Digital phased array architecture and associated method
First Claim
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1. A digital phased array receiver for receiving electromagnetic energy, comprising:
- a plurality of antenna elements capable of receiving electromagnetic energy;
a receive module coupled to each of the plurality of antenna elements, the receive module including an analog to digital converter controlled by a sampling clock signal generated by clock circuitry coupled to a delay circuit; and
synchronization circuitry coupled to the analog to digital converter to receive and then output data from the analog to digital converter at an output clock rate;
wherein each delay circuit delays a base clock signal from the clock circuitry by a desired amount so that a receive direction of the plurality of antenna elements can be electronically controlled; and
wherein the output clock rate for the synchronization circuitry matches the clock signal controlling the analog to digital converter.
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Abstract
Digital phased array architecture and associated method are disclosed that eliminate the necessity of utilizing analog phase shifters in the receive and transmit signal paths. Desired delays are instead generated by adjusting the timing of sampling signals sent to analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) and digital-to-analog converters (DACs) in the receive and transmit signal paths.
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Citations
59 Claims
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1. A digital phased array receiver for receiving electromagnetic energy, comprising:
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a plurality of antenna elements capable of receiving electromagnetic energy; a receive module coupled to each of the plurality of antenna elements, the receive module including an analog to digital converter controlled by a sampling clock signal generated by clock circuitry coupled to a delay circuit; and synchronization circuitry coupled to the analog to digital converter to receive and then output data from the analog to digital converter at an output clock rate; wherein each delay circuit delays a base clock signal from the clock circuitry by a desired amount so that a receive direction of the plurality of antenna elements can be electronically controlled; and wherein the output clock rate for the synchronization circuitry matches the clock signal controlling the analog to digital converter. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A digital phased array receive-path module, comprising:
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an analog to digital converter having an analog input signal representative of received electromagnetic energy; clock circuitry having a clock output signal; time delay circuitry coupled to the clock output signal to provide a relative delay to the clock output signal, the delayed clock output signal being coupled to the analog to digital converter to control a sampling rate for the analog to digital converter; and synchronization circuitry coupled to the analog to digital converter to receive and then output data from the analog to digital converter at an output clock rate; wherein the output clock rate for the synchronization circuitry matches the clock signal controlling the analog to digital converter. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A digital phased array transmitter for transmitting electromagnetic energy, comprising:
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a plurality of antenna elements capable of transmitting electromagnetic energy; a transmit module coupled to each of the plurality of antenna elements, the transmit module including a digital to analog converter having an operational rate controlled by a clock signal generated by clock circuitry coupled to a delay circuit; and synchronization circuitry coupled to the digital to analog converter to receive and then output data to the digital to analog converter at an output clock rate; wherein each delay circuit delays a base clock signal from the clock circuitry by a desired amount so that a transmit direction of the plurality of antenna elements can be electronically controlled; and wherein the output clock rate for the synchronization circuitry matches the clock signal controlling the digital to analog converter. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A digital phased array transmit-path module, comprising:
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a digital to analog converter having a digital input signal representative of electromagnetic energy to be transmitted; clock circuitry having a clock output signal; programmable time delay circuitry coupled to the clock output signal to provide a relative delay to the clock output signal, the delayed clock output signal being coupled to the digital to analog converter to control a operational rate for the digital to analog converter; and synchronization circuitry coupled to the digital to analog converter to receive and then output data to the digital to analog converter at an output clock rate; wherein the output clock rate for the synchronization circuitry matches the clock signal controlling the digital to analog converter. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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29. A digital phased array transceiver for receiving and transmitting electromagnetic energy, comprising:
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a plurality of antenna elements capable of receiving and transmitting electromagnetic energy; a receive module coupled to each of the plurality of antenna elements, each receive module including an analog to digital converter controlled by a sampling clock signal generated by clock circuitry coupled to a programmable delay circuit, wherein each programmable delay circuit delays a base clock signal from the clock circuitry by a desired amount so that a receive direction of the plurality of antenna elements can be electronically controlled; synchronization circuitry coupled to the analog to digital converter to receive and then output data from the analog to digital converter at an output clock rate, wherein the output clock rate for the synchronization circuitry matches the clock signal controlling the analog to digital converter; a transmit module coupled to each of the plurality of antenna elements, each transmit module including a digital to analog converter having an operational rate controlled by a clock signal generated by clock circuitry coupled to a programmable delay circuit, wherein each programmable delay circuit delays a base clock signal from the clock circuitry by a desired amount so that a transmit direction of the plurality of antenna elements can be electronically controlled; and synchronization circuitry coupled to the digital to analog converter to receive and then output data to the digital to analog converter at an output clock rate, wherein the output clock rate for the synchronization circuitry matches the clock signal controlling the digital to analog converter. - View Dependent Claims (30)
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31. A digital phased array transmit/receive module, comprising:
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an analog to digital converter having an analog input signal representative of received electromagnetic energy; a digital to analog converter having a digital input signal representative of electromagnetic energy to be transmitted; clock circuitry having a clock output signal; programmable time delay circuitry coupled to the clock output signal to provide a relative delay to the clock output signal, the delayed clock output signal being coupled to the analog to digital converter to control a sampling rate for the analog to digital converter and being coupled to the digital to analog converter to control a operational rate for the digital to analog converter; synchronization circuitry coupled to the analog to digital converter to receive and then output data from the analog to digital converter at an output clock rate, wherein the output clock rate for the synchronization circuitry matches the clock signal controlling the analog to digital converter; and synchronization circuitry coupled to the digital to analog converter to receive and then output data to the digital to analog converter at an output clock rate, wherein the output clock rate for the synchronization circuitry matches the clock signal controlling the digital to analog converter. - View Dependent Claims (32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37)
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38. A method for receiving electromagnetic energy, comprising:
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receiving analog electromagnetic energy with a plurality of antenna elements; converting analog information from the plurality of antenna elements to digital information utilizing an analog to digital converters associated with the antenna elements; controlling each analog to digital converter with a sampling clock signal generated by clock circuitry coupled to a delay circuit so that each delay circuit delays a base clock signal from the clock circuitry by a desired amount so that a receive direction of the plurality of antenna elements can be electronically controlled; and utilizing synchronization circuitry to receive output data from the analog to digital converter and to synchronize the output data to an output clock rate, wherein the output clock rate matches the clock signal controlling the analog to digital converter. - View Dependent Claims (39, 40, 41, 42, 43)
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44. A method for processing received electromagnetic energy, comprising:
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converting analog information representative of received electromagnetic energy to digital information utilizing an analog to digital converter; generating a clock signal that includes a delay; controlling a sampling rate for the analog to digital converter with the clock signal; and utilizing synchronization circuitry to receive output data from the analog to digital converter and to synchronize the output data to an output clock rate, wherein the output clock rate matches the clock signal controlling the analog to digital converter. - View Dependent Claims (45, 46, 47, 48)
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49. A method for transmitting electromagnetic energy, comprising:
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converting digital information to analog information utilizing a plurality of digital to analog converters associated with a plurality of antenna elements; controlling an operational rate for each digital to analog converter with a clock signal generated by clock circuitry coupled to a delay circuit so that each delay circuit delays a base clock signal from the clock circuitry by a desired amount so that a transmit direction of the plurality of antenna elements can be electronically controlled; transmitting electromagnetic energy in the transmit direction; and utilizing synchronization circuitry to receive data, to synchronize the data to a clock rate, and to output the synchronized data to a digital to analog converter, wherein the clock rate matches the clock signal controlling the digital to analog converter. - View Dependent Claims (50, 51, 52, 53, 54)
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55. A method for processing electromagnetic energy for transmission, comprising:
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converting digital information representative of electromagnetic energy for transmission to analog information utilizing a digital to analog converter; generating a clock signal that includes a delay; controlling an operational rate for the digital to analog converter with the clock signal; and utilizing synchronization circuitry to receive data, to synchronize the data to a clock rate, and to output the synchronized data to a digital to analog converter, wherein the clock rate matches the clock signal controlling the digital to analog converter. - View Dependent Claims (56, 57, 58, 59)
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Specification