Method and apparatus for operating a PLL with a phase detector/sample hold circuit for synthesizing high-frequency signals for wireless communications
First Claim
1. A frequency synthesizer having a phase locked loop, comprising:
- a controllable oscillator having an output frequency dependent upon a plurality of control signals, the plurality of control signals being received by the controllable oscillator as different frequency control input signals such that at least some of the plurality of control signals are configured to individually control the controllable oscillator without being combined with others of the plurality of control signals;
a phase detector configured to concurrently provide a plurality of analog output signals, the plurality of analog output signals being generated from a phase difference between at least two input signals; and
a sample and hold circuit coupled to sample each of the plurality analog output signals from the phase detector and to hold a plurality of sampled analog output signals, the sampled analog output signals being used to provide the plurality of control signals for the controllable oscillator;
wherein the controlled oscillator comprises a plurality of capacitor circuits connected in parallel to contribute a combined capacitance amount that determines at least in part the output frequency of the controlled oscillator, the plurality of control signals being coupled to control the amount of capacitance contributed by the plurality of capacitor circuits.
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Abstract
A method and apparatus for synthesizing high-frequency signals, such as wireless communication signals, includes a phase-locked loop (PLL) frequency synthesizer with a variable capacitance voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) that has a discretely variable capacitance in conjunction with a continuously variable capacitance. The discretely variable capacitance may provide coarse tuning adjustment of the variable capacitance to compensate for capacitor and inductor tolerances and to adjust the output frequency to be near the desired frequency output. The continuously variable capacitance may provide a fine tuning adjustment of the variable capacitance to focus the output frequency to match precisely the desired frequency output. During fine tuning adjustment, the PLL may include an analog control loop in which a phase detector circuit and sample and hold circuit are utilized. The output of the sample and hold circuit may be provided to the PLL VCO as VCO input control signals.
74 Citations
39 Claims
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1. A frequency synthesizer having a phase locked loop, comprising:
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a controllable oscillator having an output frequency dependent upon a plurality of control signals, the plurality of control signals being received by the controllable oscillator as different frequency control input signals such that at least some of the plurality of control signals are configured to individually control the controllable oscillator without being combined with others of the plurality of control signals;
a phase detector configured to concurrently provide a plurality of analog output signals, the plurality of analog output signals being generated from a phase difference between at least two input signals; and
a sample and hold circuit coupled to sample each of the plurality analog output signals from the phase detector and to hold a plurality of sampled analog output signals, the sampled analog output signals being used to provide the plurality of control signals for the controllable oscillator;
wherein the controlled oscillator comprises a plurality of capacitor circuits connected in parallel to contribute a combined capacitance amount that determines at least in part the output frequency of the controlled oscillator, the plurality of control signals being coupled to control the amount of capacitance contributed by the plurality of capacitor circuits. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A frequency synthesizer having a phase locked loop, comprising:
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a controllable oscillator having an output frequency dependent upon a plurality of control signals, the plurality of control signals being received by the controllable oscillator as different frequency control input signals such that at least some of the plurality of control signals are configured to individually control the controllable oscillator without being combined with others of the plurality of control signals;
a phase detector configured to concurrently provide a plurality of analog output signals, the plurality of analog output signals being generated from a phase difference between at least two input signals; and
a sample and hold circuit coupled to sample each of the plurality analog output signals from the phase detector and to hold a plurality of sampled analog output signals, the sampled analog output signals being used to provide the plurality of control signals for the controllable oscillator;
wherein the input signals to the phase detector comprise a plurality of first input signals based upon an output of the controllable oscillator and at least one other second input signal coupled to a reference signal, the plurality of analog output signals being generated from the phase differences between the plurality of first input signals and the at least one other second input signal; and
wherein the plurality of first input signals are signals having at least one phase shifted edge with respect to each other. - View Dependent Claims (12)
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13. A frequency synthesizer having a phase locked loop, comprising:
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a controllable oscillator having an output frequency dependent upon a plurality of control signals, the plurality of control signals being received by the controllable oscillator as different frequency control input signals such that at least some of the plurality of control signals are configured to individually control the controllable oscillator without being combined with others of the plurality of control signals;
a phase detector configured to concurrently provide a plurality of analog output signals, the plurality of analog output signals being generated from a phase difference between at least two input signals; and
a sample and hold circuit coupled to sample each of the plurality analog output signals from the phase detector and to hold a plurality of sampled analog output signals, the sampled analog output signals being used to provide the plurality of control signals for the controllable oscillator;
wherein the input signals to the phase detector comprise a plurality of first input signals based upon an output of the controllable oscillator and at least one other second input signal coupled to a reference signal, the plurality of analog output signals being generated from the phase differences between the plurality of first input signals and the at least one other second input signal; and
wherein the phase detector comprises a plurality of phase detector sub-circuits, each sub-circuit having as an output one of the plurality of analog output signals and having as inputs at least one of the plurality of first signals and at least one of the second signals. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. A frequency synthesizer having a phase locked loop, comprising:
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a controllable oscillator having an output frequency dependent upon a plurality of control signals, the controlled oscillator comprising a plurality of capacitor circuits connected in parallel to contribute a combined capacitance amount that determines at least in part the output frequency of the controlled oscillator, the plurality of control signals being coupled to control the amount of capacitance contributed by the plurality of capacitor circuits;
a phase detector having a plurality of analog output signals, wherein the input signals to the phase detector comprise a plurality of first input signals based upon an output of the controllable oscillator and at least one other second input signal coupled to a reference signal, the plurality of analog output signals being generated from the phase differences between the first input signals and the second input signal, and wherein the phase detector comprises a plurality of phase detector sub-circuits, each sub-circuit having as inputs at least one of the plurality of first signals and at least one of the second signals, each sub-circuit comprising a ramp capacitor coupled to a ramp voltage node and ramp voltage adjustment circuitry coupled to the ramp voltage node and each sub-circuit having as an output one of the plurality of analog output signals; and
a sample and hold circuit coupled to sample the analog output signals from the phase detector and to hold a plurality of sampled analog output signals, the sampled analog output signals being used to provide the plurality of control signals for the controllable oscillator, wherein the sample and hold circuit comprises a plurality of switches and a plurality of hold capacitors, each hold capacitor being coupled to a hold voltage node, and each ramp voltage node of the phase detector sub-circuits being coupled through at least one of the switches to at least one of the hold voltage nodes, the hold voltage nodes being coupled to provide the plurality of sampled analog output signals from the sample and hold circuitry. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26)
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27. A method of operating a frequency synthesizer having a phase locked loop and a controllable oscillator, comprising:
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controlling an output frequency of a controllable oscillator utilizing at least in part a plurality of control signals, the plurality of control signals being received by the controllable oscillator as different frequency control input signals such that at least some of the plurality of control signals are configured to individually control the controllable oscillator without being combined with others of the plurality of control signals;
detecting a phase difference between at least two input signals to concurrently generate a plurality of analog output signals;
sampling and holding each of the plurality of analog output signals to produce a plurality of sampled analog output signals; and
using the plurality of sampled analog output signals to provide the plurality of control signals for the controllable oscillatory wherein the controlled oscillator comprises a plurality of capacitor circuits connected in parallel to contribute a combined capacitance amount that determines at least in part the output frequency of the controlled oscillator, the plurality of control signals being coupled to control the amount of capacitance contributed by the plurality of capacitor circuits. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 30, 31, 32)
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33. A method of operating a frequency synthesizer having a phase locked loop and a controllable oscillator, comprising:
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controlling an output frequency of a controllable oscillator utilizing at least in part a plurality of control signals, the plurality of control signals being received by the controllable oscillator as different frequency control input signals such that at least some of the plurality of control signals are configured to individually control the controllable oscillator without being combined with others of the plurality of control signals;
detecting a phase difference between at least two input signals to concurrently generate a plurality of analog output signals;
sampling and holding each of the plurality of analog output signals to produce a plurality of sampled analog output signals; and
using the plurality of sampled analog output signals to provide the plurality of control signals for the controllable oscillator wherein the detecting step comprises detecting a phase difference between a plurality of first input signals based upon an output of the controllable oscillator and at least one other second input signal coupled to a reference signal, the plurality of analog output signals being generated from the phase differences between the plurality of first input signals and the at least one other second input signal; and
wherein the plurality of first input signals are signals having at least one phase shifted edge with respect to each other.
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34. A method of operating a frequency synthesizer having a phase locked loop and a controllable oscillator, comprising:
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controlling an output frequency of a controllable oscillator utilizing at least in part a plurality of control signals, the plurality of control signals being received by the controllable oscillator as different frequency control input signals such that at least some of the plurality of control signals are configured to individually control the controllable oscillator without being combined with others of the plurality of control signals;
detecting a phase difference between at least two input signals to concurrently generate a plurality of analog output signals;
sampling and holding each of the plurality of analog output signals to produce a plurality of sampled analog output signals; and
using the plurality of sampled analog output signals to provide the plurality of control signals for the controllable oscillator wherein the detecting step comprises detecting a phase difference between a plurality of first input signals based upon an output of the controllable oscillator and at least one other second input signal coupled to a reference signal, the plurality of analog output signals being generated from the phase differences between the plurality of first input signals and the at least one other second input signal; and
wherein the detecting step comprises utilizing a plurality of phase detector sub-circuits to determine the phase differences between the plurality of first signals and at least one of the second signals, each sub-circuit having as an output one of the plurality of analog output signals. - View Dependent Claims (35)
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- 36. The method of 34, wherein each phase detector sub-circuit comprises a ramp capacitor coupled to a ramp voltage node and ramp voltage adjustment circuitry coupled to the ramp voltage node, the ramp voltage adjustment circuitry having at least one of the first signals and at least one of the second signals as inputs, and the ramp voltage nodes providing the plurality of analog output signals.
Specification