Carrier-recovery loop with stored initialization in a radio receiver

Abstract

A carrier-recovery loop for a receiver in a communication system with features that facilitate initialization of the loop. The carrier-recovery loop is a PLL that uses a feedback signal to keep a recovery oscillator phase-locked to the carrier of a received signal. In the present invention, an initializing value of the feedback signal is stored in a memory and provided to a digitally controlled recovery oscillator (DCO). This initializing value brings the recovered signal to an initial frequency that approximates the carrier frequency. When the receivers starts to acquire a phase-lock with the carrier, the carrier-recovery loop is in a condition close to the desired phase lock. Preparing the DCO in this manner imparts a significant improvement to the carrier-recovery loop. The response time for the loop to acquire a phase lock depends in part on its initial frequency offset from the carrier. In general, reducing this initial offset reduces the loop's acquisition time. By thus anticipating the frequency of the carrier, this carrier-recovery loop can have an improved acquisition time to reach phase lock. The initializing value of the feedback signal can be generated by recording a sample of the feedback signal when the carrier-recovery loop is phase-locked to a received signal or to an on-board crystal oscillator. The invention also includes a mechanism to correct drifts in the crystal oscillator's frequency.