PHASE LOCKED LOOP (PLL)-LESS MILLIMETER WAVE POWER HEAD
First Claim
1. A millimeter wave (mmWave) power head comprising:
- a signal input coupled to a wired communication medium and configured to receive a multiplexed signal comprising a communication signal at an intermediate frequency (IF) frequency and a pilot signal at a base frequency;
filter circuitry coupled to the signal input and configured to demultiplex the multiplexed signal to separate the communication signal and the pilot signal;
one or more multiplication paths configured to multiply the pilot signal to generate one or more local oscillator (LO) clock signals at one or more harmonic frequencies relative to the base frequency of the pilot signal, respectively; and
at least one mixer circuit coupled to a selected multiplication path among the one or more multiplication paths and configured to upconvert the communication signal from the IF frequency to an mmWave carrier frequency based on a selected LO clock signal generated by the selected multiplication path.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
Embodiments of the disclosure relate to a phase locked loop (PLL)-less millimeter wave (mmWave) power head. The mmWave power head receives a multiplexed signal including a pilot signal at a base frequency and a communication signal at the IF frequency. The mmWave power head separates the pilot signal from the communication signal and multiplies the pilot signal to generate a local oscillator (LO) clock signal(s) at a harmonic frequency(ies) relative to the base frequency of the pilot signal. A selected LO clock signal is provided to a mixer circuit(s) for up and down conversions between the IF frequency and the mmWave carrier frequency. By eliminating the PLL frequency synthesizer from the mmWave power head, it is possible to avoid spur and coupling issues associated with collocating the PLL frequency synthesizer with an antenna front end module (FEM), thus helping to improve reliability and performance of the mmWave power head.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A millimeter wave (mmWave) power head comprising:
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a signal input coupled to a wired communication medium and configured to receive a multiplexed signal comprising a communication signal at an intermediate frequency (IF) frequency and a pilot signal at a base frequency; filter circuitry coupled to the signal input and configured to demultiplex the multiplexed signal to separate the communication signal and the pilot signal; one or more multiplication paths configured to multiply the pilot signal to generate one or more local oscillator (LO) clock signals at one or more harmonic frequencies relative to the base frequency of the pilot signal, respectively; and at least one mixer circuit coupled to a selected multiplication path among the one or more multiplication paths and configured to upconvert the communication signal from the IF frequency to an mmWave carrier frequency based on a selected LO clock signal generated by the selected multiplication path. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A modem system comprising:
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a radio frequency (RF) baseband circuit; and a plurality of mmWave power heads coupled to the RF baseband circuit via a plurality of wired communication mediums, respectively; wherein each mmWave power head among the plurality of mmWave power heads comprises; a signal input coupled to a wired communication medium among the plurality of wired communication mediums and configured to receive a multiplexed signal comprising a communication signal at an intermediate frequency (IF) frequency and a pilot signal at a base frequency; filter circuitry coupled to the signal input and configured to demultiplex the multiplexed signal to separate the communication signal and the pilot signal; one or more multiplication paths configured to multiply the pilot signal to generate one or more local oscillator (LO) clock signals at one or more harmonic frequencies relative to the base frequency of the pilot signal, respectively; and at least one mixer circuit coupled to a selected multiplication path among the one or more multiplication paths and configured to upconvert the communication signal from the IF frequency to an mmWave carrier frequency based on a selected LO clock signal generated by the selected multiplication path. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification