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US 2019/0199334 A1Published application
Polyphase phase shifter
AssigneeTexas Instruments Incorporated
InventorSudipto Chakraborty
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Abstract
In described examples, a quadrature phase shifter includes digitally programmable phase shifter networks for generating leading and lagging output signals in quadrature. The phase shifter networks include passive components for reactively inducing phase shifts, which need not consume active power. Output currents from the transistors coupled to the phase shifter networks are substantially in quadrature and can be made further accurate by adjusted by a weight function implemented using current steering elements. Example low-loss quadrature phase shifters described herein can be functionally integrated to provide low-power, low-noise up/down mixers, vector modulators and transceiver front-ends for millimeter wavelength (mmwave) communication systems.
Claims20
A circuit, comprising:
- a first phase generator including a first-phase-generator first transistor for modulating a first current in response to a first input frequency, a first-phase-generator second transistor for phase shifting the first-phase-generator first-transistor modulated current in response to a first reactive network coupled to a control terminal of the first-phase-generator second transistor and in response to a voltage developed in response to the first-phase-generator first-transistor modulated current, and a first-phase-generator third transistor for modulating the phase-shifted first-phase-generator first-transistor modulated current in response to a second input frequency to generate a first output signal;
- and
- a second phase generator including a second-phase-generator first transistor for modulating a second current in response to the first input frequency, a second-phase-generator second transistor for phase shifting the second-phase-generator first-transistor modulated current in response to a second reactive network coupled to a control terminal of the second-phase-generator second transistor and in response to a voltage developed in response to the second-phase-generator first-transistor modulated current, and a second-phase-generator third transistor for modulating the phase-shifted second-phase-generator first-transistor modulated current in response to the second input frequency to generate a second output signal, wherein the first reactive network is for generating a first phase shift different from a second phase shift generated in response to the second reactive network.
A system, comprising:
- a first phase generator including a first-phase-generator first transistor for modulating a first current in response to a first input frequency and a first-phase-generator second transistor for phase shifting the first-phase-generator first-transistor modulated current in response to a first reactive network coupled to a control terminal of the first-phase-generator second transistor and in response to a voltage developed in response to the first-phase-generator first-transistor modulated current;
- and
- a second phase generator including a second-phase-generator first transistor for modulating a second current in response to the first input frequency and a second-phase-generator second transistor for phase shifting the second-phase-generator first-transistor modulated current in response to a second reactive network coupled to a control terminal of the second-phase-generator second transistor and in response to a voltage developed in response to the second-phase-generator first-transistor modulated current, wherein the first reactive network is for generating a first phase shift different from a second phase shift generated in response to the second reactive network;
- and
- an amplifier for coupling to an antenna a signal generated in response to the phase-shifted first-phase-generator first-transistor modulated current and the phase-shifted second-phase-generator first-transistor modulated current.
2 more elements
A method comprising:
- modulating a first current in response to a first input frequency to generate a first-phase first-input-frequency modulated current;
- modulating a second current in response to the first input frequency to generate a second-phase first-input-frequency modulated current;
- phase shifting the first-phase first-input-frequency modulated current in response to coupling to a first reactive network a voltage developed in response to the first-phase first-input-frequency modulated current;
- phase shifting the second-phase first-input-frequency modulated current in response to coupling to a second reactive network a voltage developed in response to the second-phase first-input-frequency modulated current;
- and
- generating output signals in quadrature in response to the phase-shifted first-phase first-input-frequency modulated current and the phase-shifted second-phase first-input-frequency modulated current.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.