Receiver with reduced noise figure using split lna and digital combining
AssigneeIntel Corporation
InventorsRonen Kronfeld, Rula Jubran
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Systems and methods of reducing SNR and increasing bandwidth of received signals are disclosed. LNAs receive signals from an antenna via a common input matching network. The amplified signals are downconverted, filtered and digitized before being coherently combined at a DSP. Depending on the LO frequencies used by mixers in the different receiver paths, the combined signals reduce the SNR when the LO frequencies are the same by reducing the non-correlated noise introduced by the LNAs or increase the bandwidth processed when the LO frequencies are different. The bandwidths are contiguous or non-contiguous.
Claims20
A receiver comprising:
- a main receiver path having a main low noise amplifier (LNA) and a plurality of main electronic components downstream of the main LNA, the main LNA coupled to an output of an input matching network configured to receive input signals received at an antenna;
- an auxiliary receiver path having an auxiliary LNA and a plurality of auxiliary electronic components downstream of the auxiliary LNA, the auxiliary LNA coupled to the output of the input matching network;
- and
- a coherent combiner to coherently combine complex digital baseband signals from the main receiver path and from the auxiliary receiver path to produce a single output signal.
A mobile communication device, comprising:
- an antenna;
- and
- a receiver comprising:
- a plurality of low noise amplifiers (LNAs) configured to receive signals from the antenna via a common input matching network and provide amplified signals based on the signals;
- a plurality of mixers configured to downconvert the amplified signals using local oscillator (LO) signals to form baseband signals;
- a selector configured to select, among a plurality of LO signals of different frequencies, one of the LO signals to supply to at least one of the mixers;
- analog-to-digitals (ADCs) to digitize signals dependent on the amplified signals to produce digital signals, the digital signals from the different LNAs having signal voltages that are correlated and noise voltages that are substantially non-correlated;
- and
- a processor configured to, dependent on the selector, coherently combine the digital signals to reduce a noise figure of the receiver or increase a bandwidth of the digitized signals.
A method of reducing signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) in a receiver, the method comprising:
- amplifying signals from an antenna received via a common input matching network to form amplified signals to be provided along different receiver paths, the amplification introducing non-correlated noise during formation of the amplified signals;
- selecting, from among a plurality of local oscillator (LO) signals of different frequencies, one of the LO signals;
- downconverting, using mixer signals that include the one of the LO signals, the amplified signals on the different receiver paths to form baseband signals;
- filtering the baseband signals to form filtered signals;
- digitizing signals dependent on the filtered signals to produce digital signals;
- and
- coherently combining the digital signals from the different receiver paths to, dependent on the one of the LO signals, reduce the non-correlated noise introduced when forming the amplified signals or increase a bandwidth of the digital signals.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.