Dynamically adjustable RF front end

Abstract

Certain aspects of the present disclosure generally relate to radio frequency (RF) front-end circuit systems. For example, certain aspects provide a device having a first converter circuit and a second converter circuit, the first converter circuit being configured to up-convert a first baseband (BB) signal to a first radio frequency (RF) signal based on an operating mode, and the second converter circuit being configured to up-convert a second BB signal to a second RF signal based on an operating mode. The device also includes a first RF weight adjustment circuit and a controller, the first RF weight adjustment circuit being configured to selectively apply an amplitude weight or a phase weight to at least one of the first RF signal or the second RF signal based on an operating mode, and the controller being configured to control a power state of the second converter circuit according to the operating mode.

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This patent application claims the benefit of priority to U.S. patent application serial no. 16 / 189,533, filed on November 13, 2018, entitled “DYNAMICALLY ADJUSTABLE RADIOFREQUENCY (RF) FRONT-END,” which is hereby assigned to the assignee and is hereby expressly incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0003] Certain aspects of the present disclosure relate generally to electronic circuits, and more particularly to radio frequency (RF) front end circuitry. Background Art

[0004] A wireless communication network may include several base stations that may support communications for several mobile stations. A mobile station (MS) may communicate with a base station (BS) via a downlink and an uplink. A downlink (or forward link) refers to a communication link from a base station to a mobile station, and an uplink (or reverse link) refers to a communication link from a mobile station to a base station. A base station may transmit data and control information to a mobile station on a downlink, and / or may receive data and control information from a mobile station on an uplink. A base station and / or a mobile station may include a radio frequency (RF) front-end circuit system, which may, for example, be used for communications within a millimeter wave (mmW) communication band. Summary of the invention

[0005] Certain aspects of the present disclosure generally relate to radio frequency (RF) front-end circuit systems. For example, certain aspects provide a device having a first converter circuit and a second converter circuit, the first converter circuit being configured to up-convert a first baseband (BB) signal to a first radio frequency (RF) signal based on an operating mode, and the second converter circuit being configured to up-convert a second BB signal to a second RF signal based on an operating mode. The device also includes a first RF weight adjustment circuit and a controller, the first RF weight adjustment circuit being configured to selectively apply an amplitude weight or a phase weight to at least one of the first RF signal or the second RF signal based on an operating mode, and the controller being configured to control a power state of the second converter circuit according to the operating mode.

[0006] Certain aspects of the present disclosure are directed to a method for wireless communication. The method generally includes: up-converting a first BB signal to a first RF signal via a first converter circuit based on an operating mode; up-converting a second BB signal to a second RF signal via a second converter circuit based on an operating mode; selectively applying an amplitude weight or a phase weight to at least one of the first RF signal or the second RF signal based on the operating mode; and controlling a power state of the second converter circuit according to the operating mode.

[0007] Certain aspects of the present disclosure are directed to a method for wireless communication. The method generally includes: down-converting a first RF signal to a first BB signal via a first converter circuit based on an operating mode; down-converting a second RF signal to a second BB signal via a second converter circuit based on an operating mode; selectively applying an amplitude weight or a phase weight to at least one of the first RF signal or the second RF signal based on the operating mode; and controlling a power state of the second converter circuit according to the operating mode.

[0008] Certain aspects of the present disclosure generally relate to an apparatus for wireless communication. The apparatus generally includes: a component for up-converting a first BB signal to a first RF signal based on an operating mode; a component for up-converting a second BB signal to a second RF signal according to the operating mode; a component for selectively applying an amplitude weight or a phase weight to at least one of the first RF signal or the second RF signal based on the operating mode; and a component for controlling a power state of the component for up-converting the second BB signal according to the operating mode. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] In order that the manner in which the above-mentioned features of the present disclosure are understood in detail, a more specific description briefly summarized above may be made by reference to the aspects, some of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. It should be noted, however, that the accompanying drawings illustrate only certain typical aspects of the present disclosure and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope, as the description may admit of other equally effective aspects.

[0010] Figure 1 is a diagram of an example wireless communication network in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

[0011] Figure 2 is a block diagram of an example access point (AP) and an example user terminal in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

[0012] Figure 3 is a block diagram of an example transceiver front end according to certain aspects of the present disclosure.

[0013] Figure 4A is a block diagram illustrating an example circuit topology for a wireless communication device in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

[0014] Figure 4B is a block diagram illustrating example wireless communication circuitry in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

[0015] Figure 5 Example wireless communications circuits are illustrated in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

[0016] Figure 6 is a flow diagram illustrating example operations for wireless communications during transmission in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

[0017] Figure 7 is a flow diagram illustrating example operations for wireless communications during reception in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0018] Hereinafter, various aspects of the present disclosure will be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present disclosure can be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as being limited to any specific structure or function presented throughout the present disclosure. Rather, these aspects are provided so that the present disclosure will be thorough and complete, and the scope of the present disclosure will be fully conveyed to those skilled in the art. Based on the teachings herein, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that the scope of the present disclosure is intended to cover any aspect of the present disclosure disclosed herein, whether or not it is implemented independently of the present disclosure or whether it is combined with any other aspect of the present disclosure. For example, any number of aspects set forth herein may be used to implement a device or practice method. In addition, the scope of the present disclosure is intended to cover the device or method, which is practiced using other structures, functionality, or structure and functionality in addition to the various aspects of the present disclosure set forth herein (or different from the various aspects of the present disclosure set forth herein). It should be understood that any aspect of the present disclosure disclosed herein may be embodied by one or more elements of a claim.

[0019] The word “exemplary” is used herein to mean “serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any aspect described herein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other aspects.

[0020] As used herein, the term "connected with" in various tenses of the verb "connect" may mean that element A is directly connected to element B or that other elements may be connected between elements A and B (i.e., element A is indirectly connected to element B). In the case of electrical components, the term "connected with" may also be used herein to mean that a wire, trace, or other conductive material is used to electrically connect elements A and B (and any components electrically connected therebetween).

[0021] Example Wireless System

[0022] Figure 11 shows a wireless communication system 100 having an access point 110 and a user terminal 120 in which aspects of the present disclosure may be practiced. Figure 1 Only one access point 110 is shown in the figure. An access point (AP) is typically a fixed station that communicates with a user terminal, and may also be referred to as a base station (BS), an evolved Node B (eNB), or some other terminology. A user terminal (UT) may be fixed or mobile, and may also be referred to as a mobile station (MS), an access terminal, a user equipment (UE), a station (STA), a client, a wireless device, or some other terminology. A user terminal may be a wireless device, such as a cellular phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a handheld device, a wireless modem, a laptop computer, a tablet computer, a personal computer, etc.

[0023] Access point 110 can communicate with one or more user terminals 120 at any given moment on downlink and uplink. The downlink (i.e., forward link) is the communication link from the access point to the user terminal, and the uplink (i.e., reverse link) is the communication link from the user terminal to the access point. A user terminal may also communicate peer to peer with another user terminal. System controller 130 couples to the access point and provides coordination and control for the access point.

[0024] For data transmission on the downlink and uplink, the wireless communication system 100 employs multiple transmit antennas and multiple receive antennas. The access point 110 may be equipped with N ap The number of antennas selected is N, to achieve transmit diversity for downlink transmission and / or receive diversity for uplink transmission. u The selected user terminal may receive downlink transmissions and transmit uplink transmissions. Each selected user terminal may send user-specific data to and / or receive user-specific data from the access point. Typically, each selected user terminal may be equipped with one or more antennas (i.e., N ut ≥1). N u The selected user terminals may have the same or different numbers of antennas.

[0025] The wireless communication system 100 may be a time division duplex (TDD) system or a frequency division duplex (FDD) system. For a TDD system, the downlink and uplink share the same frequency band. For an FDD system, the downlink and uplink use different frequency bands. The wireless communication system 100 may also utilize a single carrier or multiple carriers for transmission. Each user terminal 120 may be equipped with a single antenna (e.g., to reduce cost) or multiple antennas (e.g., where additional cost can be supported). In certain aspects of the present disclosure, the access point 110 and / or the user terminal 120 may include a frequency converter circuit for processing signals transmitted or received via multiple radio frequency (RF) circuits having signal paths selectively coupled therebetween, as described in more detail herein.

[0026] Figure 2 FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an access point 110 and two user terminals 120m and 120x in a wireless communication system 100. The access point 110 is equipped with N ap The user terminal 120m is equipped with N antennas 224a to 224ap. ut,m antennas 252ma through 252mu, and user terminal 120x is equipped with N ut,x The access point 110 is a transmitting entity for the downlink and a receiving entity for the uplink. Each user terminal 120 is a transmitting entity for the uplink and a receiving entity for the downlink. As used herein, a "transmitting entity" is an independently operated device or equipment capable of transmitting data via a frequency channel, and a "receiving entity" is an independently operated device or equipment capable of receiving data via a frequency channel. In the following description, the subscript "dn" indicates a downlink, the subscript "up" indicates an uplink, and N up user terminals are selected for simultaneous transmission on the uplink, N dn user terminals are selected for simultaneous transmission on the downlink, N up Can be equal to N dn Or it may not be equal to N dn , and N up and N dn It may be a static value, or may change for each scheduling interval.Beam steering, beam forming, or some other spatial processing technique may be used at the access point and / or user terminal.

[0027] On the uplink, at each user terminal 120 selected for uplink transmission, a TX data processor 288 receives traffic data from a data source 286 and control data from a controller 280. The TX data processor 288 processes (e.g., encodes, interleaves, and modulates) the traffic data for the user terminal based on a coding and modulation scheme associated with a rate selected for the user terminal. up}, and N ut,m One of the antennas provides a data symbol stream {s up The transceiver front end (TX / RX) 254 (also referred to as the radio frequency front end (RFFE)) receives and processes (e.g., converts to analog, amplifies, filters, and frequency upconverts) the corresponding symbol stream to generate an uplink signal. For example, the transceiver front end 254 may also route the uplink signal to the N channels for transmit diversity via an RF switch. ut,m Controller 280 may control routing within transceiver front end 254. Memory 282 may store data and program codes for user terminal 120 and may interact with controller 280.

[0028] N up A number of user terminals 120 may be scheduled for simultaneous transmission on the uplink. Each of these user terminals transmits its set of processed symbol streams on the uplink to the access point.

[0029] At access point 110, N ap The antennas 224a through 224ap transmit from all N up The access point's transceiver front end 222 also performs processing complementary to that performed by the user terminal's transceiver front end 254 and provides a recovered uplink data symbol stream. The recovered uplink data symbol stream is a data symbol stream {s up}. The RX data processor 242 processes (e.g., demodulates, deinterleaves, and decodes) the recovered uplink data symbol stream according to the rate used for the stream to obtain decoded data. The decoded data for each user terminal may be provided to a data sink 244 for storage and / or provided to a controller 230 for further processing. The transceiver front end (TX / RX) 222 of the access point 110 and / or the transceiver front end 254 of the user terminal 120 may include a frequency converter circuit for processing signals transmitted or received via a plurality of radio frequency (RF) circuits. The plurality of radio frequency (RF) circuits have signal paths selectively coupled therebetween, as described in more detail herein.

[0030] On the downlink, at access point 110, TX data processor 210 receives from data source 208 a signal for N scheduled for downlink transmission. dn 2. The TX data processor 210 processes (e.g., encodes, interleaves, and modulates) the traffic data for each user terminal based on the rate selected for that user terminal. The TX data processor 210 may provide the traffic data to be sent from N user terminals to the TX data processor 210. ap One of the antennas transmits dn The transceiver front end 222 receives and processes (e.g., converts to analog, amplifies, filters, and frequency up-converts) the symbol stream to generate a downlink signal. For example, the transceiver front end 222 may also route the downlink signal to N RF switches for transmit diversity. ap The access point 110 may include one or more of the antennas 224. The controller 230 may control routing within the transceiver front end 222. The memory 232 may store data and program codes for the access point 110 and may interact with the controller 230.

[0031] At each user terminal 120, N ut,m The antennas 252 receive downlink signals from the access point 110. To provide receive diversity at the user terminal 120, the transceiver front end 254 may select signals received from one or more of the antennas 252 for processing. The signals received from the multiple antennas 252 may be combined for enhanced receive diversity. The transceiver front end 254 of the user terminal also performs processing complementary to that performed by the transceiver front end 222 of the access point and provides a recovered downlink data symbol stream. The RX data processor 270 processes (e.g., demodulates, deinterleaves, and decodes) the recovered downlink data symbol stream to obtain decoded data for the user terminal.

[0032] Figure 3 is an example transceiver front end 300 (such as Figure 2 2, 254) in which aspects of the present disclosure may be practiced. The transceiver front end 300 includes a transmit (TX) path 302 (also referred to as a transmit chain) for transmitting signals via one or more antennas and a receive (RX) path 304 (also referred to as a receive chain) for receiving signals via the antenna. When the TX path 302 and the RX path 304 share an antenna 303, the path can be connected to the antenna via an interface 306, which can include any of a variety of suitable RF devices (such as a duplexer, a switch, a diplexer, etc.).

[0033] Receiving an in-phase (I) or quadrature (Q) baseband analog signal from a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) 308, the TX path 302 may include a baseband filter (BBF) 310, a mixer 312, a driver amplifier (DA) 314, and a power amplifier (PA) 316. The BBF 310, the mixer 312, and the DA 314 may be included in a radio frequency integrated circuit (RFIC), while the PA 316 may be external to the RFIC. The BBF 310 filters the baseband signal received from the DAC 308, and the mixer 312 mixes the filtered baseband signal with a transmit local oscillator (LO) signal to convert the baseband signal of interest to a different frequency (e.g., up-convert from baseband to RF). This frequency conversion process produces a sum frequency and a difference frequency of the LO frequency and the frequency of the signal of interest. The sum frequency and the difference frequency are referred to as beat frequencies. The beat frequency is typically in the RF range, so that the signal output by mixer 312 is typically an RF signal, which may be amplified by DA 314 and / or PA 316 before being transmitted by antenna 303 .

[0034] RX path 304 includes a low noise amplifier (LNA) 322, a mixer 324, and a baseband filter (BBF) 326. LNA 322, mixer 324, and BBF 326 may be included in a radio frequency integrated circuit (RFIC), which may be the same as or different from the RFIC that includes the TX path components. An RF signal received via antenna 303 may be amplified by LNA 322, and mixer 324 mixes the amplified RF signal with a receive local oscillator (LO) signal to convert the RF signal of interest to a different baseband frequency (i.e., down-convert). The baseband signal output by mixer 324 may be filtered by BBF 326 before being converted by analog-to-digital converter (ADC) 328 into a digital I or Q signal for digital signal processing.

[0035] although Figure 3The block diagram of depicts the transceiver front end 300 as a single conversion transceiver utilizing quadrature modulation and demodulation, aspects of the present disclosure are not limited to this configuration. For example, one or more of the TX path 302 or the RX path may be configured as a superheterodyne configuration utilizing more than one frequency conversion. Similarly, the transceiver front end 300 is illustrated with quadrature modulation and demodulation, but may alternatively be implemented utilizing polar modulation / demodulation. In a polar modulation configuration, the TX path 302 will receive phase and amplitude signals from the baseband module and use these signals to phase and amplitude modulate a constant envelope RF or IF signal.

[0036] While it is desirable for the output of the LO to remain frequency stable, tuning the LO to different frequencies typically requires the use of a slew rate oscillator, which involves a tradeoff between stability and adjustability. Modern systems may employ a frequency synthesizer with a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) to generate a stable, tunable LO with a particular tuning range. Thus, the transmit LO frequency may be generated by a TX frequency synthesizer 318, which may be buffered or amplified by an amplifier 320 before being mixed with a baseband signal in a mixer 312. Similarly, the receive LO frequency may be generated by an RX frequency synthesizer 330, which may be buffered or amplified by an amplifier 332 before being mixed with an RF signal in a mixer 324. In certain aspects of the present disclosure, mixers 312 and 324 may be configured to perform up-conversion and down-conversion, respectively, of signals for a plurality of RF circuits (e.g., each including a PA (such as PA 316) and / or an LNA (such as LNA 322)), as described in more detail herein.

[0037] Example Techniques for Wireless Communications Using Weight Adjustment in the RF Domain

[0038] Current millimeter wave (mmW) radios use radio frequency (RF) beamforming (BF) to increase signal gain or provide directionality. BF generally refers to a process used to control the directionality of the transmission and / or reception of radio signals to increase signal gain in a specific direction. The beamforming process can help solve one of the problems for communications at the mmW spectrum, which is the high path loss for mmW communications. Likewise, an array of antennas can be placed at each transceiver to take advantage of beamforming gain and extend the communication range. For example, the same signal can be sent from each antenna in the array but with slightly different amplitudes and phases in order to focus the signal transmission in a specific direction towards the receiver. Communications devices (e.g. Figure 2 A user terminal 120 of the present invention may be configured to apply amplitude and phase control (referred to as amplitude and phase weighting) at one or more locations in the transmit and / or receive paths. For example, weights may be applied at baseband, IF, and / or RF in the digital or analog domain.

[0039] To improve reliability, diversity modes for transmission and reception may be used, where multiple antennas or multiple antenna arrays are used to transmit or receive the same signal. Transmitting or receiving the same or substantially the same signal via multiple spaced-apart antennas provides spatial diversity. Typically, spacing on the order of one wavelength between antennas is sufficient for spatial diversity. In the transmit path, the use of multiple transmit antennas introduces different channel conditions experienced by each communication link from a particular antenna to a target receiver, provided there is sufficient physical spacing between the antennas. Similarly, in the receive path, the use of multiple receive antennas introduces different channel conditions from the transmitting device to (each) receive antenna, provided there is sufficient spacing between the antennas. A signal source may transmit a single signal to a receiver, but each receive antenna in an antenna group configured as a diversity antenna sees a different received signal quality due to different channel conditions from the signal source to each receive antenna. Spatial diversity may be particularly beneficial where at least one antenna in an antenna group configured as a diversity antenna experiences poor channel conditions, such as deep attenuation. Using spatial diversity increases the likelihood that at least one of the antennas will experience sufficient channel quality to close a communication link.

[0040] Beamforming and diversity can be configured independently but are not mutually exclusive. Figure 2 The communication device of the user terminal 120 may be configured to support multiple operation modes. For example, in one operation mode, the transmitter or receiver may be configured to support diversity, while in another operation mode, the transmitter or receiver may be configured to support beamforming or one or more independent streams. In yet another operation mode, the transmitter or receiver may be configured to support both diversity and beamforming.

[0041] In some cases, a diversity radio may use baseband (BB) signal processing techniques to perform amplitude and / or phase weighting on a transceiver waveform at a baseband frequency via a digital signal processor (DSP). For example, a BB module may be coupled to a plurality of converter modules, each of which includes analog-to-digital conversion circuitry and digital-to-analog conversion circuitry for processing signals to or from one of a plurality of RF circuits to support communication features such as two-way diversity or carrier aggregation (CA). Certain aspects of the present disclosure are generally directed to reducing power consumption by implementing amplitude and / or phase weighting in the RF domain in a manner that allows one or more converter circuits to be powered down during particular operating modes.

[0042] Figure 4AA wireless communication topology 400 is illustrated in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure. The topology 400 includes a baseband (BB) module 402 for generating a BB signal or receiving a BB signal for processing in the digital domain. As illustrated, the BB module 402 can provide and / or receive data (e.g., BB signals) via a digital input / output (I / O) bus.

[0043] The converter module 404 may include circuitry for converting a BB signal received from the BB module 402 into an RF signal (or an intermediate frequency (IF) signal) for transmission, or converting an RF signal (or an IF signal) into a BB signal during reception. The RF signal may be provided to a plurality of RF circuits 4061 to 406 n (collectively referred to as "RF circuit 406") or from a plurality of RF circuits 4061 to 406 n receiving, the plurality of RF circuits 4061 to 406 n The BB module 402 may be implemented in an RF integrated circuit (RFIC) 405. For example, a separate RF chain (e.g., a transmit / receive chain) may be implemented in each of the RF circuits 406 to support diversity communication or two-layer multiple-input, multiple-output (MIMO) communication. Each of the RF circuits 406 may include multiple communication channels, each of which is coupled to an antenna in an antenna array to facilitate beamforming. In certain aspects, the BB module 402 may also generate control signals for controlling the operation of the RF circuits 406, as described in more detail herein.

[0044] Figure 4B The diagram shows the Figure 4A An example of a simplified wireless communication circuit 401 implemented in a topology 400 of FIG. In the wireless communication circuit 401, only a simplified structure of a transmission path is shown. For the purpose of clarity, components that may be incorporated into a circuit such as FIG. Figure 2 The wireless communication circuit 401 includes an additional processor, memory, controller and receiving path in the wireless communication device of the user terminal 120. The wireless communication circuit 401 includes a BB module 402 coupled to a converter module 404, which is coupled to an RF front end (RFFE) module 421.

[0045] exist Figure 4B In the example of , the BB module 402 includes a BB processor 411 configured to generate up to four data streams. For illustration purposes, Figure 4BThe examples utilize four different data streams, and the number of data streams can be any number of data streams. The different operating modes discussed herein rely on one or more data streams, but the multiple data streams are not limited to four. Depending on the operating mode, each of the data streams can be independent and different from the other data streams. Alternatively, multiple data streams up to and including all of the data streams in the data streams can be the same data stream. As an example, each of the data streams can represent data from a carrier aggregation channel or a MIMO data stream.

[0046] The BB processor 411 couples the multiple data streams to the digital beamforming module 409. The digital beamforming module 409 includes multiple amplitude weighting modules 403a to 403d and phase weighting modules 407a to 407d. Each of the multiple data streams is coupled to a corresponding amplitude weighting module 403 and phase weighting module 407. The order of the amplitude weighting module 403 and the phase weighting module 407 can be as follows: Figure 4B 403a) is depicted as a variable gain amplifier to illustrate its function. That is, the amplitude weighting module (e.g., 403a) can be configured to change the amplitude of the data stream received from the BB processor 411. Each phase weighting module (e.g., 407a) is described as a phase shifter to illustrate its function.

[0047] The BB processor 411 couples the first data stream to the first amplitude weighting module 403a connected in series with the first phase weighting module 407a. Similarly, the BB processor 411 couples the second data stream to the second amplitude weighting module 403b connected in series with the second phase weighting module 407b. The second data stream and the third data stream are similarly connected to the corresponding weighting modules in the digital beamforming module 409.

[0048] Each of the weighted data streams is coupled to a respective input of a converter circuit 460a to 460d of the converter module 404. In the transmit path, each converter circuit, such as 460a, is configured to up-convert a received BB signal into a complex modulated IF signal. Each of the converter circuits 460a to 460d includes a DAC 412a to 412d, a BB filter 414a to 414d, a variable gain amplifier 417a to 417d, and a mixer 418a to 418d. For example, the first converter circuit 460a includes a DAC 412a coupled to a BB filter 414a. The output of the BB filter 414a is coupled to a variable gain amplifier 417a, which drives one or more mixers 418a driven by a local oscillator (not shown) to up-convert the BB data stream into a complex modulated IF signal. The second to fourth converter circuits 460b to 460d are implemented in the same manner as the first converter circuit 460a. Each converter circuit 460a to 460d up-converts a corresponding weighted data stream into an IF signal.

[0049] Multiple outputs of the converter module 404 are coupled to the RFFE module 421. The RFFE module 421 includes multiple mixers 424a to 424d, each of which is configured to convert the IF signal from the converter module 404 to a corresponding RF signal. The outputs from the four mixers 424a to 424d are coupled to the input of the configurable signal distributor 426. The configurable signal distributor 426 can provide multiple outputs, and each of the multiple output signals is coupled to one of the multiple weight adjustment circuits 467a to 467d. Each weight adjustment circuit (e.g., 467a) is configured to adjust the amplitude and / or phase of the transmit signal from the configurable signal distributor 426. Each weight adjustment circuit (e.g., 467a) includes a variable gain amplifier (e.g., 430a) connected in series with a variable phase shifter (e.g., 431a).

[0050] The first output from the configurable signal distributor 426 is coupled to a first weight adjustment circuit 467a, which includes a first variable gain amplifier 430a and a first variable phase shifter 431a. Similarly, the second output from the configurable signal distributor 426 is coupled to a second weight adjustment circuit 467b, which includes a second variable gain amplifier 430b and a second variable phase shifter 431b. The third output from the configurable signal distributor 426 is coupled to a third weight adjustment circuit 467c, which includes a third variable gain amplifier 430c and a third variable phase shifter 431c. The fourth output from the configurable signal distributor 426 is coupled to a fourth weight adjustment circuit 467d, which includes a fourth variable gain amplifier 430d and a fourth variable phase shifter 431d.

[0051] The output from each of the weight adjustment circuits 467a to 467d is coupled to a corresponding power amplifier (PA) 434a to 434d and antennas 440a to 440d. The output from the first weight adjustment circuit 467a is coupled to the first PA 434a and the first antenna 440a. The output from the second weight adjustment circuit 467b is coupled to the second PA 434b and the second antenna 440b. The output from the third weight adjustment circuit 467c is coupled to the third PA 434c and the third antenna 440c. The output from the fourth weight adjustment circuit 467d is coupled to the fourth PA 434d and the fourth antenna 440d.

[0052] The use and configuration of the various data streams, the digital beamforming module 409, the plurality of converter circuits 460a to 460d, the configurable signal distributor 426, and the plurality of weight adjustment circuits 467a to 467d may depend on the operating mode. The operating mode may control whether the beamforming weights are applied in the digital domain, the analog domain, both the digital domain and the analog domain, or neither in the digital domain nor in the analog domain.

[0053] In a first operating mode, the wireless communication circuit 401 can be configured to generate four independent data streams that are transmitted without beamforming and without spatial diversity supporting the same data stream. In the first operating mode, the BB processor 411 generates four independent data streams and couples each of the independent data streams to a corresponding input of the digital beamforming module 409. The digital beamforming module 409 can be configured not to provide amplitude or phase weighting to any of the data streams. Even if the digital beamforming module 409 were to provide amplitude and / or phase weighting to one or more of the data streams, the weighting would have no practical effect because each data stream would only be directed to one corresponding antenna and each data stream is independent of the other data streams. Each of the four BB data stream outputs from the BB module 402 is coupled to a corresponding input of one of the four converter circuits 460a to 460d.

[0054] Converter circuits 460a to 460d up-convert the four data streams into four independent IF signals. Converter circuits 460a to 460d couple each of the four independent IF signals to a corresponding input of RFFE module 421. Mixers 424a to 424d up-convert their corresponding IF signals into RF signals. The frequencies of the IF signals may be the same frequency or different frequencies. Similarly, the frequencies of each of the independent RF signals may be the same frequency or different frequencies.

[0055] The configurable signal distributor 426 can be configured to provide signal passthrough without providing signal splitting. Each RF signal in the independent RF signals input to the configurable signal distributor 426 is routed to different outputs. For example, the first RF signal from the first mixer 424a can be routed to the first weight adjustment circuit 467a, the second RF signal from the second mixer 424b can be routed to the second weight adjustment circuit 467b, the third RF signal from the third mixer 424c can be routed to the third weight adjustment circuit 467c, and the fourth RF signal from the fourth mixer 424d can be routed to the fourth weight adjustment circuit 467d. Each weight adjustment circuit in a plurality of weight adjustment circuits 467a to 467d can be configured to not provide amplitude or phase weighting. The output from each weight adjustment circuit in a plurality of weight adjustment circuits 467a to 467d is coupled to the corresponding PA 434a to 434d and the antenna 440a to 440d. Because each data stream is independent, the wireless communication circuit 401 is configured to transmit four independent RF signals. Because each RF signal is provided to only one antenna (eg, 440a), the wireless communication circuit 401 does not provide beamforming.

[0056] In a second mode of operation, the wireless communication circuit 401 may be configured to generate two independent data streams that are transmitted. Each of the two data streams may utilize beamforming without utilizing spatial diversity supporting the same data stream. The wireless communication circuit 401 may be configured to implement beamforming in the digital domain, the analog domain, or in both the digital domain and the analog domain.

[0057] In the second mode of operation, the BB processor 411 generates two independent data streams and couples each of the independent data streams to two inputs of the digital beamforming module 409. Figure 4B In the wireless communication circuit of , data streams B1 and B2 may represent the same first data stream, and data streams B3 and B4 may represent the same second data stream. The digital beamforming module 409 may be configured to beamform the first data stream by applying amplitude and phase weighting using the first amplitude weighting module 403a and the first phase weighting module 407a. Similarly, the digital beamforming module 409 may be configured to beamform the second data stream by applying amplitude and phase weighting using the third amplitude weighting module 403c and the third phase weighting module 407c. Therefore, the digital beamforming module 409 is configured to output two weighted versions of the first data stream at its first output and second output, and to output two weighted versions of the second data stream at its third output and fourth output.

[0058] The four outputs from the digital beamforming module 409 are coupled to respective inputs of a plurality of converter circuits 460a to 460d. The converter circuits 460a to 460d up-convert the four data streams into four IF signals. Two of the IF signals (e.g., IF signals from converter circuits 460a and 460b) represent weighted versions of the first IF data stream, and the other two IF signals (e.g., IF signals from converter circuits 460c and 460d) represent weighted versions of the second IF data stream. The converter circuits 460a to 460d couple each of the four IF signals to respective inputs of the RFFE module 421.

[0059] Mixers 424a to 424d up-convert their respective IF signals into RF data streams. Thus, in a second mode of operation, the output from the first mixer 424a and the output from the second mixer 424b represent weighted versions of the first RF data stream. Similarly, the output from the third mixer 424c and the output from the fourth mixer 424d represent weighted versions of the second RF data stream. The RF signal is coupled to a configurable signal distributor 426, which is configured to provide signal pass-through and not provide signal distribution.

[0060] Each weight adjustment circuit in a plurality of weight adjustment circuits 467a to 467d can be configured to not provide amplitude or phase weighting. Output from each weight adjustment circuit in a plurality of weight adjustment circuits 467a to 467d is coupled to corresponding PA 434a to 434d and antenna 440a to 440d. The weighted version of the first RF data stream is transmitted via the first antenna 440a and the second antenna 440b. The weighted RF signal causes the beamforming of the first RF data stream via the first antenna 440a and the second antenna 440b. Similarly, the weighted version of the second RF data stream is transmitted via the third antenna 440c and the fourth antenna 440d. The weighted RF signal causes the beamforming of the second RF data stream via the third antenna 440c and the fourth antenna 440d.

[0061] In the digital beamforming example of the second mode of operation described above, the beamforming of the first data stream and the second data stream was implemented entirely in the digital domain. However, in the second mode of operation, the beamforming may be implemented in the analog domain in the RFFE module 421. Performing beamforming in the RFFE module 421 may be advantageous because it allows one or more circuits or modules to be transitioned to a low power, sleep, powered off, or otherwise reduced power state.

[0062] In an alternative analog beamforming implementation of the second operating mode, the wireless communication circuit 401 can be configured to generate two independent data streams to be transmitted. The BB processor 411 generates two independent data streams and couples each of the independent data streams to one input of the digital beamforming module 409. For example, the BB processor 411 can couple the first BB data stream B1 and the second BB data stream B3 to the digital beamforming module 409. The BB processor 411 does not need to generate a copy of the first BB data stream or the second BB data stream, and therefore, there is no corresponding Figure 4B The data flow of streams B2 and B4 in.

[0063] Because in this example, the beamforming will be implemented entirely in the RFFE module 421, the digital beamforming module 409 is configured to perform the pass without applying amplitude or phase weighting to the first data stream or the second data stream. Alternatively, the BB processor 411 can bypass the digital beamforming module 409 and route the first BB data stream and the second BB data stream to the first converter circuit 460a and the third converter circuit 460c, respectively.

[0064] The first converter circuit 460a and the third converter circuit 460c up-convert their BB data streams into respective first IF signals and second IF signals. The first converter circuit 460a couples the first IF signal to the first mixer 424a of the RFFE module 421. The third converter circuit 460c couples the second IF signal to the third mixer 424c of the RFFE module 421.

[0065] The first mixer 424a up-converts the first IF signal into a first RF signal and couples the first RF signal to the configurable signal distributor 426. Similarly, the third mixer 424c up-converts the second IF signal into a second RF signal and couples the second RF signal to the configurable signal distributor 426. The configurable signal distributor 426 is configured to distribute the first RF signal and provide a copy of the first RF signal to the first weight adjustment circuit 467a and the second weight adjustment circuit 467b. Similarly, the configurable signal distributor 426 is configured to distribute the second RF signal and provide a copy of the second RF signal to the third weight adjustment circuit 467c and the fourth weight adjustment circuit 467d.

[0066] The first weight adjustment circuit 467a is configured to apply beamforming amplitude and phase weights to the first RF signal. The third weight adjustment circuit 467c is configured to apply beamforming amplitude and phase weights to the second RF signal. In this example, the second weight adjustment circuit 467b and the fourth weight adjustment circuit 467d do not need to apply any amplitude or phase weights to their respective RF signals because the relative weighting can be provided entirely by another RF path.

[0067] The outputs from the first to fourth weight adjustment circuits 467a to 467d are coupled to the corresponding PAs 434a to 434d and antennas 440a to 440d for transmission. The first RF signal is beamformed via the weighted signals from the first antenna 440a and the second antenna 440b, while the second RF signal is beamformed via the weighted signals from the third antenna 440c and the fourth antenna 440d.

[0068] In an example of a second operating mode, in which beamforming is performed entirely in the RFFE module 421, many redundant circuits remain unused and can be powered off or otherwise placed in low power consumption states. For example, the digital beamforming module 409 module can be avoided entirely, and if it is implemented as a different circuit, those circuits can be transitioned to a low power state during this implementation of the second operating mode. The second converter circuit 460b and the fourth converter circuit 460d are unused and can be powered off or otherwise transitioned to a low power consumption state. Similarly, the second mixer 424b and the fourth mixer 424d in the RFFE module 421 are unused and can be powered off. Other circuits for unused LO signals, such as amplifiers or buffers (not shown), can be transitioned to low power states. In general, the wireless communication circuit 401 can selectively transition one or more circuits to a low power state depending on the beamforming operating mode.

[0069] Another example of an operating mode is spatial diversity based on the physical distance between antennas 440a through 440d. In one example of a diversity operating mode, a single RF signal is transmitted using multiple diversity antennas (eg, 440-440d).

[0070] In an example of a diversity mode of operation, the BB processor 411 is configured to generate a single BB data stream. The BB module 402 couples the BB data stream to the first converter circuit 460a. The digital beamforming module 409 may be bypassed or otherwise configured to not provide amplitude or phase weighting.

[0071] The first converter circuit 460a up-converts the BB data stream into an IF signal. The second to fourth converter circuits 460b to 460d are unused and can be powered down. The output of the first converter circuit 460a is coupled to the first mixer 424a of the RFFE module 421.

[0072] The first mixer 424a converts the IF signal up to an RF signal and couples the RF signal to a configurable signal distributor 426. The second to fourth mixers 424b to 424d remain unused and can be powered off. The configurable signal distributor 426 is configured to distribute the RF signal into four copies. Each of the four replicated RF signals is coupled to a corresponding input of the first to fourth weight adjustment circuits 467a to 467d.

[0073] If spatial diversity without beamforming is desired, the first to fourth weight adjustment circuits 467a to 467d can be configured to provide no amplitude or phase weighting of their respective RF signals. The outputs from the first to fourth weight adjustment circuits 467a to 467d are coupled to the respective PAs 434a to 434d and antennas 440a to 440d for transmission.

[0074] Alternatively, if beamforming is desired, the first to fourth weight adjustment circuits 467a to 467d can be configured to provide amplitude and phase weights to their respective RF signals. In some configurations, only three of the weight adjustment circuits 467a to 467d can provide amplitude and phase weights because the weighting is relative and one of the RF signals can be used as a reference. For example, each of the second to fourth weight adjustment circuits 467b to 467d can be configured to provide amplitude and phase weights so that the signal beamforming transmitted by the four antennas 440a to 440d provides directivity in the desired direction.

[0075] In the example, the first weight adjustment circuit 467a and the second weight adjustment circuit 467b can be configured to provide different weights related to the weighting provided by the third weight adjustment circuit 467c and the fourth weight adjustment circuit 467d, so that two different beams are formed. The signals transmitted by the first antenna 440a and the second antenna 440b can be combined to form a first beam with directivity along a first direction. The signals transmitted by the third antenna 440c and the fourth antenna 440d can be combined to form a second beam with directivity along a second direction, wherein the second direction can be the same as or different from the first direction. In this example, different beams along different directions can provide important transmit signal diversity.

[0076] Although the wireless communication circuit 401 is described as having four signal paths and supporting four signal streams, the present disclosure is not limited to four antennas or four signal paths. Obviously, the directivity and gain provided by beamforming and the number of independent beams can be extended to any number of antennas and are not limited to any particular multiple antennas. The wireless communication circuit 401 can be configured to reduce power consumption in a particular operating mode according to a diversity or beamforming mode. Specifically, beamforming implemented using a common signal path can allow power savings by allowing power off of unutilized independent paths. In the case of an operating diversity mode, increasing the utilization of the common signal path allows power consumption to be reduced by allowing power off of unutilized independent paths.

[0077] Although the description of power conservation based on operating mode has been described in conjunction with transmit signal processing, power conservation based on operating mode is not limited to transmit signal processing. It is understood that spatial diversity and beamforming can be implemented in the receiver as well as the transmitter, and the techniques for power conservation are equally applicable to the operating modes in the receiver.

[0078] Figure 5 4 shows an example wireless communication circuit 500 according to certain aspects of the present disclosure. The converter module 404 may include a plurality of converter circuits 5601 to 560 n 405. The RFIC 405 may include a plurality of RF converter circuits (collectively referred to as "converter circuits 560"), each of which is coupled to a corresponding one of the RF circuits 406 in the RFIC 405. In some aspects, each of the converter circuits 560 may have a transmit chain and a receive chain for up-converting and down-converting signals, respectively. Each of the converter circuits 560 may receive a digital signal from the BB module 402 during transmission or provide a digital signal to the BB module 402 during reception, as described in more detail herein. For example, the converter circuits 5601 may have a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) 502 (e.g., corresponding to a DAC 502). Figure 3 The analog signal generated by the DAC 502 may be conditioned using an automatic gain control (AGC) amplifier 504 and a BBF 507 (e.g., corresponding to Figure 3 The filtered signal at the output of the BBF 507 may be mixed with a local oscillator (LO) signal via an in-phase (I) / quadrature (Q) modulator 508 to generate I and Q signals. The I / Q modulator 508 may include multiple mixers to generate the I / Q signals, as described with respect to FIG. Figure 3In some aspects, the I / Q signal generated by the I / Q modulator 508 can be at an intermediate frequency (IF), which can be used as described above. Figure 5 The mixers in the RFIC illustrated in FIG. 1 are up-converted to RF, but for other aspects, the I / Q signals may be converted directly to RF to avoid multiple up-conversion stages.

[0079] Similarly, the receive chain may include an I / Q demodulator 510 for demodulating the I / Q signal received from the RFIC 405 and may generate a BB signal. For example, the BBF 512 (eg, corresponding to Figure 3 BBF 326) can be used to filter the output of I / Q demodulator 510, AGC amplifier 514 can be used to condition the filtered signal from BBF 512, and analog-to-digital converter (ADC) 516 (e.g., corresponding to Figure 3 The ADC 328) can be used to generate a digital BB signal to be provided to the BB module 402 for processing.

[0080] In some cases, switch 518 may be used to couple a receive chain or a transmit chain of converter circuit 5601 to RFIC 405. In certain aspects, multiplexer 520 may be used to multiplex (or demultiplex) signals to be provided to (or received from) RFIC 405 via transmission line 591. For example, multiplexer 520 may multiplex an IF signal generated at the output of I / Q demodulator 510, an LO signal used to up-convert to a BB signal, and a control signal (e.g., control signal 5971) from BB module 402, and provide the multiplexed signal to RFIC 405. As illustrated, each converter circuit in converter circuit 560 may be implemented in a manner similar to that described with respect to converter circuit 5601.

[0081] In some aspects, RFIC 405 may include multiplexers 5221 to 522 n (collectively referred to as "multiplexer 522") to demultiplex the multiplexed signals received from converter circuit 560 for transmission. Multiplexer 522 may also be used to multiplex signals received from a corresponding one of RF circuits 406 during reception. Multiplexer 522 may generate (e.g., extract) an IF signal, an LO signal, and a control signal from the multiplexed signals received from converter circuit 560, and provide the extracted signal to a corresponding one of RF circuits 406. The IF signal generated at the output of multiplexer 522 may be mixed by mixing each of the IF signals with one of the LO signals using corresponding mixers 5241 to 5244.n (collectively referred to as "mixer 524") is up-converted to generate a signal at nodes 5821 to 582 n The RF signal may then be distributed to generate multiple signals for transmission via multiple channels through each of the RF circuits in the RF circuit 406. For example, with respect to the RF circuit 4061, the RF signal at the node 5821 may be supplied to the distributor / combiner 526 to generate multiple signals for the multiple channels 5281 to 528 n 526). The splitter / combiner is configured to generate multiple RF signals (collectively referred to as "channels 528"), as illustrated. The splitter / combiner is configured to generate multiple signals by splitting one signal in one direction of signal flow, or to generate one signal by combining multiple signals in the opposite direction of signal flow. For example, during reception, signals received via channels 528 may be combined by corresponding splitters / combiners 526. The combined signal generated by the splitter / combiner 526 may be down-converted by a corresponding one of the mixers 524 before being multiplexed via the multiplexer 522 and provided to the converter circuit 560.

[0082] 5281 to 528 per channel n The weight adjustment circuits 5301 to 530 may be included n (collectively referred to as “weight adjustment circuit 530 ”), the weight adjustment circuits 530 1 to 530 n The weight adjustment circuits 5301 to 5302 may be used to adjust the amplitude and / or phase of the transmitted and / or received signals, as will be described in more detail herein. n Through the switch 5311 to 531 n (collectively referred to as “switch 531”) and switches 5331 to 533 n A corresponding one of the switches (collectively referred to as “switch 533”) is coupled to the antenna terminals 5401 to 540 n (collectively referred to as “antenna terminals 540 ”). Each of the antenna terminals 540 may be coupled to antennas 542 1 to 542 . n The switches 531 and 533 are configured to selectively couple the PAs 5341 to 5344 between a corresponding one of the weight adjustment circuits 530 and a corresponding one of the antenna terminals 540. n A corresponding PA or LNA 5321 to 532 n As illustrated, each of the RF circuits 406 can be implemented in a similar manner as described with respect to RF circuit 4061 .

[0083] Certain aspects of the present disclosure provide a dynamically reconfigurable radio that supports RF BF plus diversity communications. For example, the controller 570 in the BB module 402 can be used to perform amplitude and / or phase weighting for a signal to be transmitted or received via a weight adjustment circuit (e.g., the weight adjustment circuit 530). For example, the BB module 402 can generate control signals 5971 to 5972 to be provided to the multiplexer of the converter circuit 560. n (collectively referred to as "control signals 597"), as illustrated. As previously described, the control signals may be multiplexed with the LO and IF signals in converter module 404 and subsequently extracted in RFIC 405 and used to control the operation of RF circuit 406, including adjustment of amplitude and / or phase weighting via weight adjustment circuits.

[0084] Weights may be applied to perform MIMO communication or BF. For example, the controller 570 may be configured to adjust the weights via the weight adjustment circuits 5611 to 561 n (collectively referred to as "weight adjustment circuit 561") applies amplitude and / or phase weights to the BB signal. As described in more detail herein, as opposed to applying amplitude and / or phase weights to the BB signal, certain aspects of the present disclosure provide apparatus and techniques for applying amplitude and / or phase weights in the RF domain to reduce power consumption.

[0085] In certain aspects of the present disclosure, it is contemplated that by powering off one or more conversion circuits (e.g., converter circuit 560) in BB module 402, n ) and weight adjustment circuit 561 to reduce power consumption, the receiver (Rx) / transmitter (Tx) diversity mode amplitude and / or phase weights can be applied in the RF domain using the weight adjustment circuit in the RFIC 405. For example, during reception and transmission for the RF circuit 406, only a single converter circuit in the converter circuit 560 may be enabled to perform frequency conversion. In addition, when the weight adjustment is performed in the RF domain, one or more weight adjustment circuits in the weight adjustment circuit 561 may not be enabled. In some aspects, the controller 570 in the BB module 402 can be implemented as a digital signal processor (DSP) that provides a control signal 597 for controlling the amplitude and / or phase adjustment parameters of the weight adjustment circuit 530 of the RF circuit 406 to perform amplitude and / or phase weighting.

[0086] In certain aspects of the present disclosure, an operating mode in which a common data stream is used for transmission or reception via multiple RF circuits 406 can be determined. In these modes, as previously described, one or more converter circuits in the converter circuit 560 can be powered off because a single converter circuit can provide or process a common data stream for multiple RF chains using amplitude and / or phase weights applied in the RF domain. Some examples of this operating mode are diversity communication mode and carrier aggregation (CA). For example, in a diversity communication mode, the same signal can be transmitted on each antenna group in an antenna group coupled to the RF circuit 406. Therefore, instead of applying weights in baseband (e.g., using weight adjustment circuit 561), weights for diversity can be applied in the RF domain (e.g., in RFIC 405) via weight adjustment circuit 530 of RF circuit 406, as previously described. Therefore, instead of having each converter circuit in the converter circuit 560 perform signal conversion for one of the RF circuits in RF circuit 406, a single converter circuit (e.g., converter circuit 5601) can process the signal, and the other converter circuits can be powered off to reduce power consumption.

[0087] In this case, the signal path 580 (or the signal path 590) may be selectively coupled between the RF circuits 406 to allow transmission of the RF signal (or IF signal) between the RF circuits 406. For example, the converter circuit 5601 may generate a multiplexed signal at the node 5811, and the multiplexed signal may be transmitted to the node 5811. n For use via RF circuit 406 n Node 5811 to 581 n It may also be referred to as an RF node. In some cases, signal path 590 may be coupled between nodes 5821 to 582 n to avoid execution via multiplexer 522 n and mixer 524 n In some aspects, signal paths 580 and 590 can be implemented using one or more switches to allow signal paths 580 and 590 to be selectively coupled as desired depending on the wireless communication mode of operation.

[0088] In some cases, the amplitude and / or phase adjustment parameters of the weight adjustment circuits can be set to facilitate diversity communication and BF. For example, the controller 570 can determine the BF weight and diversity weight for each of the channels of the RF circuit 406, and combine the BF weight and diversity weight for each of the channels. The controller 570 can then provide a control signal to each of the weight adjustment circuits of the RF circuit 406 to set the amplitude and / or phase adjustment parameters based on the combined BF and diversity weights.

[0089] In certain aspects, the weight adjustment circuit as described herein can be implemented using a variable gain amplifier (VGA) and a variable phase shifter. In some cases, the phase adjustment operation of the weight adjustment circuit can be implemented by selecting between different LOs at various mixers and performing post-mixing (e.g., combining) to obtain a variable phase.

[0090] Figure 6 6 is a flow diagram illustrating example operations 600 for wireless communications in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure. Operations 600 may be performed, for example, by circuitry such as wireless communications circuitry 401 or 500.

[0091] Operation 600 may begin at block 602 by up-converting a BB signal to a first RF signal via a first converter circuit (e.g., converter circuit 460a) based on an operating mode, and up-converting a second BB signal to a second RF signal via a second converter circuit (e.g., converter circuit 460b) based on an operating mode at block 604. At block 606, the circuit selectively applies an amplitude weight or a phase weight to at least one of the first RF signal or the second RF signal based on the operating mode (e.g., via weight adjustment circuit 467a), and at block 608, controls (e.g., via controller 570) a power state of the second converter circuit according to the operating mode. In some aspects, the circuit also controls the amplitude weight and the phase weight according to the operating mode.

[0092] In some aspects, the circuit selectively applies a baseband amplitude weight or a baseband phase weight to at least one of the first baseband signal or the second baseband signal based on the operating mode (e.g., via the digital beamforming module 409). In some aspects, selectively applying the baseband amplitude weight or the BB phase weight includes providing amplitude and phase weights to the first BB signal and the second baseband signal in a MIMO mode of operation.

[0093] In some aspects, up-conversion of at least one of the first BB signal or the second BB signal involves providing a single frequency conversion (e.g., as opposed to conversion to IF and another conversion to RF) for up-converting the first BB signal to at least one of a first RF signal or up-converting the second BB signal to a second RF signal. In some aspects, the circuit down-converts the received RF signal to a received baseband signal.

[0094] In some aspects, the amplitude weight or phase weight is selectively applied via a first RF weight adjustment circuit (e.g., weight adjustment circuit 467a). In this case, the circuit can selectively couple the first converter circuit to the first RF weight adjustment circuit and the second RF weight adjustment circuit (e.g., weight adjustment circuit 467b) according to the operating mode. The circuit also controls the amplitude weight and phase weight of the first RF weight adjustment circuit and another amplitude weight and another phase weight of the second RF weight adjustment circuit according to the operating mode being a diversity operating mode.

[0095] Figure 7 700 is a flow diagram illustrating example operations 700 for wireless communications in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure. Operations 700 may be performed, for example, by circuitry such as wireless communications circuitry 401 or 500.

[0096] Operations 700 may begin at block 702 by down-converting a first RF signal to a first BB signal via a first converter circuit (e.g., converter circuit 5601) based on an operation mode, and at block 704 converting a first BB signal to a first BB signal via a second converter circuit (e.g., converter circuit 5601) based on an operation mode (e.g., a MIMO operation mode or a diversity operation mode). n ) down-converts the second RF signal to a second BB signal. At block 706, the circuit selectively applies an amplitude weight or a phase weight to at least one of the first RF signal or the second RF signal based on the operating mode (e.g., via RF circuit 4061), and at block 708, controls (e.g., via controller 570) a power state of the second converter circuit according to the operating mode. In some aspects, the circuit also controls the amplitude weight and the phase weight according to the operating mode.

[0097] In certain aspects, the circuit selectively applies a baseband amplitude weight or a baseband phase weight to at least one of the first BB signal or the second BB signal based on the operating mode (e.g., via the weight adjustment circuit 5611). In some cases, selectively applying the baseband amplitude weight or the baseband phase weight includes providing amplitude and phase weights to the first BB signal and the second BB signal in a MIMO operating mode.

[0098] In some aspects, down-conversion of at least one of the first RF signal or the second RF signal involves a single frequency conversion for down-converting the first RF signal to at least one of the first BB signal or down-converting the second RF signal to at least one of the second BB signal. In some cases, the circuit down-converts the received RF signal to a received baseband signal.

[0099] In some aspects, the amplitude weight or phase weight is selectively applied via a first RF weight adjustment circuit (e.g., weight adjustment circuit 5301). In this case, the circuit selectively couples the first converter circuit to the first RF weight adjustment circuit and the second RF weight adjustment circuit (e.g., weight adjustment circuit 5302) according to the operating mode. n ). In addition, the circuit controls the amplitude weight and the phase weight of the first RF weight adjustment circuit and another amplitude weight and another phase weight of the second RF weight adjustment circuit according to the operation mode as the diversity operation mode.

[0100] The various operations of the above method can be performed by any suitable component that can perform the corresponding function.Components may include various hardware and / or software (multiple) components and / or (multiple) modules, including but not limited to circuits, application specific integrated circuits (ASICs) or processors. Typically, in the case of the operation illustrated in the figure, those operations may have corresponding counterpart components plus functional components, which have similar numbering. For example, the components for up-conversion may be performed, for example, by converter circuits such as converter circuits 460a to 460d. Components for selectively applying amplitude weights or phase weights may be performed by weight adjustment circuits such as weight adjustment circuits 467a to 467d. Components for controlling power states may be performed by controllers such as BB processors 411.

[0101] As used herein, the term "determine" encompasses a wide variety of actions. For example, "determine" may include calculating, computing, processing, deriving, reviewing, searching (e.g., searching in a table, database, or another data structure), judging, etc. Also, "determine" may include receiving (e.g., receiving information), accessing (e.g., accessing data in a memory), etc. Also, "determine" may include resolving, selecting, choosing, establishing, etc.

[0102] As used herein, the phrase "at least one of" a list of items refers to any combination of those items, including single members. As an example, "at least one of a, b, or c" is intended to cover: a, b, c, ab, ac, bc, and abc, as well as any combination with multiples of the same element (e.g., aa, aaa, aab, aac, abb, acc, bb, bbb, bbc, cc, and ccc or any other order of a, b, and c).

[0103] The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits described in connection with the present disclosure may be implemented or performed using discrete hardware components designed to perform the functions described herein.

[0104] The method disclosed herein includes one or more steps or actions for implementing the described method. Without departing from the scope of the claims, the method steps and / or actions can be interchangeable with each other. In other words, unless a specific order of steps or actions is specified, the order and / or use of specific steps and / or actions can be modified without departing from the scope of the claims.

[0105] It is to be understood that the claims are not limited to the precise configuration and components illustrated above. Various modifications, changes and variations may be made in the arrangement, operation and details of the methods and apparatus described above without departing from the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A device for wireless communication, the device comprising: a first converter circuit configured to up-convert the first baseband BB signal to a first radio frequency RF signal based on an operation mode; a second converter circuit configured to up-convert the second BB signal to a second RF signal based on the operating mode; a first RF weight adjustment circuit configured to selectively apply an amplitude weight or a phase weight to at least one of the first RF signal or the second RF signal based on the operation mode; as well as a controller configured to control a power state of the second converter circuit according to the operation mode, Wherein the controller is configured to place the second converter circuit in a low power state and not be used for signal up-conversion in a diversity operation mode. 2 . The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the controller is further configured to control the amplitude weight and the phase weight according to the operation mode. 3 . The apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a digital beamforming module configured to selectively apply a BB amplitude weight or a BB phase weight to at least one of the first BB signal or the second BB signal based on the operation mode. 4 . The apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the digital beamforming module is configured to provide amplitude weights and phase weights to the first BB signal and the second BB signal in a multiple-input, multiple-output (MIMO) operation mode.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the operating mode comprises an RF beamforming mode when the second converter circuit is placed in the low power state.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the operating mode further comprises a multiple-input, multiple-output (MIMO) operating mode.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least one of the first converter circuit or the second converter circuit is configured to provide a single frequency conversion of the first BB signal and the second BB signal to the first RF signal and the second RF signal, respectively. 8 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the first converter circuit or the second converter circuit is further configured to down-convert a received RF signal into a BB signal.

9. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein beamforming is performed in an RF front-end module, the RF front-end module comprising: the first RF weight adjustment circuit; a second RF weight adjustment circuit; as well as a configurable signal distributor coupled to the first converter circuit and configured to selectively couple the first converter circuit to the first RF weight adjustment circuit and the second RF weight adjustment circuit according to the operating mode; The controller is further configured to control the amplitude weight and the phase weight of the first RF weight adjustment circuit and another amplitude weight and another phase weight of the second RF weight adjustment circuit according to the operation mode being a diversity operation mode.

10. A method for wireless communication, comprising: up-converting the first baseband BB signal to a first radio frequency RF signal via a first converter circuit based on an operating mode; up-converting the second BB signal to a second RF signal via a second converter circuit based on the operating mode; selectively applying an amplitude weight or a phase weight to at least one of the first RF signal or the second RF signal based on the operating mode; as well as controlling a power state of the second converter circuit according to the operating mode, Wherein controlling the power state includes placing the second converter circuit in a low power state and not being used for signal up-conversion in a diversity operating mode. The method of claim 10 , further comprising controlling the amplitude weight and the phase weight according to the operating mode. 12 . The method of claim 10 , further comprising selectively applying a BB amplitude weight or a BB phase weight to at least one of the first BB signal or the second BB signal based on the operation mode.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein selectively applying the BB amplitude weight or the BB phase weight comprises: Amplitude weights and phase weights are provided to the first BB signal and the second BB signal in a multiple-input, multiple-output MIMO mode of operation.

14. The method of claim 10, wherein the operating mode comprises an RF beamforming mode when the second converter circuit is placed in the low power state.

15. The method of claim 10, wherein the operating mode further comprises a multiple-input, multiple-output (MIMO) operating mode.

16. The method according to claim 10, wherein up-converting at least one of the first BB signal or the second BB signal comprises: A single frequency conversion is provided for up-converting at least one of the first BB signal to the first RF signal or the second BB signal to the second RF signal. 17 . The method of claim 10 , further comprising down-converting a received RF signal to a BB signal via at least one of the first converter circuit or the second converter circuit.

18. The method of claim 10, wherein the amplitude weight or the phase weight is selectively applied via a first RF weight adjustment circuit, the method further comprising: selectively coupling the first converter circuit to the first and second RF weight adjustment circuits according to the operating mode; as well as The amplitude weight and the phase weight of the first RF weight adjustment circuit and another amplitude weight and another phase weight of the second RF weight adjustment circuit are controlled according to the operation mode being a diversity operation mode.

19. A method for wireless communication, comprising: down-converting the first radio frequency (RF) signal to a first baseband (BB) signal via a first converter circuit based on the operating mode; down-converting the second RF signal to a second BB signal via a second converter circuit based on the operating mode; selectively applying an amplitude weight or a phase weight to at least one of the first RF signal or the second RF signal based on the operating mode; as well as controlling a power state of the second converter circuit according to the operating mode, Wherein controlling the power state comprises placing the second converter circuit in a low power state and not being used for signal down conversion in a diversity operating mode.

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising controlling the amplitude weight and the phase weight according to the operating mode.

21. The method of claim 19, further comprising selectively applying a BB amplitude weight or a BB phase weight to at least one of the first BB signal or the second BB signal based on the operation mode.

22. The method of claim 21 , wherein selectively applying the BB amplitude weight or the BB phase weight comprises: Amplitude weights and phase weights are provided to the first BB signal and the second BB signal in a multiple-input, multiple-output MIMO mode of operation.

23. The method of claim 19, wherein the operating mode comprises an RF beamforming mode in which the second converter circuit is placed in the low power state.

24. The method of claim 19, wherein the operating mode further comprises a multiple-input, multiple-output (MIMO) operating mode.

25. The method of claim 19, wherein down converting at least one of the first RF signal or the second RF signal comprises: A single frequency conversion is provided for at least one of down-converting the first RF signal to the first BB signal or down-converting the second RF signal to the second BB signal.

26. The method of claim 19, further comprising up-converting a BB signal to an RF signal for transmission via at least one of the first converter circuit or the second converter circuit.

27. The method of claim 19, wherein the amplitude weight or the phase weight is selectively applied via a first RF weight adjustment circuit, the method further comprising: selectively coupling the first converter circuit to the first and second RF weight adjustment circuits according to the operating mode; as well as The amplitude weight and the phase weight of the first RF weight adjustment circuit and another amplitude weight and another phase weight of the second RF weight adjustment circuit are controlled according to the operation mode being a diversity operation mode.

28. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising: means for up-converting the first baseband BB signal to a first radio frequency RF signal based on the operating mode; means for up-converting the second BB signal into a second RF signal according to the operation mode; means for selectively applying an amplitude weight or a phase weight to at least one of the first RF signal or the second RF signal based on the operating mode; as well as means for controlling a power state of said means for up-converting said second BB signal according to said operation mode, The means for controlling the power state is configured to place the means for up-converting the second BB signal in a low power state and not be used for signal up-conversion in the diversity operation mode.

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