Adaptive impedance matching module (AIMM) control architectures

• US 8,620,247 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:
  US13/293,550
• Publication Number:
  US 20120058739A1
• 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 from nodal voltages sampled at an input port of a matching network an impedance of a variable load coupled to an output port of the matching network, generating at least one control signal according to the nodal voltage, and tuning the matching network with the at least one control signal. 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 an impedance of a variable load coupled to the matching network according to a sample of at least one of phase information or magnitude information or both derived from signal information sampled at a port of the matching network, and engaging in at least one cycle of a coarse tuning process according to the determined impedance of the variable load by 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 a reactance component.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the impedance of the variable load is determined according to a ratio of the nodal voltages.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the controller further performs operations comprising determining a reflection coefficient from a combination of the phase information and the magnitude information.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the controller further performs operations comprising determining reflection information using at least one of the phase information or the magnitude information.

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 a new impedance of the variable load after the at least one cycle of the coarse tuning process, and 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 the phase information from the signal information, 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 process according to the phase information.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the one or more controllable variable reactive elements comprise one of one or more variable capacitors, or one or more variable inductors, 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, or combinations thereof.

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 an impedance of a variable load coupled to a matching network based on a reflection information; and

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

14. The storage medium of claim 13, wherein the computer instructions further cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising determining the reflection information according to signal information sampled across a reactance component.

15. The storage medium of claim 14, wherein the computer instructions further cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising determining the reflection information according to a ratio of nodal voltages derived from the signal information.

16. The storage medium of claim 14, wherein the reactance component from which the signal information is sampled 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 from nodal voltages sampled at an input port of a matching network an impedance of a variable load coupled to an output port of the matching network, wherein the matching network comprises one or more controllable variable reactive elements;

generating at least one control signal according to the nodal voltages; and

tuning the matching network with the at least one control signal.

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 comprising 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.