Adaptive noise figure control in a radio receiver
First Claim
1. A method for adjusting a noise figure in a radio receiver, the method comprising:
- receiving a radio frequency (RF) signal at a RF receiver section comprising at least one RF receiver element, the RF receiver element being controllable by at least two tuning variables;
processing the RF signal to generate a processed analog signal;
converting the processed analog signal to a digital signal;
using the digital signal to determine a noise figure indicative of system level performance; and
determining a plurality of tuning variable settings for the at least two tuning variables of the at least one RF receiver element to adjust the noise figure,comparing the adjusted noise figure to a threshold value and selecting the tuning variable setting corresponding to a lowest power consumption of the at least one RF receiver element and to the noise figure being greater than the threshold value;
wherein the tuning variables are bias current and gain of the RF receiver element, andwherein the bias current and a gain of the RF receiver element are adjusted independently such that
1) the gain is set at a minimum value,
2) the bias current is stepped through each of N current values (N>
2) between a minimum current value and a maximum current value while the gain is held at a fixed value
3) the gain is increased by one step towards a maximum value after the bias current reaches the maximum current value, and
4) steps 2 and 3 are repeated until the noise figure is greater than a threshold value.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Systems and methods are provided for adjusting a noise figure in a radio receiver. An example method includes receiving a radio frequency (RF) signal at a RF receiver section. The RF receiver section includes at least one RF receiver element. The RF receiver element is controllable by at least one tuning variable. The RF signal is processed to generate a processed analog signal, which is converted to a digital signal. The digital signal is used to determine a performance parameter. The at least one tuning variable of the at least one RF receiver element is controlled to adjust the noise figure based on the performance parameter. In another aspect of the invention, an example radio receiver is provided. The radio receiver includes a RF receiver section having at least one RF receiver element. A controller determines a performance parameter using the digital signal and controls the at least one tuning variable to adjust the noise figure based on the performance parameter.
-
Citations
25 Claims
-
1. A method for adjusting a noise figure in a radio receiver, the method comprising:
-
receiving a radio frequency (RF) signal at a RF receiver section comprising at least one RF receiver element, the RF receiver element being controllable by at least two tuning variables; processing the RF signal to generate a processed analog signal; converting the processed analog signal to a digital signal; using the digital signal to determine a noise figure indicative of system level performance; and determining a plurality of tuning variable settings for the at least two tuning variables of the at least one RF receiver element to adjust the noise figure, comparing the adjusted noise figure to a threshold value and selecting the tuning variable setting corresponding to a lowest power consumption of the at least one RF receiver element and to the noise figure being greater than the threshold value; wherein the tuning variables are bias current and gain of the RF receiver element, and wherein the bias current and a gain of the RF receiver element are adjusted independently such that
1) the gain is set at a minimum value,
2) the bias current is stepped through each of N current values (N>
2) between a minimum current value and a maximum current value while the gain is held at a fixed value
3) the gain is increased by one step towards a maximum value after the bias current reaches the maximum current value, and
4) steps 2 and 3 are repeated until the noise figure is greater than a threshold value. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
-
-
14. A radio receiver comprising:
-
a RF receiver section comprising at least one RF receiver element controllable by at least two tuning variables, the RF receiver section operable to generate a processed analog signal; an analog to digital converter (“
ADC”
) to convert the processed analog signal to a digital signal;a controller configured to; determine a noise figure indicative of system level performance using the digital signal, determine a plurality of tuning variable settings for the at least two tuning variables of the at least one RF receiver element to adjust the noise figure, and compare the adjusted noise figure to a threshold value and select the tuning variable setting corresponding to a lowest power consumption of the at least one RF receiver element and to the noise figure being greater than the threshold value; wherein the tuning variables are bias current and gain of the RF receiver element, and wherein the bias current and the gain of the RF receiver element are adjusted independently such that
1) the gain is set at a minimum value,
2) the bias current is stepped through each of N current values (N>
2) between a minimum current value and a maximum current value while the gain is held at a fixed value
3) the gain is increased by one step towards a maximum value after the bias current reaches the maximum current value, and
4) steps 2 and 3 are repeated until the noise figure is greater than a threshold value. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
-
-
20. A system for controlling a radio receiver section comprising at least one RF receiver element controllable by at least two tuning variables, the RF receiver section operable to generate a processed analog signal, the system comprising:
-
an analog to digital converter (“
ADC”
) to convert the processed analog signal to a digital signal;a controller configured to; determine a noise figure indicative of system level performance using the digital signal, determine a plurality of tuning variable settings for the at least two tuning variables of the at least one RF receiver element to adjust the noise figure, and compare the adjusted noise figure to a threshold value and select the tuning variable setting corresponding to a lowest power consumption of the at least one RF receiver element and to the noise figure being greater than the threshold value; wherein the tuning variables are bias current and gain of the RF receiver element, and wherein the bias current and the gain of the RF receiver element are adjusted independently such that
1) the gain is set at a minimum value,
2) the bias current is stepped through each of N current values (N>
2) between a minimum current value and a maximum current value while the gain is held at a fixed value
3) the gain is increased by one step towards a maximum value after the bias current reaches the maximum current value, and
4) steps 2 and 3 are repeated until the noise figure is greater than a threshold value. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
-
Specification