Methods and apparatus for power measuring receiver
AssigneeLinear Technology Corporation
InventorMin Z. Zou
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Power measuring receiver (PMR) methods and apparatus for measuring power of signals are provided in which a high frequency measuring circuit (HFMC), a conversion measuring circuit (CMC), and an intermediate frequency measuring circuit (IFMC) work in conjunction with each other to measure a wide power range of signals. The HFMC may measure relatively high power signals at high frequency. The CMC may convert the high frequency signal into an intermediate frequency signal so that both the CMC and the IFMC can accurately measure low power signals. The CMC may also set the minimum noise bandwidth associated with gain stages in the IFMC. The intermediate frequency may provide the IFMC with the ability to perform low power measurements at a reduced DC power consumption.
Claims18
An apparatus for measuring the power of a signal, comprising:
- conversion circuitry that converts said signal from a first frequency to a second frequency;
- a plurality of signal altering circuits that alter the magnitude of said signal, wherein a first portion of said signal altering circuits alter said signal at said first frequency, and wherein a second portion of said signal altering circuits alter said signal at said second frequency;
- and
- a plurality of detector circuits that measure said signal and provide a power measurement to a common output node, one of said detector circuits coupled to an input node, another one of said detector circuits coupled to said conversion circuitry, and the other said detector circuits coupled to one of said signal altering circuits.
A method for measuring power of a signal, comprising:
- measuring power of said signal at a first frequency;
- converting said signal from said first frequency to a second frequency;
- measuring power of said signal at said second frequency;
- and
- providing an output based on the power measured at said first and second frequencies.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.