Method and system for hybrid radio frequency digital beamforming

• US 9,906,285 B2
• Filed: 05/26/2016
• Issued: 02/27/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 05/26/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Maxlinear Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Maxlinear Incorporated
• Inventors: Ling, Curtis
• Primary Examiner(s): Perez, James M
• Application Number:
  US15/165,816
• Publication Number:
  US 20160352407A1
• Time in Patent Office: 642 Days
• Field of Search: 375259-285, 375295-352
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0617 for beam forming

Abstract

Methods and systems for hybrid radio frequency digital beamforming may include, in an electronic device comprising an antenna array including antennas arranged along first and second directions, beamforming signals in an analog domain along the first direction of the antenna array and beamforming signals in a digital domain along the second direction of the antenna array. The antenna array may include subsets of antennas, where each subset has a system-on-chip (SOC) with analog and digital beamforming circuitry. Signals may be beamformed in the analog domain by amplifying signals received by the antenna array using a configurable gain and shifting the phase of at least one of the amplified signals. The phase-shifted signals may be summed and converted to a digital signal. A frequency-dependent coefficient may be applied to the digital signal. The antenna array may have a fewer number of antennas along the first direction as compared to a number of antennas along the second direction.

Claims

1. An electronic device, the device comprising:

one or more circuits coupled to an antenna array comprising antennas arranged along first and second directions, said one or more circuits being operable to;

beamform signals in an analog domain along the first direction of the antenna array; and

beamform signals in a digital domain along the second direction of the antenna array, with a wider range digital beamforming in the second direction as compared to a narrower range analog beamforming along the first direction.

2. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the antenna array comprises subsets of antennas, each subset comprising a system-on-chip (SOC) with analog and digital beamforming circuitry.

3. The electronic device according to claim 2, wherein each SOC is coupled to other SOCs using a digital interface.

4. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the one or more circuits are operable to beamform signals in the analog domain by amplifying signals received by the antenna array using a configurable gain and shifting the phase of at least one of the amplified signals.

5. The electronic device according to claim 4, wherein the one or more circuits is operable to sum the phase-shifted signals.

6. The electronic device according to claim 5, wherein the one or more circuits is operable to convert the summed signal to a digital signal utilizing an analog-to-digital converter (ADC).

7. The electronic device according to claim 6, wherein the one or more circuits is operable to apply a frequency-dependent coefficient to the digital signal.

8. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the antenna array has a fewer number of antennas along the first direction as compared to a number of antennas along the second direction.

9. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the one or more circuits comprise a tracking module that subtracts an amplified and filtered version of a signal received by a first antenna from an amplified and filtered version of a signal received by a second antenna arranged in the first direction from the first antenna.

10. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the one or more circuits is operable to process in-phase and quadrature (I and Q) signals.

11. A method for communication, the method comprising:

in an electronic device comprising an antenna array comprising antennas arranged along first and second directions;

beamforming signals in an analog domain along the first direction of the antenna array; and

beamforming signals in a digital domain along the second direction of the antenna array, with a wider range digital beamforming in the second direction as compared to a narrower range analog beamforming along the first direction.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein the antenna array comprises subsets of antennas, each subset comprising a system-on-chip (SOC) with analog and digital beamforming circuitry.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein each SOC is coupled to other SOCs using a digital interface.

14. The method according to claim 11, comprising beamforming signals in the analog domain by amplifying signals received by the antenna array using a configurable gain and shifting the phase of at least one of the amplified signals.

15. The method according to claim 14, comprising summing the phase-shifted signals.

16. The method according to claim 15, comprising converting the summed signal to a digital signal utilizing an analog-to-digital converter (ADC).

17. The method according to claim 16, comprising applying a frequency-dependent coefficient to the digital signal.

18. The method according to claim 11, wherein the antenna array has a fewer number of antennas along the first direction as compared to a number of antennas along the second direction.

19. The method according to claim 11, comprising, in a tracking module in the electronic device, subtracting an amplified and filtered version of a signal received by a first antenna from an amplified and filtered version of a signal received by a second antenna arranged in the first direction from the first antenna.

20. An electronic device comprising:

one or more circuits coupled to an antenna array comprising antennas arranged along first and second directions, with more antennas being arranged along the first direction as compared to those arranged along the second direction, said one or more circuits being operable to;

beamform signals in an analog domain along the first direction of the antenna array; and

beamform signals in a digital domain along the second direction of the antenna array, with a wider range digital beamforming in the second direction as compared to a narrower range analog beamforming along the first direction.