MILLIMETER-WAVE TRANSCEIVER WITH COARSE AND FINE BEAMFORMING WITH INTERFERENCE SUPPRESSION AND METHOD

• US 20130308717A1
• Filed: 04/13/2012
• Published: 11/21/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 04/13/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Original Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Inventors: Maltsev, Alexander, Pudeyev, Andrey, Sadri, Ali S., Cordeiro, Carlos
• Granted Patent: US 9,160,430 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 375/267
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 25/00 Antennas or antenna systems providing at least two radiating patterns arrangements for changing or varying the orientation or the shape of the directional pattern H01Q3/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 3/36 with variable phase-shifters
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0417 Feedback systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0885 with combination

Abstract

Embodiments of millimeter-wave transceivers with coarse and fine beam steering with interference suppression are generally described herein. In some embodiments, a millimeter-wave transceiver configured for multipath reception of multicarrier signals and includes RF circuitry to receive multicarrier signals through at least two independently controllable sub-arrays from first and second directions, a channel-estimation block to generate a set of weighting coefficients for each sub-array based on channel characteristics determined from each sub-array, the weighting coefficients generated for inter-channel interference (ICI) suppression, and maximum-ratio combining (MRC) circuitry to apply a set of the weighting coefficients to baseband signals from each sub-array and to combine the weighted baseband signals from each sub-array to generate combined baseband signals that represent a single data stream.

Claims

1. A millimeter-wave transceiver configured for multipath reception of multicarrier signals comprising:

RF circuitry to receive multicarrier signals through at least two independently controllable sub-arrays from first and second directions;

a channel-estimation block to generate a set of weighting coefficients for each sub-array based on channel characteristics determined from each sub-array, the weighting coefficients generated for inter-channel interference (ICI) suppression; and

maximum-ratio combining (MRC) circuitry to apply the set of the weighting coefficients to baseband signals from each sub-array and to combine the weighted baseband signals from each sub-array to generate combined baseband signals that represent a single data stream.

2. The millimeter-wave transceiver of claim 1, wherein the first direction is associated with received signals of a highest signal level and the second direction is associated with received signals of a next highest signal level.

3. The millimeter-wave transceiver of claim 2, further comprising a coarse beam-steering block to control an antenna array comprising the at least two independent sub-arrays, the coarse beam-steering block to direct a first antenna beam for receipt of multicarrier signals in the first direction and to direct a second antenna beam for receipt of multicarrier signals in the second direction, both the first antenna beam and the second antenna beam establishing a channel with a transmitting station.

4. The millimeter-wave transceiver of claim 3, wherein the coarse beam-steering block is to perform a beam selection procedure that includes performing sector scans to identify the first and second directions based on signal levels of the received signals, and

wherein the coarse beam-steering block is to direct the first antenna beam in the first direction using the first of the independent sub-arrays and is to direct the second antenna beam in the second direction using a second of the independent sub-arrays.

5. The millimeter-wave transceiver of claim 4, wherein the beam selection procedure includes performing a sector scan to identify a most powerful ray associated with the first direction, and performing a second sector scan excluding the previously identified most powerful ray to identify a second most power ray associated with the second direction.

6. The millimeter-wave transceiver of claim 2, wherein the channel-estimation block is to estimate the channel characteristics associated with each sub-array, and

wherein the channel-estimation block calculates the weighting coefficients for ICI suppression for use using a MRC processing algorithm to maximize throughput through a channel.

7. The millimeter-wave transceiver of claim 6, wherein the multicarrier signals comprise a plurality of subcarriers or subcarrier bands, and

wherein the channel-estimation block is to estimate channel characteristics associated with each sub-array for each subcarrier or subcarrier band across the channel, and

wherein the channel-estimation block calculates a set of the weighting coefficients for ICI suppression for each subcarrier or subcarrier band, and

wherein the MRC circuitry is to apply a set of the weighting coefficients to baseband signals associated with each subcarrier or subcarrier band.

8. The millimeter-wave transceiver of claim 3, wherein the RF circuitry further comprises:

a phase shifter associated with each antenna element of the antenna array, wherein each sub-array comprising a plurality of the antenna elements and each phase shifter configured to phase-shift multicarrier signals received through an associated antenna element; and

a signal summator associated with each sub-array to combine signals received through the associated sub-array.

9. The millimeter-wave transceiver of claim 8, wherein the millimeter-wave transceiver further comprises

a frequency-conversion block associated with each sub-array to convert the combined signals from the signal summator to baseband signals;

and

a signal-processing block comprising;

the MRC circuitry;

the coarse beam-steering block to control the phase shift of each of the phase shifters for coarse beam-steering, wherein the coarse beam-steering block is to direct at least one sub-array for receipt of signals from the first direction and direct at least another sub-array for receipt of signals from the second direction; and

the channel-estimation block to estimate the channel for each sub-array based on the baseband signals and to generate weighting coefficients for application to the baseband signals for each sub-array for inter-carrier interference (ICI) suppression, the weighting coefficients calculated for ICI suppression for a particular beam-steering direction.

10. The millimeter-wave transceiver of claim 9, wherein the MRC circuitry comprises:

a weighting block to apply the set of weighting coefficients generated for each sub-array to the baseband signals for the associated sub-array; and

a summing block to combine the weighted signals from the weighting block to generate the single data stream.

11. A millimeter-wave transceiver configured to:

estimate a channel with a highly-directional antenna pattern generated with a first sub-array;

estimate interference with a less directional more omnidirectional antenna pattern generated with a second sub-array;

apply a first set of weighting coefficients to baseband signals of the first sub-array, the first set of weighting coefficients based on the channel estimate;

apply a second set of weighting coefficients to baseband signals of the second sub-array, the second set of weighting coefficients based on the interference estimate; and

combine the weighted baseband signals of both sub-arrays to generate an output signal with reduced interference that includes a signal of interest received through the first sub-array.

12. The millimeter-wave transceiver of claim 11, further configured to:

cause the first sub-array to provide the highly-directional antenna pattern in a direction associated with the signal of interest by phasing signals received through each of a plurality of antenna elements of the first sub-array; and

cause the second sub-array to provide the less directional more omnidirectional antenna pattern by phasing signals received through each of a plurality of antenna elements of the second sub-array.

13. The millimeter-wave transceiver of claim 12, wherein the weighting coefficients of the first and second sets are generated for a selected processing algorithm comprising minimum mean-square error (MMSE) or zero forcing (ZF) that is implemented through the application of the weighting coefficients to baseband signals and the combining of the baseband signals, and

wherein the first sub-array includes more antenna elements than the second sub-array.

14. A millimeter-wave transceiver configured for MIMO reception of multicarrier signals comprising:

RF circuitry to receive multicarrier signals through two independently controllable sub-arrays from first and second directions;

a channel-estimation block to generate sets of weighting coefficients for each sub-array based on spatial channel characteristics of each MIMO subchannel determined from an associated sub-array, the weighting coefficients generated for mutual interference mitigation between the MIMO subchannels; and

interference-cancellation circuitry to apply each set of the weighting coefficients to baseband signals from each sub-array and to combine the weighted baseband signals to generate combined basebands for each spatial channel.

15. The millimeter-wave transceiver of claim 14, wherein the first direction is associated with a first spatial channel and the second direction associated with a second spatial channel, the first and second spatial channels comprising the MIMO subchannels.

16. The millimeter-wave transceiver of claim 15, wherein the interference cancellation circuitry is to apply either a minimum mean-square error (MMSE) or a zero-forcing (ZF) spatial processing algorithm, and

wherein the sets of weighting coefficients for each sub-array are generated for the MMSE or the ZF spatial processing algorithm.

17. The millimeter-wave transceiver of claim 15, wherein the millimeter-wave transceiver is operable in a multi-user MIMO (MU-MIMO) mode in which data from different users is received over each spatial channel.

18. A method for receiving millimeter-wave signals comprising:

performing coarse beamforming to receive RF signals from first and second directions with independently controllable antenna sub-arrays;

performing fine beamforming at baseband by applying sets of weighting coefficients for interference cancellation to baseband signals from each of the independently controllable antenna sub-arrays.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein performing coarse beamforming includes:

performing a beam selection procedure that includes performing sector scans to identify the first and second directions based on signal levels of received signals;

directing a first antenna beam in the first direction using a first of the independent controllable antenna sub-arrays; and

directing a second antenna beam in the second direction using a second of the independent controllable antenna sub-arrays.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the beam selection procedure includes:

performing a sector scan to identify a most powerful ray associated with the first direction; and

performing a second sector scan excluding a previously identified most powerful ray to identify a second most power ray associated with the second direction, and,

wherein performing fine beamforming includes;

generating a set of weighting coefficients for each sub-array based on channel characteristics determined from each sub-array, the weighting coefficients generated for inter-channel interference (ICI) suppression; and

applying a set of the weighting coefficients to baseband signals from each sub-array and combining the weighted baseband signals from each sub-array to generate combined baseband signals that represent a single data stream.