Power-efficient automatic gain control
AssigneeQUALCOMM Incorporated
InventorIsmail Lakkis
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A multi-stage amplifier configured for processing a received baseband signal comprises a plurality of fixed-gain amplifier stages and an automatic gain control (AGC) module. Each amplifier stage further comprises a switch and a bypass circuit. The AGC module is configured for controlling the switch for bypassing at least one of the amplifier stages. The multi-stage amplifier may be configured to perform fine gain adjustment and coarse gain adjustment, wherein fine gain adjustment may comprise adjusting a load-resistor value in at least one amplifier and coarse gain adjustment may comprise bypassing one or more fixed-gain amplifier stages.
Claims10
An apparatus, comprising:
- a plurality of amplifier stages, each amplifier stage comprising an amplifier, a bypass circuit, and a switch, the switch configured to couple an input signal into one of the amplifier and the bypass circuit,
- an automatic gain control (AGC) module configured for controlling at least one switch for selecting at least one amplifier to bypass, wherein the AGC module is further configured to adjust a load-resistor value in at least one of the plurality of amplifier stages for performing fine gain adjustment.
A method for performing automatic gain control, comprising:
- providing for a plurality of amplification stages,
- performing automatic gain control (AGC) to bypass at least one of the plurality of amplification stages, and
- adjusting a load-resistor value in at least one of the plurality of amplification stages for performing fine gain adjustment.
An apparatus configured for performing automatic gain control, comprising:
- a multi-stage amplification means configured for amplifying a received baseband signal in a plurality of stages, and
- an automatic gain control (AGC) means configured for bypassing at least one of the plurality of stages in the multi-stage amplification means, wherein the AGC means is further configured to adjust a load-resistor value in at least one amplifier in the multi-stage amplification means for performing fine grain adjustment.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.