Adaptive matching network

• US 8,463,218 B2
• Filed: 03/05/2010
• Issued: 06/11/2013
• 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. III, Bachmann, Heinz, Mendolia, Greg
• Primary Examiner(s): TRAN, PABLO N
• Application Number:
  US12/718,615
• Publication Number:
  US 20100156552A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,194 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, an apparatus having a matching network adapted to reduce a magnitude of a signal reflection at a port of the matching network. The matching network can have one or more controllable variable reactive elements. A controller can be adapted to determine reflection coefficient information from incident and reflected waves sampled at the port of the matching network, and follow at least one cycle of a coarse tune process for generating one or more control signals to tune one or more reactances of the one or more controllable variable reactive elements. Additional embodiments are disclosed.

Claims

1. An apparatus, comprising:

a matching network adapted to reduce 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 adapted to determine reflection coefficient information from incident and reflected waves sampled at the port of the matching network, and follow at least one cycle of a coarse tune 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 a directional coupler samples the incident and reflected waves at the port.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the controller determines the reflection coefficient information from samples provided thereto by an analog to digital converter (ADC) coupled to the directional coupler.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein a look-up table is used to perform said coarse tune process.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the controller is adapted to determine new reflection coefficient information after the at least one cycle of the coarse tune process.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein when a magnitude of said new reflection coefficient information has achieved a desired level, the controller is adapted to fine tune the one or more controllable variable reactive elements by applying iterative adjustments to said one or more control signals.

7. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein said fine tuning compensates for variations in manufacturing tolerances or temperature variations of the matching network.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said one or more control signals generated by the coarse tune process are supplied to a plurality of digital to analog converters (DACs) that in turn control buffers driving said one or more controllable variable reactive elements.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein a DC-to-DC converter powers said buffers.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the reflection coefficient information is determined from samples supplied to the controller by at least one analog to digital converter (ADC), and wherein said one or more control signals are directed to a plurality of digital to analog converters (DACs) that in turn control said one or more controllable variable reactive elements.

11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said 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;

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.

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 to:

determine an input reflection coefficient from incident and reflected waves detected at a port of a matching network; and

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

14. The storage medium of claim 13, comprising computer instructions to perform said coarse tune according to a look-up table that provides values corresponding to said one or more control signals.

15. The storage medium of claim 13, comprising computer instructions to:

determine a new input reflection coefficient from an additional sampling at the port of the matching network;

detect that the new input reflection coefficient achieves a desired level; and

fine tune the one or more controllable variable reactive elements using iterative adjustments to said one or more control signals.

16. The storage medium of claim 13, comprising computer instructions to:

cause an analog to digital converter to sample a signal from the port of the matching network; and

determine the input reflection coefficient information according to the sampled signal.

17. The storage medium of claim 13, wherein said 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;

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.

18. A method, comprising:

determining a reflection coefficient from a signal sampled at a port;

determining at least one control signal from the reflection coefficient; and

tuning a 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, comprising tuning according to a coarse tuning process.

20. The method of claim 18, comprising tuning 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;

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.