Adaptive controller for linearization of transmitter with impairments

• US 7,333,557 B2
• Filed: 12/16/2002
• Issued: 02/19/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 12/16/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Nortel Networks Limited (Nortel Networks Corporation)
• Inventors: Rashev, Peter Zahariev, Tholl, David M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Odom, Curtis B.
• Application Number:
  US10/321,045
• Publication Number:
  US 20040121741A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,891 Days
• Field of Search: 375295-296, 375/375, 330/254, 370321-324
• US Class Current: 375/296
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 1/3211 in differential amplifiers
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 1/3247 using feedback acting on predistortion circuits H03F1/3264 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 3/45968 by offset reduction
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 27/368 adaptive predistortion

Abstract

An adaptive controller for linearization of transmitters using predistortion of the input signal has reduced sensitivity to impairments such as gain variation, phase noise or modulation/demodulation frequency instability by linearizing an adaptively normalized gain provided through a separate estimation and cancellation of linear gain variations. Values of a nonlinear and a linear gain blocks, cascaded with the linearized transmitter and called respectively a predistortion block and a gain regulation block, are independently adjusted by two different adaptive controllers. In one embodiment, four banks of real gain elements compose the predistortion block and realize an arbitrary step-wise approximation of a generalized 2×2 transmit gain matrix of nonlinear functions. In a further embodiment cancellation of a DC level bias multi-channel impairment is provided by an adaptively adjusted signal adder inserted in the transmit chain between the predistortion block and the linearized transmitter.

Claims

1. A controller for a transmitter comprising:

a first adaptive controller controlling a gain regulator;

a second adaptive controller controlling a predistortion block and cascaded with the transmitter; and

means for estimating an average closed-loop system gain to provide phase normalized feedback signals for estimation of transmitter nonlinearity, wherein the first and second adaptive controllers are separate, and operate independently wherein normalization of the feedback signals with respect to the input signals is performed for average signal values, and wherein a frequency of consecutive closed-loop gain re-estimation is approximately more than two decades larger than a cut-off frequency of the second adaptive controller.

2. The controller of claim 1 wherein the second adaptive controller comprises a predistortion controller that controls gain based on phase normalized feedback signals.

3. An architecture for controlling the gain of a transmitter, the architecture comprising:

an adaptive loop coupled to the transmitter, the adaptive loop having a forward branch that propagates an input signal, and a feedback branch that propagates a transmitter output signal;

a linear receiver that converts the transmitter output signal;

a predistortion block providing nonlinear amplification of the input signal;

a gain regulation block providing linear scaling by a complex number of the amplified input signal or a signal in the feedback branch of the adaptive loop;

an adaptive predistortion controller that estimates normalized nonlinearity of the adaptive loop and controls the predistortion block;

an adaptive gain controller that estimates linear gain and controls the gain regulation block; and

a time-division multiplexer synchronizing time-slots for adaptation of the predistortion block and of the gain regulation block.

4. The architecture of claim 3, wherein the gain regulation block is coupled between the predistortion block and the input of the transmitter.

5. The architecture of claim 4 wherein the gain regulation block provides a feedback signal to the adaptive predistortion controller, which is normalized with respect to the input signal to the transmitter.

6. The architecture of claim 4 wherein the gain regulation block has a gain that is approximately equal to the inverse of the cascaded linear gain of the nonlinear transmitter and the gain of the linear receiver.

7. The architecture of claim 4 wherein the gain regulation block has a gain that is approximately equal to the inverse of the cascaded linear gains of the predistortion block and the nonlinear transmitter and the gain of linear receiver.

8. The architecture of claim 3 wherein the gain regulation block is coupled between the linear receiver and an input of the adaptive predistortion controller.

9. The architecture of claim 8 wherein the gain regulation block provides a feedback signal to the adaptive predistortion controller, which is normalized with respect to the input signal to the transmitter.

10. The architecture of claim 8 wherein the gain of the gain regulation block is approximately equal to the inverse of the cascaded linear gain of the nonlinear transmitter and gain of the linear receiver.

11. The architecture of claim 8 wherein the gain of the gain regulation block is approximately equal to the cascaded linear gains of the predistortion block and the nonlinear transmitter and the gain of the linear receiver.

12. The architecture of claim 3 wherein the gain regulation block is coupled between an input having a signal to be transmitted, and to an input of the adaptive predistortion controller.

13. The architecture of claim 12 wherein the gain block provides a forward signal to the adaptive predistortion controller, which is normalized with respect to the feedback signal from the linear receiver.

14. The architecture of claim 12 wherein the gain of the gain regulation block is approximately equal to the cascaded linear gain of the nonlinear transmitter and the gain of the linear receiver.

15. The architecture of claim 12 wherein the gain of the gain regulation block is approximately equal to the cascaded linear gains of the predistortion block and the nonlinear transmitter and the gain of the linear receiver.

16. An adaptive loop coupled to a transmitter having an input and an output, the adaptive loop comprising:

a linear receiver that converts a transmitter output signal;

a predistortion block providing nonlinear amplification of an input signal to be amplified by the transmitter;

a gain regulation block providing linear scaling by a complex number of the amplified input signal, and cascaded with the transmitter;

an adaptive predistortion controller that estimates normalized nonlinearity of the adaptive loop and controls the predistortion block;

an adaptive gain controller that estimates normalized linear gain of the adaptive loop and controls the gain regulation block; and

a time-division multiplexer that synchronizes time-slots for independent operation of the predistortion block and predistortion controller, and for the gain block and gain controller.

17. The adaptive loop of claim 16 wherein the linear receiver converts the output signal to a format consistent with the format of the input signal.