Adaptive impedance matching module (AIMM) control architectures

• US 8,620,246 B2
• Filed: 11/10/2011
• Issued: 12/31/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 01/14/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NXP USA, Inc. (NXP Semiconductors NV)
• Original Assignee: Blackberry Limited
• Inventors: McKinzie, William E., Bachmann, Heinz, Mendolia, Gregory
• Primary Examiner(s): TRAN, PABLO N
• Application Number:
  US13/293,544
• Publication Number:
  US 20120049975A1
• Time in Patent Office: 782 Days
• Field of Search: 455/248.1, 455/67.14, 455/67.13, 455/77, 455/87, 455/178.1, 455/73, 455/83, 455/13.3, 455/67.11, 455/169.1, 455/182.3, 455/192.3, 455/197.2, 455/340.C, 455121-125, 455/129, 333133-134, 333/175, 333/178
• US Class Current: 455/248.1
• CPC Class Codes: H03H 7/38 Impedance-matching networks
• CPC Class Codes: H03H 7/40 Automatic matching of load impedance to source impedance
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/0458 Arrangements for matching and coupling between power amplifier and antenna or between amplifying stages matching circuits in general H03H

Abstract

A system that incorporates teachings of the present disclosure can include, for example, determining at a port of a matching network reflection information from a signal sampled across at least one predetermined fixed-value reactance component, generating at least one control signal according to the reflection information, and tuning the matching network with the at least one control signal, where the matching network comprises one or more controllable variable reactive elements each with an independent control voltage. Additional embodiments are disclosed.

Claims

1. An apparatus, comprising:

a matching network operable to perform operations comprising reducing a magnitude of a signal reflection at a port of the matching network,

wherein the matching network comprises one or more controllable variable reactive elements, and

wherein a controller is operable to perform operations comprising determining reflection information from signal information sampled across a predetermined fixed-value reactance component, and engaging in at least one cycle of a coarse tuning process for generating one or more control signals to tune one or more reactances of the one or more controllable variable reactive elements.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the signal information comprises nodal voltages sampled across the predetermined fixed-value reactance component.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the reflection information is determined from a ratio of the nodal voltages derived from the signal information.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the reflection information comprises at least one of phase information or magnitude information of a complex reflection coefficient.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the reflection information comprises at least one of phase information or magnitude information derived from signal information sampled across the predetermined fixed-value reactance component.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein a look-up table is used to perform the coarse tuning process.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the controller further performs operations comprising determining new reflection information after the at least one cycle of the coarse tuning process, and responsive to a magnitude of the new reflection information achieving a desired level, fine tuning the one or more controllable variable reactive elements by applying iterative adjustments to the one or more control signals.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein a phase detector detects phase information from the signal information sampled across the predetermined fixed-value reactance component, and wherein the controller further performs operations comprising initiating at least one additional cycle of one of a fine tuning process or the coarse tuning according to the phase information.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the predetermined fixed-value reactance component comprises one of a fixed-value capacitor, or a fixed-value inductor, or a combination thereof.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the one or more control signals generated by the coarse tuning process are supplied to a plurality of digital to analog converters (DACs) whose outputs are supplied to buffers controlling the one or more controllable variable reactive elements.

11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the one or more controllable variable reactive elements comprise at least one of:

one or more reactive elements controlled by one or more semiconductor devices, wherein the one or more semiconductor devices are controlled by the one or more control signals;

or

one or more reactive elements controlled by one or more micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) devices, wherein the one or more MEMS devices are controlled by the one or more control signals;

or

one or more reactive elements each having a controllable reactance, wherein the reactance of each of the one or more reactive elements is controlled by one of the one or more control signals;

or

combinations thereof.

12. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the one or more control signals are at least one of one or more digital signals or one or more analog signals.

13. A computer-readable storage medium, comprising computer instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, causes the one or more processors to perform operations comprising:

determining input reflection information at a port of a matching network by monitoring signal information across a predetermined fixed-value reactance component; and

coarse tuning one or more controllable variable reactive elements of the matching network with one or more control signals determined according to the input reflection information.

14. The storage medium of claim 13, wherein the signal information comprises nodal voltages across the predetermined fixed-value reactance component, and wherein the coarse tuning is performed according to a look-up table that provides values corresponding to the one or more control signals.

15. The storage medium of claim 14, wherein the input reflection information is determined according to a ratio of the nodal voltages derived from the signal information.

16. The storage medium of claim 13, wherein the predetermined fixed-value reactance component comprises one of a predetermined fixed-value capacitor, or a predetermined fixed-value inductor, or a combination thereof.

17. The storage medium of claim 13, wherein the one or more controllable variable reactive elements comprise at least one of:

one or more reactive elements controlled by one or more semiconductor devices, wherein the one or more semiconductor devices are controlled by the one or more control signals;

or

one or more reactive elements controlled by one or more micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) devices, wherein the one or more MEMS devices are controlled by the one or more control signals;

or

one or more reactive elements each having a controllable reactance, wherein the reactance of each of the one or more reactive elements is controlled by one of the one or more control signals;

or

combinations thereof.

18. A method, comprising:

determining at a port of a matching network reflection information from a signal sampled across at least one predetermined fixed-value reactance component;

generating at least one control signal according to the reflection information; and

tuning the matching network with the at least one control signal, wherein the matching network comprises one or more controllable variable reactive elements each with an independent control voltage.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein tuning is performed according to a coarse tuning process.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein tuning is performed according to a fine tuning process.

21. The method of claim 18, wherein the one or more controllable variable reactive elements comprise at least one of:

one or more reactive elements controlled by one or more semiconductor devices, wherein the one or more semiconductor devices are controlled by the one or more control signals;

or

one or more reactive elements controlled by one or more micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) devices, wherein the one or more MEMS devices are controlled by the one or more control signals;

or

one or more reactive elements each having a controllable reactance, wherein the reactance of each of the one or more reactive elements is controlled by one of the one or more control signals;

or

combinations thereof.

22. The method of claim 18, wherein the at least one control signal comprises at least one of one or more digital signals or one or more analog signals or combinations thereof, wherein the at least one predetermined fixed-value reactance component comprises one of at least one predetermined fixed-value capacitor, or at least one predetermined fixed-value inductor, or combinations thereof.