Technique for improving modulation performance of translational loop RF transmitters
First Claim
1. A radio transmitter, comprising:
- a digital processor that receives digital data, that digitally modulates the digital data to produce a digital information signal, and that compensates the digital information signal to produce a pre-compensated digital information signal that is pre-compensated for group delay variation and magnitude response characteristics of at least one downstream filter;
a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) that receives the pre-compensated digital information signal and that converts the pre-compensated digital information signal to produce a continuous waveform analog signal;
a downstream filter that filters the continuous waveform analog signal to produce a filtered continuous waveform analog signal; and
phase locked loop circuitry (PLL) that receives the filtered continuous waveform analog signal to produce an output information signal in a selected frequency band.
4 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A transmit signal generated by the baseband processor in a translational loop type RF transmitter is “pre-distorted” so as to counter act magnitude distortion and group delay variation imposed by a narrow PLL signal filter. The pre-distortion occurs in two steps: a magnitude equalizer in the baseband processor pre-distorts the amplitude of the transmit signal according to the inverse of the PLL signal filter magnitude response, and a group delay equalizer linearizes the phase response of the entire transmitter chain, i.e., pre-distorts the transmit signal such that the combined phase response of magnitude equalizer, group delay equalizer, and PLL signal filter is linear. With such pre-distortion, a loop filter is provided for with component values that define a relatively small bandwidth for the loop filter to filter spurious tones that result from an IF reference feedthrough to a voltage controlled oscillator of the translational loop.
21 Citations
20 Claims
-
1. A radio transmitter, comprising:
-
a digital processor that receives digital data, that digitally modulates the digital data to produce a digital information signal, and that compensates the digital information signal to produce a pre-compensated digital information signal that is pre-compensated for group delay variation and magnitude response characteristics of at least one downstream filter;
a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) that receives the pre-compensated digital information signal and that converts the pre-compensated digital information signal to produce a continuous waveform analog signal;
a downstream filter that filters the continuous waveform analog signal to produce a filtered continuous waveform analog signal; and
phase locked loop circuitry (PLL) that receives the filtered continuous waveform analog signal to produce an output information signal in a selected frequency band. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
-
-
10. The radio transmitter of claim I wherein digital processor further produces digital data having a magnitude response that is substantially inverted to a magnitude response of the PLL for a specified frequency band of interest wherein the PLL is coupled downstream of the digital processor and wherein the digital processor compensates for narrow band distortion produced by the downstream PLL.
-
11. A method for producing a continuous wave intermediate frequency (IF) signal, comprising:
-
filtering and partially distorting, in a narrow band loop filter of a PLL, a continuous waveform signal;
filtering frequency components produced by a PLL reference signal, in the narrow band loop filter of the PLL, spurious harmonic tones of a specified signal of interest;
producing, in a digital processor, a magnitude response that is substantially inverted to a magnitude response of the PLL for a specified frequency band of interest to compensate for the partial distortion by the loop filter of the PLL of the continuous waveform signal. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 15, 19)
-
-
14. A radio transmitter, comprising:
-
a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) coupled to receive a pre-compensated digital information signal, the DAC for producing a continuous waveform signal based on the pre-compensated digital information signal;
a low pass filter for producing a filtered continuous waveform signal based upon the continuous waveform signal produced by the DAC;
phase locked loop circuitry further including;
a phase-frequency detector (PFD) coupled to receive the continuous waveform signal and a feedback signal, the PFD producing an error signal based at least in part on a phase or frequency of the feedback signal;
a charge pump for producing an error current based on the error signal;
a narrow band loop filter for converting the error current to an error voltage signal;
an oscillator for producing an oscillation based upon a magnitude of the error voltage signal; and
mixer and filter circuitry for down converting and filtering the oscillation to produce the feedback signal; and
a digital processor for producing the pre-compensated digital information signal, the digital processor further comprising;
PLL magnitude equalizer for producing a magnitude response that is substantially inverted to a PLL magnitude response for a specified frequency band; and
a TX chain group delay equalizer for reducing overall group delay variation. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 20)
-
Specification