switched amplification stage configured to direct one of the balun output signals to a phase inverter output, and a replica switched amplification stage connected in parallel with the actual switched amplification stage, wherein the actual switched amplification stage and the replica switched amplification stage are responsive to the two output signals from the input balun circuit to direct one of the balun output signals to the phase inverter output, and wherein the actual switched amplification stage and the replica switched amplification stage are configured to have a constant load impedance for both switch states that matches an impedance of the input balun circuit.

Balun based phase inverter using replica load

A frequency quadrupler comprises a balanced topology which increases broadband odd harmonic suppression. The frequency quadrupler is constructed in a cascode configuration which is a two-stage amplifier composed of a transconductance amplifier followed by a current buffer. The cascode is constructed with common emitter (CE) and common base (CB) stages which further improves the multiplier frequency response. The cascode configuration enables a notch filter to be placed between the common emitter and common base stages to reduce 2harmonic generation and thereby increase 4harmonic output power, generation efficiency and conversion gain. To cancel 4harmonic components at the input that may destructively interfere with the output signal, capacitors are placed at the input of the common emitter stage, which in conjunction with the parasitic base wire inductance, form a notch filter to short the 4harmonic.

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Haifa, Israel

Roee Ben-Yishay