Integrated Device Technology, Inc.

Renesas Electronics America Inc.

Samet Zihir

Tumay Kanar

Naveen Krishna Yanduru

Himanshu Khatri

Chih-Hsiang Ko

Kevin Sheng

Mark Cuezon

Methods and systems for operating a transceiver are described. A transceiver can include an upconverting mixer, a downconverting mixer, a controller, and an envelope detector. The upconverting mixer can mix an input signal with a local oscillator (LO) signal to generate a transmitter signal. The envelope detector can receive the transmitter signal outputted from the upconverting mixer and output an envelope of the transmitter signal to an output line of the downconverting mixer. The envelope can indicate at least one of a leaked LO signal and an image signal. The controller can receive a calibration parameter that is based on at least one of the leaked LO signal and image signal and calibrate the upconverting mixer based on the calibration parameter.

Spurious emissions detection and calibration using envelope detector

An apparatus includes a package and a beam former circuit. The package may be configured to be mounted on an antenna array at a center of four antenna elements. Each antenna element may include a dual-pole antenna having a vertical feed and a horizontal feed. The beam former circuit may be (i) disposed in the package, (ii) have a plurality of pairs of ports, (iii) configured to generate a plurality of radio-frequency signals in the ports while in a transmit mode and (iv) configured to receive the radio-frequency signals at the ports while in a receive mode. Each pair of the ports is configured to be directly connected to a respective one of the antenna elements. All of the ports may be spatially routed into alignment with the vertical feeds and the horizontal feeds in a single conductive plane of the antenna array.

Front-end chip for dual-pole antenna array

An apparatus includes a phased array antenna panel and one or more dual-polarization beam former circuits mounted on the phased array antenna panel. The phased array antenna panel generally comprises a plurality of dual-polarization antenna elements. The plurality of dual-polarization antenna elements are generally arranged in one or more groups. Each dual-polarization beam former circuit may be coupled to a respective group of the dual-polarization antenna elements. Each dual-polarization beam former circuit generally comprises a plurality of transceiver channels. Each transceiver channel generally comprises a horizontal channel and a vertical channel. Each dual-polarization beam former circuit provides polarization rotation through bias current control in each of the vertical and horizontal channels.

Method to utilize bias current control in vertical or horizontal channels for polarization rotation with less power consumption

An apparatus includes a phased array antenna panel and one or more beam former circuits mounted on the phased array antenna panel. The phased array antenna panel generally comprises a plurality of antenna elements. The plurality of antenna elements are generally arranged in one or more groups. Each beam former circuit may be coupled to a respective group of the antenna elements. Each beam former circuit generally comprises a plurality of transceiver channels. Each transceiver channel generally comprises a power amplifier circuit configured, when operating in a transmit mode, to drive a respective one of the antenna elements. The power amplifier circuit generally comprises separate bias and voltage supply inputs providing additional power control.

Method for separately biasing power amplifier for additional power control

An apparatus includes a transmit-receive switch circuit and a detector circuit. The transmit-receive switch circuit may be connected between an input port, an output port, and a common port, and configured to switch a transmit radio-frequency signal from the input port to the common port in a transmit mode and a receive radio-frequency signal from the common port to the output port in a receive mode. The detector circuit may be integrated within the transmit-receive switch and may be configured to generate a power detection signal in response to at least one of the transmit radio-frequency signal or the receive radio-frequency signal.

Transmit-receive switch with integrated power detection

An apparatus includes a plurality of transmitter channels and a plurality of feedback networks. Each of the plurality of transmitter channels may be coupled to a respective antenna element in a respective group of antenna elements of a phased array antenna. Each of the transmitter channels generally comprises a power amplifier circuit configured to drive the respective antenna element in the respective group of antenna elements to produce and steer a radio-frequency beam. Each of the plurality of feedback networks may be coupled between an output and an input of a respective power amplifier circuit of a respective transmitter channel. Each of the feedback networks generally comprises a resistor and a capacitor connected in series. The respective power amplifier circuit with the feedback network generally maintains a power matching condition with load variation associated with performing beam steering of the radio-frequency beam using the antenna elements of the phased array antenna.

Method to improve power amplifier output return loss and back-off performance with RC feedback network

An apparatus comprises an amplifier circuit and a bias circuit. The bias circuit is generally configured to dynamically adjust a bias voltage reference at a bias node connected to one or more input transistors of the amplifier circuit to maintain a low baseband impedance.

Power amplifier bias network implementation for improving linearity for wideband modulated signals

An apparatus includes a first circuit and a plurality of second circuits. The first circuit may be configured to generate a pair of quadrature signals from a radio-frequency signal. The second circuits may each comprise a plurality of cascode amplifiers. The cascode amplifiers may be connected in parallel. The cascode amplifiers may be configured to generate a plurality of intermediate signals by modulating the quadrature signals in response to a first control signal and a second control signal. The first control signal generally switches a contribution of the cascode amplifiers in the generation of the intermediate signal. The second control signal may adjusts a total current passing through all of the cascode amplifiers.

Wideband vector modulator and phase shifter

An apparatus includes a log amplifier and a calibration circuit. The log amplifier may be configured to generate an output signal in response to an offset between a first voltage and a second voltage. The calibration circuit may be configured to disconnect an input power and perform a cancellation of the offset when the input power is not present. The first voltage may be generated by the apparatus in response to a power detection. The second voltage may be received from a reference circuit. The cancellation of the offset may extend a working range of the apparatus. The output may provide a linear-in-dB power detection.

Linear-in-dB log-amp with calibration for power detection

An apparatus includes a package and a beam former circuit. The package may be configured to be mounted on an antenna array at a center of four antenna elements. The beam former circuit may (i) be disposed in the package, (ii) have a plurality of ports, (iii) be configured to generate a plurality of radio-frequency signals in the ports while in a transmit mode and (iv) be configured to receive the radio-frequency signals at the ports while in a receive mode. A plurality of ground bumps may be disposed between the beam former circuit and the package. The ground bumps may be positioned to bracket each port. Each ground bump may be electrically connected to a signal ground to create a radio-frequency shielding between neighboring ports.

Radio-frequency signal shielding and channel isolation

An apparatus comprises a plurality of transceiver circuits, a memory, and an interface circuit. The memory generally embodies a table associating a plurality of index values with corresponding gain and phase values for each channel of each of the transceiver circuits. In a first mode, the interface circuit may be configured to receive the corresponding gain and phase values associated with each of the plurality of index values and store the corresponding gain and phase values in the table. In a second mode, the interface circuit, in response to receiving one of the index values, configures each channel of each of the transceiver circuits with the corresponding gain and phase values from the table.

Multi-mode control with fast-access lookup table implementation

An apparatus includes a phased array antenna panel and a plurality of beam former circuits. The phased array antenna panel generally comprises a plurality of antenna elements. The plurality of beam former circuits are each mounted on the phased array antenna panel adjacent to a number of the antenna elements. Each beam former circuit has one or more ports directly coupled to each of the adjacent antenna elements. Each beam former circuit may be configured to generate a plurality of radio-frequency output signals at the ports while in a transmit mode and receive a plurality of radio-frequency input signals at the ports while in a receive mode. Each beam former circuit generally implements a hard-wired address.

Hard-wired address for phased array antenna panels

An apparatus includes a phased array antenna panel and one or more beam former circuits. The phased array antenna panel generally comprises a plurality of antenna elements. The plurality of antenna elements are generally arranged in one or more groups. The one or more beam former circuits may be mounted on the phased array antenna panel. Each beam former circuit is generally coupled to a respective group of the antenna elements. Each beam former circuit generally comprises a plurality of transceiver channels comprising a transmit channel and a receive channel. The phased array antenna panel is generally configured to distribute a control signal to each of the beam former circuits. Each of the transceiver channels is generally configured to switch between a transmit mode and a receive mode in response to the control signal.

Method to build fast transmit-receive switching architecture

An apparatus includes a plurality of transceiver circuits and a plurality of feedback networks. Each of the plurality of transceiver circuits may be coupled to a respective antenna element in a respective group of antenna elements of a phased array antenna. Each of the transceiver circuits generally comprises a power amplifier circuit configured, when operating in a transmit mode, to drive the respective antenna element in the respective group of antenna elements. Each of the plurality of feedback networks may be coupled between an output and an input of a respective power amplifier circuit of a respective transceiver circuit. Each of the feedback networks generally comprises a resistor and a capacitor connected in series. The respective power amplifier circuit with the feedback network generally maintains a power matching condition with load variation associated with the antenna elements of the phased array antenna.

An apparatus includes a plurality of conductive layers and a plurality of traces configured to carry a plurality of signals through a change of direction. The traces may be routed parallel to each other in a first trace segment in a first of the conductive layers toward the change of direction. The traces may be routed parallel to each other in a second trace segment in a second of the conductive layers in the change of direction. One of the traces in a third trace segment in the first conductive layer may cross over another of the traces in the second trace segment in the second conductive layer in the change of direction. The traces may be routed parallel to each other in the third trace segment in the first conductive layer away from the change of direction.

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San Diego, CA, United States of America

Samet Zihir