Systems and methods to dynamically calibrate and adjust gains in a direct conversion receiver

• US 9,608,587 B2
• Filed: 06/25/2015
• Issued: 03/28/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 06/25/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NXP USA, Inc. (NXP Semiconductors NV)
• Original Assignee: Freescale Semiconductor, Inc. (NXP Semiconductors NV)
• Inventors: Bosze, Steven M, Tilley, Keith A, Traylor, Kevin B, Waheed, Khurram
• Primary Examiner(s): Koeth, Michelle M
• Application Number:
  US14/749,884
• Publication Number:
  US 20160380788A1
• Time in Patent Office: 642 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H03D 3/008 Compensating DC offsets
• CPC Class Codes: H03D 3/009 Compensating quadrature phase or amplitude imbalances
• CPC Class Codes: H03G 3/3068 Circuits generating control signals for both R.F. and I.F. stages
• CPC Class Codes: H03G 3/3078 Circuits generating control signals for digitally modulated signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/30 for homodyne or synchrodyne receivers demodulator circuits H03D1/22
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 25/061 providing hard decisions only; arrangements for tracking or suppressing unwanted low frequency components, e.g. removal of dc offset removal of dc offset in coupling arrangements H04L25/029, H04L25/0296
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 25/066 Multilevel decisions, not including self-organising maps

Abstract

Method embodiments are provided herein for dynamically calibrating and adjusting a direct conversion receiver system. One embodiment includes applying one or more gain control signals to one or more gain elements of a receiver system, where the applying one or more gain control signals results in a gain change to the receiver system; in response to the gain change, determining whether the receiver system exhibits a DC (direct conversion) offset; and in response to a determination that the receiver system exhibits the DC offset, applying one or more DC offset correction control signals to one or more gain elements of the receiver system, where the one or more DC offset correction signals are configured to correct the DC offset.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

detecting gain adjustment indicators in a receiver system;

evaluating the gain adjustment indicators and taking a highest priority transition to another state in the receiver system when transition conditions based on the gain adjustment indicators are met for transitioning to at least two different states with different priorities in the receiver system, wherein different ones of the gain adjustment indicators are evaluated depending on a current state in the receiver system being a fast automatic gain control (AGC) state or a slow AGC state;

applying one or more gain control signals to one or more gain elements of the receiver system according to the current state of the receiver system, wherein

the applying one or more gain control signals results in a gain change to the receiver system;

in response to the gain change, determining whether the receiver system exhibits a DC (direct current) offset; and

in response to a determination that the receiver system exhibits the DC offset, applying one or more DC offset correction control signals to the one or more gain elements of the receiver system, wherein the one or more DC offset correction signals are configured to correct the DC offset.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

in response to the detecting the gain adjustment indicators, determining a selected gain profile from a plurality of gain profiles associated with the receiver system, wherein

each of the plurality of gain profiles corresponds to one of a plurality of receiver gain levels of the receiver system, and the selected gain profile comprises the one or more gain control signals.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein

the gain adjustment indicators comprise a high peak detection signal that indicates a signal clip of the receiver system, and

the selected gain profile is determined to reduce a present receiver gain level by a coarse gain adjustment.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein

the gain adjustment indicators comprise at least one or more of an RSSI (received signal strength indicator) value that exceeds a maximum threshold value and an RSSI headroom value that fails to exceed a minimum headroom threshold value, and

the selected gain profile is determined to reduce a present receiver gain level by a fine gain adjustment.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein

the gain adjustment indicators comprise at least one or more of an absence of a low peak detection signal and an RSSI (received signal strength indicator) value that fails to exceed a minimum threshold value, and

the selected gain profile is determined to increase a present receiver gain level by a small step.

6. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

asserting a gain change signal to indicate the gain change of the receiver system, wherein

the gain change signal is asserted after a monitoring time has elapsed,

the monitoring time begins in response to the detecting the gain adjustment indicators,

the gain change signal is asserted in response to a subsequent gain adjustment indicator not being detected during the monitoring time, and

the determining whether the receiver system exhibits the DC offset is performed in response to the asserting the gain change signal.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

in response to detecting the subsequent gain adjustment indicator during the monitoring time, determining a subsequent gain profile from the plurality of gain profiles;

applying one or more gain control signals of the subsequent gain profile to the one or more gain elements of the receiver system; and

resetting the monitoring time in response to detecting the subsequent gain adjustment indicator.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

incrementing a gain adjustment count in response to the applying one or more gain control signals of the subsequent gain profile, wherein the gain change signal is asserted in response to the gain adjustment count reaching a maximum count.

9. A method comprising:

detecting gain adjustment indicators in a receiver system;

evaluating the gain adjustment indicators and taking a highest priority transition to another state in the receiver system when transition conditions based on the gain adjustment indicators are met for transitioning to at least two different states with different priorities in the receiver system, wherein different ones of the gain adjustment indicators are evaluated depending on a current state of the receiver system being a fast automatic gain control (AGC) state or a slow AGC state;

applying a first gain profile to the receiver system according to the current state of the receiver system, wherein the first gain profile comprises one or more gain control signals,

each of the one or more gain control signals corresponds to a respective gain element of one or more gain elements of the receiver system, and

the one or more gain control signals implement a present gain setting of the receiver system;

detecting whether the present gain setting of the receiver system requires a gain adjustment within a monitoring time, wherein

the monitoring time begins in response to the applying the first gain profile;

in response to a detection that the present gain setting does not require the gain adjustment within the monitoring time, determining whether the receiver system exhibits a DC offset; and

in response to a determination that the receiver system exhibits the DC offset, applying one or more DC offset correction signals to the one or more gain elements of the receiver system, wherein

the one or more DC offset correction signals are configured to correct the DC offset.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

in response to a detection that the present gain setting requires the gain adjustment within the monitoring time, selecting a second gain profile from a plurality of gain profiles associated with the receiver system, wherein each of the plurality of gain profiles are associated with a corresponding gain setting of the receiver system, and the second gain profile is selected to implement the gain adjustment;

applying the second gain profile to the receiver system; and

resetting the monitoring time in response to the applying the second gain profile.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

in response to expiration of the monitoring time without detecting that the present gain setting requires a subsequent gain adjustment, determining whether the receiver system exhibits a subsequent DC offset.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein

in response to the determination that the receiver system exhibits the DC offset, calculating the one or more DC offset correction signals;

and

updating the present gain profile of the receiver system to include the one or more DC offset correction signals.

13. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

performing DC offset calibration of the receiver system prior to enabling the receiver system for RF (radio frequency) signal receipt, wherein each gain profile of a plurality of gain profiles comprises a plurality of estimated DC offset calibration signals for the one or more gain elements of the receiver system; and

performing I/Q (in-phase/quadrature) phase and gain mismatch calibration of the receiver system prior to enabling the receiver system for RF (radio frequency) signal receipt, wherein

the plurality of gain profiles each comprise a corresponding I/Q mismatch factor.

14. A method comprising:

detecting gain adjustment indicators in a receiver system;

evaluating the gain adjustment indicators and taking a highest priority transition to another state in the receiver system when transition conditions based on the gain adjustment indicators are met for transitioning to at least two different states with different priorities in the receiver system, wherein different ones of the gain adjustment indicators are evaluated depending on a current state of the receiver system being a fast automatic gain control (AGC) state or a slow AGC state;

monitoring the receiver system to determine whether a present gain setting of the receiver system requires any gain adjustments, wherein

the present gain setting is implemented by a plurality of gain control signals, and

each of the plurality of gain control signals is received by one of a plurality of gain elements of the receiver system;

when the present gain setting of the receiver system requires adjustment, adjusting the present gain setting according to the current state of the receiver system;

in response to a gain adjustment made to the present gain setting, determining whether the receiver system exhibits a DC (direct current) offset; and

in response to a determination that the receiver system exhibits the DC offset, applying one or more DC offset correction control signals to the plurality of gain elements of the receiver system, wherein the one or more DC offset correction control signals are configured to correct the DC offset.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

in response to expiration of a coarse gain adjustment monitoring time, monitoring the receiver system to determine whether the present gain setting requires any fine gain adjustments; and

in response to a fine gain adjustment made to the present gain setting, determining whether the receiver system exhibits a DC offset.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein

the fine gain adjustment is made in response to detection of at least one or more of an RSSI (received signal strength indicator) value that exceeds a maximum threshold value, the RSSI value that fails to exceed a minimum threshold value, an RSSI headroom value that fails to exceed a minimum headroom threshold value, and an absence of a low peak detection signal.

17. The method of claim 14, wherein

the gain adjustment is a coarse gain adjustment made in response to detection of a signal clip of the receiver system, and

the one or more DC offset correction signals are each configured to correct a respective DC offset component exhibited by a respective gain element of the plurality of gain elements.

18. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

in response to receipt of a preamble detect signal from a modem of the receiver system, monitoring the receiver system to determine whether the present gain setting requires any fine gain adjustments.

19. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

in response to receipt of a packet synchronization signal from a modem of the receiver system, maintaining the present gain setting of the receiver system.

20. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

restarting the receiver system in response to receipt of a combination of a packet synchronization signal and a packet pass/fail signal from a modem of the receiver system.