Apparatus for configuration of wireless operation

• US 8,594,068 B2
• Filed: 09/13/2012
• Issued: 11/26/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 01/31/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Avago Technologies International Sales Pte Limited (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Broadcom Corporation (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Inventors: Rofougaran, Ahmadreza
• Primary Examiner(s): Wu, Jianye
• Application Number:
  US13/615,080
• Publication Number:
  US 20130017818A1
• Time in Patent Office: 439 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 370/344
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/40013 Details regarding a bus controller
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/403 with centralised control, e.g. polling
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/413 with random access, e.g. carrier-sense multiple-access with collision detection [CSMA-CD]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/417 with deterministic access, e.g. token passing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0806 for initial configuration or provisioning, e.g. plug-and-play
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/082 the condition being updates or upgrades of network functionality
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0866 Checking the configuration

Abstract

An integrated circuit (IC) includes a plurality of circuit modules, a millimeter wave (MMW) transceiver coupled to a configurable antenna structure, and a controller. The controller is operably coupled to: receive parameters for an inter-chip MMW communication link; interpret the parameters to determine a range of operational requirements; compare the range of operational requirements with configuration options of the MMW transceiver and the configurable antenna structure; and, when one of the configuration options compares favorably with the range of operational requirements, generate a configuration signal to instruct the MMW transceiver and the configurable antenna structure to implement the one of the configuration options.

Claims

1. An integrated circuit (IC) comprising:

a plurality of circuit modules formed in the IC;

a millimeter wave (MMW) transceiver formed in the IC and operably coupled to a configurable antenna structure; and

a controller formed in the IC and operably coupled to the plurality of circuit modules and to the MMW transceiver, wherein the controller is operable to;

determine operational requirements for an inter-chip MMW communication link;

compare operational requirements with configuration options of the MMW transceiver and the configurable antenna structure; and

based upon the comparison, generate a configuration signal to instruct the MMW transceiver and the configurable antenna structure to implement one of the configuration options.

2. The IC of claim 1, further comprising at least one of:

the configurable antenna structure implemented on a die that supports the plurality of circuit modules, at least a portion of the MMW transceiver, and the controller;

the configurable antenna structure implemented on an IC package substrate that supports a second die that includes the plurality of circuit modules, at least a portion of the MMW transceiver, and the controller; and

the configurable antenna structure implemented on a printed circuit board that supports the IC.

3. The IC of claim 1, wherein the controller is further operable to:

sense MMW conditions within the IC and external to the IC;

determine whether, for the operational requirements, the MMW conditions adversely affect performance of the inter-chip MMW communication link; and

when the MMW conditions adversely affect performance of the inter-chip MMW communication link, adjust the operational requirements based on the MMW conditions.

4. The IC of claim 1, wherein the controller is further operably coupled to:

determine whether a second one of the configuration options compares favorably with the operational requirements;

when the second one of the configuration options compares favorably with the operational requirements, compare the second one of the configuration options with the one of the configuration options; and

when the second one of the configuration options compares favorably with the one of the of the configuration options, generate a second configuration signal to instruct the MMW transceiver and the configurable antenna structure to change their configuration to implement the second one of the configuration options.

5. The IC of claim 1, wherein the controller is further operably coupled to determine operational requirements for the inter-chip MMW communication link by:

determining a type of path from a path type indication of don'"'"'t care, a controlled radiation pattern path, or a non-controlled radiation pattern path;

determining distance between the IC and a destination based on identity of the destination;

determining use of path from a path use indication of dedicated point-to-point link, a shared dedicated link, or a temporary link; and

determining a frequency range, wherein the parameters include the path type indication, the identity of the destination, and the path use indication.

6. The IC of claim 1, wherein the configuration options comprise:

MMW transceiver options that include at least one of coding options, carrier frequency options, symbol options, transmit power options, channel access options, and receiver sensitivity options; and

configurable antenna structure options that include at least one of in air direction radiation pattern options, waveguide communication path options, dielectric communication path options, antenna gain options, antenna center frequency options, antenna bandwidth options, and antenna type options.

7. The IC of claim 1, wherein the controller is further operably coupled to compare the operational requirements with the configuration options of the MMW transceiver and configurable antenna structure by:

determining, based on the operational requirements, scale of a graphical function of capacity versus estimated path loss;

mapping the configuration options to the graphical function; and

for specific values of the operational requirements, identifying one or more of the configuration options that conform to the specific values.

8. The IC of claim 1, wherein the controller is further operably coupled to:

receive the parameters for a shared dedicated inter-chip MMW communication link;

interpret the parameters to determine the operational requirements;

compare the operational requirements with the configuration options of the MMW transceiver and the configurable antenna structure; and

when multiple configuration options compare favorably with the operational requirements, select one of the multiple configuration options based on capacity of a current or near-current use of the shared dedicated inter-chip MMW communication link.

9. An integrated circuit (IC) comprises:

a plurality of circuit modules; and

a millimeter wave (MMW) transceiver coupled to a configurable antenna structure and to at least one of the plurality of circuit modules, wherein the MMW transceiver includes a baseband processing module and a MMW section, wherein the baseband processing module is operably coupled to;

determine operational requirements for an inter-chip MMW communication link;

determine a desired protocol to support a capacity component of the operational requirements;

determine a desired antenna configuration of the configurable antenna structure based on the desired protocol and an estimated path loss component of the operational requirements;

convert outbound data into an outbound symbol stream in accordance with the desired protocol; and

convert an inbound symbol stream into inbound data in accordance with the desired protocol; and

wherein the MMW section is operably coupled to;

convert the outbound symbol stream into an outbound MMW signal in accordance with the desired protocol, wherein the outbound MMW signal is transmitted via the configurable antenna structure configured in accordance with the desired antenna configuration; and

convert an inbound MMW signal into the inbound symbol stream in accordance with the desired protocol, wherein the inbound MMW signal is received via the configurable antenna structure configured in accordance with the desired antenna configuration.

10. The IC of claim 9, further comprising at least one of:

the configurable antenna structure being implemented on a die, wherein the die supports the plurality of circuit modules and at least a portion of the MMW transceiver;

the configurable antenna structure being implemented on an IC package substrate, wherein the IC substrate supports a second die that includes the plurality of circuit modules and at least a portion of the MMW transceiver; and

the configurable antenna structure being implemented on a printed circuit board, wherein the printed circuit board supports the IC.

11. The IC of claim 9, wherein the baseband processing module is further operably coupled to:

determine a second desired protocol to support the capacity component of the operational requirements;

determine a second desired antenna configuration of the configurable antenna structure based on the desired protocol and the estimated path loss component of the operational requirements;

when the second desired protocol compares favorably with the desired protocol;

convert the outbound data into the outbound symbol stream in accordance with the second desired protocol;

convert the inbound symbol stream into the inbound data in accordance with the second desired protocol; and

when the second desired antenna configuration compares favorably with the desired antenna configuration, facilitate configuring the configurable antenna structure in accordance with the second desired antenna configuration.

12. The IC of claim 9, wherein the baseband processing module is further operably coupled to interpret the parameters to determine the operational requirements by:

determining a type of path from a path type indication of don'"'"'t care, a controlled radiation pattern path, or a non-controlled radiation pattern path;

determining distance between the IC and a destination based on identity of the destination;

determining use of path from a path use indication of dedicated point-to-point link, a shared dedicated link, or a temporary link;

determining a frequency range, wherein the parameters include the path type indication, the identity of the destination, and the path use indication.

13. The IC of claim 9, further comprising:

the desired protocol is determined from a plurality of protocols, wherein the determination is based on at least one of coding options, carrier frequency options, symbol options, transmit power options, channel access options, and receiver sensitivity options; and

the desired antenna configuration is determined from a plurality of antenna configurations, wherein the determination is based on at least one of in air direction radiation pattern options, waveguide communication path options, dielectric communication path options, antenna gain options, antenna center frequency options, antenna bandwidth options, and antenna type options.

14. The IC of claim 9, wherein the baseband processing module is further operably coupled to:

receive parameters for a shared dedicated inter-chip MMW communication link;

interpret the parameters to determine the operational requirements;

compare the operational requirements with configuration options of the MMW transceiver and the configurable antenna structure; and

when multiple configuration options compare favorably with the operational requirements, select one of the multiple configuration options based on capacity of a current or near-current use of the shared dedicated inter-chip MMW communication link.

15. An integrated circuit (IC) comprises:

a plurality of circuit modules formed in the IC;

a millimeter wave (MMW) transceiver formed in the IC and operably coupled to a configurable antenna structure; and

a controller formed in the IC and operably coupled to the plurality of circuit modules and to the MMW transceiver, wherein the controller is further operably coupled to;

receive parameters for an inter-chip MMW communication link;

interpret the parameters to determine operational requirements;

compare the operational requirements with configuration options of the MMW transceiver and the configurable antenna structure; and

when multiple configuration options compare favorably with the operational requirements, select one of the multiple configuration options based on type of the inter-chip MMW communication link.

16. The IC of claim 15, further comprising at least one of:

the configurable antenna structure being implemented on a die, wherein the die supports the plurality of circuit modules, at least a portion of the MMW transceiver, and the controller;

the configurable antenna structure being implemented on an IC package substrate, wherein the IC substrate supports a second die that includes the plurality of circuit modules, at least a portion of the MMW transceiver, and the controller; and

the configurable antenna structure being implemented on a printed circuit board, wherein the printed circuit board supports the IC.

17. The IC of claim 15, wherein the controller is further operably coupled to interpret the parameters by:

sensing MMW conditions within the IC and external to the IC;

determining whether, for a given operational requirement within the operational requirements, the MMW conditions adversely affect performance of the inter-chip MMW communication link; and

when the MMW conditions adversely affect performance of the inter-chip MMW communication link, adjusting the operational requirements within the parameters based on the MMW conditions.

18. The IC of claim 15, wherein the controller is further operably coupled to interpret the parameters to determine the operational requirements by:

determining a type of path from a path type indication of don'"'"'t care, a controlled radiation pattern path, or a non-controlled radiation pattern path;

determining distance between the IC and a destination based on identity of the destination;

determining use of path from a path use indication of dedicated point-to-point link, a shared dedicated link, or a temporary link; and

determining a frequency range, wherein the parameters include the path type indication, the identity of the destination, and the path use indication.

19. The IC of claim 18, wherein the controller is further operably coupled to select the one of the multiple configuration options by:

when a path type indication indicates a don'"'"'t care, select the one of the configuration options based on at least one of availability of resources and use of resources;

when the path type indication indicates a controlled radiation pattern path, select the one of the configuration options from a set of options for controlled radiation pattern paths; and

when the path type indication indicates a non-controlled radiation pattern path, select the one of the configuration options from a set of options for non-controlled radiation pattern paths.

20. The IC of claim 15, wherein the configuration options of the MMW transceiver include at least one of coding options, carrier frequency options, symbol options, transmit power options, channel access options, and receiver sensitivity options.