Gain-control methods of transmitter modulators
AssigneeBroadcom Corporation
InventorsAhmad Mirzaei, Alireza Zolfaghari, Hooman Darabi
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Abstract
An apparatus comprising a plurality of switchable full step mixer unit cells, wherein each switchable full step unit cell is configured to, when the full step transceiver mixer unit cell is turned on, increase the gain experienced by an electronic signal by a full step increment, and wherein the step increment is substantially constant regardless of temperature; and at least one switchable partial step mixer unit cell configured to, when the partial step transceiver mixer unit is turned on, increase the gain experienced by the electronic signal by a predetermined step increment less than that of a full step, and wherein the partial step increment is substantially constant regardless of temperature.
Claims20
An apparatus comprising:
- at least one switchable full step mixer unit cell,
- wherein the switchable full step mixer unit cell is configured to, when the full step mixer unit cell is turned on, adjust the gain experienced by at least one electronic signal by a full step increment;
- and
- at least one switchable partial step mixer unit cell configured to, when the partial step mixer unit is switched on, adjust the gain experienced by the electronic signal by a predetermined step increment less than that of a full step increment.
A system comprising:
- a baseband filter configured to produce baseband signals;
- and
- a mixer unit configured to produce an output signal based upon the baseband signals;
- and
- the mixer unit comprising:
- at least one full step mixer unit cell, wherein the full step mixer unit cell is configured to adjust the gain experienced by the baseband signals by a full step increment,
- at least one partial step mixer unit cell configured to adjust the gain experienced by the baseband signals by a predetermined step increment less than that of a full step increment.
A method comprising:
- requesting amplification of an electrical signal;
- turning on a partial step mixer unit cell to amplify the electrical signal by a partial predetermined step increment less than that of a full step;
- requesting additional amplification of the electrical signal;
- turning on one or more additional partial step mixer unit cells to amplify the electrical signal, until the full gain step has been reached;
- once the sum of the partial steps is equal to the full step, turning off the partial step mixer unit cells and turning on a full step mixer unit cell.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.