Power supply for voltage controlled oscillators with automatic gain control
AssigneeHuawei Technologies Co., Ltd.
InventorMichael Bushman
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The disclosure relates to technology for power supply for a voltage controller oscillator (VCO). A peak detector circuit determines the amplitude of the output for the VCO, which is compared to a reference value in an automatic gain control loop. An input voltage for the VCO is determined based on a difference between the reference value and the output of the peak detector circuit. The peak detector circuit can be implemented using parasitic bipolar devices in an integrated circuit formed in a CMOS process.
Claims17
An oscillator system, comprising:
- a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) configured to generate an oscillator output waveform having an amplitude based on an input voltage;
- a reference generator configured to provide a first reference value and a zero reference value;
- a peak detector configured to receive the oscillator output waveform and the zero reference value, and determine an indication of the amplitude of the oscillator output waveform;
- and
- a gain control circuit configured to receive the first reference value and the indication of the amplitude of the oscillator output waveform and to generate the input voltage based on a difference between the first reference value and the indication of the amplitude of the oscillator output waveform, the gain control circuit including an amplifier configured to generate the input voltage from the difference between the first reference value and the indication of the amplitude of the oscillator output waveform.
A method of controlling an amplitude of an output waveform of a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO), comprising:
- generating an output waveform by a VCO, the output waveform having an amplitude dependent on an input voltage;
- receiving a zero reference level;
- receiving the output waveform of the VCO;
- determining an indication of the amplitude of the output waveform using at least the zero reference level;
- receiving a controlled reference level;
- determining a difference between the indication of the amplitude and the controlled reference level;
- updating the input voltage from the difference, including amplifying a voltage level of the difference;
- and
- providing the updated input voltage to the VCO.
A power supply for a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO), comprising:
- a reference generator configured to provide a controlled reference value and a zero reference value;
- and
- an automatic gain control loop, comprising:
- a peak detector configured to receive an oscillator output waveform of the VCO and the zero reference value, and determine an indication of an amplitude of the oscillator output waveform;
- an automatic gain control circuit configured to receive the reference value and the indication of the amplitude of the oscillator output waveform and generate an input voltage for the VCO based on a difference between the reference value and the indication of the oscillator output waveform, the automatic gain control circuit comprising:
- a difference circuit configured to determine a difference between the reference value and the indication of the amplitude of the oscillator output waveform of the VCO;
- and
- an analog voltage generation circuit including an amplifier configured to generate the input voltage from the difference by amplifying an analog voltage of the difference.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.