Binary high-power modulator

• US 10,270,488 B2
• Filed: 12/16/2016
• Issued: 04/23/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 12/16/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Raytheon Company (Rtx Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Raytheon Company (Rtx Corporation)
• Inventors: Marr, Harry B., Reinhardt, Victor S., Gianvittorio, John P.
• Primary Examiner(s): Puente, Eva Y
• Application Number:
  US15/382,517
• Publication Number:
  US 20180175907A1
• Time in Patent Office: 858 Days
• Field of Search: 375130, 375148, 455296, 455326
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/84 for distance determination by phase measurement
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/0475 with means for limiting noise, interference or distortion H04B1/0483 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/707 using direct sequence modulation
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/717 Pulse-related aspects
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/7176 Data mapping, e.g. modulation
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/719 Interference-related aspects
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 2001/0408 with power amplifiers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 27/2032 for discrete phase modulation, e.g. in which the phase of the carrier is modulated in a nominally instantaneous manner

Abstract

System and method for signal modulation. In one embodiment, a circuit includes a channel for carrying an analog RF signal, a phase offset circuit on the channel, and configured to receive a phase code for modifying the analog RF signal to produce a modified RF signal, and a feedforward cancellation path coupled in parallel to the phase offset circuit for canceling a portion of the modified analog signal.

Claims

1. A circuit for signal modulation, the circuit comprising:

a channel for carrying an analog RF signal;

a phase offset circuit configured to receive the analog RF signal on the channel, and configured to receive a phase code comprising a binary offset code for modifying the analog RF signal to produce a modified RF signal; and

a feedforward cancellation path coupled in parallel to the phase offset circuit for canceling a portion of the modified RF signal.

2. The circuit of claim 1, wherein the analog RF signal comprises an encoded RF signal that is encoded according to the phase code, and

wherein the circuit further comprises a synchronization path for time-aligning the phase code received by the phase offset circuit to properly decode the encoded RF signal according to the phase code.

3. The circuit of claim 1, further comprising a power amplifier for amplifying the analog RF signal, and a bandpass filter for filtering frequencies of the modified RF signal, wherein the phase offset circuit is configured to receive the analog RE signal from the power amplifier.

4. The circuit of claim 1, wherein the phase offset circuit is configured to modify the analog RF signal using differential modulation.

5. An antenna system comprising:

a first 180-degree hybrid on a transmit channel for receiving a first RF signal, and for receiving a phase code comprising a binary offset code for spreading the first RF signal from a reject band into a spread band to produce an encoded RF signal;

an antenna for transmitting the encoded RF signal, and for receiving a second RF signal; and

a second 180-degree hybrid on a receive channel for receiving the second RF signal, and for receiving the phase code for despreading the second RF signal from the spread band into the reject band to produce a decoded RF signal.

6. The antenna system of claim 5, further comprising:

a digital-to-analog converter for receiving a digital signal, and for producing an analog signal; and

a power amplifier for receiving the analog signal, and for producing the first RF signal.

7. The antenna system of claim 6, further comprising a bandpass filter on the transmit channel for receiving the first RF signal, for filtering frequencies of the first RF signal outside of the reject band to produce a filtered RF signal, and for transmitting the filtered RF signal to the first 180-degree hybrid as the first RF signal.

8. The antenna system of claim 5, further comprising a bandpass filter on the transmit channel for receiving the encoded RF signal, for filtering frequencies of the encoded RF signal outside of the spread band to produce a filtered encoded RF signal, and for transmitting the filtered encoded RF signal to the antenna as the encoded RF signal.

9. The antenna system of claim 5, further comprising a bandpass filter on the receive channel for receiving the decoded RF signal, and for filtering frequencies of the decoded RF signal outside of the reject band to produce a filtered decoded RF signal.

10. The antenna system of claim 9, further comprising:

a low-noise amplifier for receiving the filtered decoded RF signal, and for amplifying the filtered decoded RF signal to produce an amplified decoded RF signal; and

an analog-to-digital converter for receiving the amplified decoded RF signal, and for converting the amplified decoded RF signal to a digital signal for analysis.

11. The antenna system of claim 5, further comprising a digital logic between the receive channel and the transmit channel for time-aligning the phase code applied to the second 180-degree hybrid with the second RF signal that is encoded with the phase code.

12. A method of RF signal processing, the method comprising:

receiving an RF signal at a phase offset circuit from an antenna;

receiving a phase code comprising a binary offset code at the phase offset circuit;

phase-shifting portions of the RF signal according to the phase code to generate a phase-shifted RF signal; and

transmitting the phase-shifted RF signal,

wherein the RF signal is encoded according to the phase code.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

generating a digital signal;

converting the digital signal to an analog signal;

amplifying the analog signal to generate an amplified analog signal; and

filtering the amplified analog signal to generate the RF signal.

14. The method of claim 12, further comprising filtering the phase-shifted RF signal to generate a filtered phase-shifted signal.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising using an antenna to transmit the filtered phase-shifted signal.

16. The method of claim 12, wherein phase-shifting portions of the RF signal according to the phase code to generate a phase-shifted RF signal comprises spreading the RF signal from a reject band to a spread band.

17. The method of claim 12, wherein the phase-shifting portions of the RF signal according to the phase code to generate a phase-shifted RF signal comprises despreading the RF signal from a spread band to a reject band.

18. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

using feedback to perform synchronization of a receive code as the phase code with a transmit code used to encode the RF signal; and

decoding the RF signal.

19. The method of claim 12, further comprising cancelling a portion of the phase-shifted RF signal using a feedforward cancellation path coupled in parallel to the phase offset circuit, wherein the phase offset circuit comprises a 180-degree hybrid.