Multi-phase pulse modulation polar transmitter and method of generating a pulse modulated envelope signal carrying modulated RF signal

• US 8,169,272 B2
• Filed: 08/12/2010
• Issued: 05/01/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 04/16/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: National Taiwan University (Government of The Republic of China)
• Original Assignee: National Taiwan University (Government of The Republic of China)
• Inventors: Chen, Jau-Horng, Chen, Yi-Jan Emery
• Primary Examiner(s): MIS, DAVID C
• Application Number:
  US12/855,328
• Publication Number:
  US 20110254636A1
• Time in Patent Office: 628 Days
• Field of Search: 332103-106, 332108-111, 332/144, 332/145, 332/149, 332/151
• US Class Current: 332/108
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 7/08 Duration or width modulation ; Duty cycle modulation

Abstract

A multi-phase pulse-modulated polar transmitter and a method of generating a pulse-modulated envelope signal carrying modulated RF signal. Multi-phase pulse modulation technique or similar multi-phase pulse modulation techniques are employed in conjunction with a plurality of power amplifiers to enhance the bandwidth of the transmitter and to reduce out-of-band emissions and noises while easily synchronizing the phase and envelope of the input signal.

Claims

1. A multi-phase pulse-modulated polar transmitter, comprising:

an envelope signal input end for receiving envelope signals;

a plurality of constant-envelope radio-frequency (RF) signal input ends, each being for receiving input constant-envelope RF signals;

a multi-phase pulse modulation module for receiving the envelope signals from the envelope signal input ends, so as to generate multi-phase (or multi-bit) pulse modulation signals according to the envelope signals;

a plurality of signal modulation modules, each being for receiving one of the constant-envelope RF signals and modulating the received one of the constant-envelope RF signals according to one of the multi-phase (or multi-bit) pulse modulation signals, to thereby generate pulse-modulated RF signals that an envelope of each of the pulse-modulated RF signals carries phase information; and

a plurality of power amplification modules, each being for receiving the pulse-modulated RF signals, amplifying power of each of the pulse-modulated RF signals and outputting the amplified pulse-modulated RF signals.

2. The multi-phase pulse-modulated polar transmitter of claim 1, wherein the multi-phase pulse modulation module is a pulse width modulator or a Σ

-Δ

modulator.

3. The multi-phase pulse-modulated polar transmitter of claim 1, wherein the constant-envelope RF signals received by the plurality of constant-envelope RF signal input ends are generated by a power divider according to RF input signals input into the power divider.

4. The multi-phase pulse-modulated polar transmitter of claim 3, further comprising a power combiner for receiving and combining the amplified pulse-modulated RF signals from the power amplification modules and generating and outputting pulse-modulated RF output signals.

5. The multi-phase pulse-modulated polar transmitter of claim 4, further comprising a band-pass filter for receiving the pulse-modulated RF output signals from the power combiner, wherein the band-pass filter has a predetermined frequency band to filter out the switching harmonic components of the pulse-modulated RF output signals.

6. A method of generating pulse-modulated envelope signals carrying modulated RF signal, comprising:

receiving pulse modulation control signals and modulated constant-envelope RF input signals by using a signal modulation module; and

modulating the constant-envelope RF input signals according to the pulse modulation control signals by using the signal modulation module, so as to generate pulse envelopes carrying modulated RF signals.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the pulse modulation control signals are pulses or digital signals that are generated according to magnitude of the envelope signal.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the constant-envelope RF input signals have constant-envelopes.

9. A method of generating a pulse-modulated envelope signal carrying modulated RF signal, comprising:

combining a plurality of low density pulse envelopes carrying modulated RF signals into a high density pulse envelope carrying modulated RF signal.