Self-calibration local oscillator signal generating device and calibration method thereof

Abstract

The invention provides a self-calibration local oscillator signal generating device and a calibration method thereof. The device is provided with a reference state and a working state, and comprises a first signal generation module which outputs a first local oscillator reference signal in the reference state and outputs a first local oscillator working signal in the working state; the second signal generation module outputs a second local oscillator reference signal in the reference state and outputs a second local oscillator working signal in the working state; when the phase difference between the second local oscillator working signal and the first local oscillator working signal is different from the phase difference between the second local oscillator reference signal and the first local oscillator reference signal, the first phase detection and adjustment module adjusts the second local oscillator working signal; the phase difference between the second local oscillator working signal and the first local oscillator working signal is equal to the phase difference between the second local oscillator reference signal and the first local oscillator reference signal. According to the embodiment of the invention, the uncertainty of the phase between local oscillator signals during restarting can be avoided, the image rejection is improved, and the power consumption is reduced.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to the technical field of wireless communications, and in particular to a self-calibration local oscillator signal generating device and a calibration method thereof. Background Art

[0002] In wireless communication transceivers, local oscillator signals, particularly quadrature four-phase local oscillator signals, are typically generated by a divide-by-two circuit. However, due to the phase uncertainty of the local oscillator signals generated by this circuit, in MIMO systems, the phase uncertainty between different channels can cause system failure. If a single divide-by-two circuit were used for the entire chip, the local oscillator signal distribution network would occupy a large amount of chip area, and long local oscillator signal traces would also degrade image rejection performance. If a separate divide-by-two circuit were used for each channel, once enabled, the divide-by-two circuit could not be disabled. Otherwise, re-enabling it would introduce phase uncertainty between them, and continuously enabling it would inevitably lead to higher overall power consumption.

[0003] The above technical solution causes corresponding problems in terms of chip area usage, image suppression performance and power consumption.

[0004] Therefore, the existing technology needs to be improved and enhanced.

[0005] It should be noted that the above introduction to the technical background is merely intended to provide a clear and complete description of the technical solutions of this application and facilitate understanding by those skilled in the art. Simply because these solutions are described in the background technology section of this application, it should not be assumed that the above technical solutions are well known to those skilled in the art. Summary of the Invention

[0006] In order to solve at least one of the above problems and one or more of other potential problems, the present disclosure proposes a self-calibration local oscillator signal generating device and a calibration method thereof, so as to avoid the phase uncertainty between the local oscillator signals when restarting, thereby improving the image suppression performance and power consumption.

[0007] In a first aspect of the present disclosure, a self-calibrating local oscillator signal generating device is proposed, which is provided with a reference state and a working state. The local oscillator signal generating device includes: a first signal generating module, which is configured to output a first local oscillator reference signal in the reference state and to output a first local oscillator working signal in the working state; a second signal generating module, which is configured to output a second local oscillator reference signal in the reference state and to output a second local oscillator working signal in the working state; a first phase detection and adjustment module, which is configured to adjust the second local oscillator working signal when it is detected that the phase difference between the second local oscillator working signal and the first local oscillator working signal is different from the phase difference between the second local oscillator reference signal and the first local oscillator reference signal, so that the phase difference between the second local oscillator working signal and the first local oscillator working signal is equal to the phase difference between the second local oscillator reference signal and the first local oscillator reference signal.

[0008] Furthermore, in some embodiments, the first signal generating module is configured to generate and output the first local oscillator reference signal or the first local oscillator working signal based on the first reference signal; the second signal generating module is configured to generate and output the second local oscillator reference signal or the second local oscillator working signal based on the second reference signal.

[0009] Further, in some embodiments, the first signal generating module is configured as a divide-by-2 frequency divider, which is used to divide the frequency of the first reference signal by 2, so that the frequency of the output first local oscillator reference signal or the first local oscillator working signal is half of the frequency of the first reference signal; the second signal generating module is configured as a divide-by-2 frequency divider with a delay, which includes a divide-by-2 frequency divider mode and a delay frequency divider mode. In the divide-by-2 frequency divider mode, the divide-by-2 frequency divider with a delay is used to divide the frequency of the second reference signal by 2, so that the frequency of the output second local oscillator reference signal or the second local oscillator working signal is half of the frequency of the second reference signal; in the delay frequency divider mode, the divide-by-2 frequency divider with a delay is configured to maintain the signal waveform output state of the signal output at that moment until the divide-by-2 frequency divider switches back to the divide-by-2 frequency divider mode and continues to output the signal in the divide-by-2 frequency divider mode.

[0010] Furthermore, in some embodiments, when it is detected that the phase difference between the second local oscillator working signal and the first local oscillator working signal is different from the phase difference between the second local oscillator reference signal and the first local oscillator reference signal, the 2-band delay divider is set to a delayed division mode, and the waveform of the second local oscillator working signal is maintained for half a cycle, so that the phase of the second local oscillator working signal is delayed by 180 degrees.

[0011] Further, in some embodiments, the above-mentioned 2-band delay divider is configured to include a 2 / 3 divider, and the above-mentioned 2 / 3 divider is configured to: when the above-mentioned 2 / 3 divider is in the above-mentioned delayed division mode, the above-mentioned 2 / 3 divider divides the frequency of the above-mentioned second reference signal by 3, so that the frequency of the output above-mentioned second local oscillator reference signal or the above-mentioned second local oscillator working signal is one third of the frequency of the above-mentioned second reference signal.

[0012] Furthermore, in some embodiments, the local oscillator signal generating device also includes a first timing adjustment module, which is configured to generate a signal from the above-mentioned first signal generating module based on the above-mentioned second reference signal and transmit the adjusted first local oscillator reference signal or the adjusted first local oscillator working adjustment signal to the above-mentioned first phase detection and adjustment module.

[0013] Furthermore, in some embodiments, when the first timing adjustment module detects that the rising edge or falling edge of the signal from the first signal generating module coincides with the rising edge or falling edge of the second reference signal, the phase of the signal is adjusted so that the rising edge or falling edge of the signal no longer coincides with the rising edge or falling edge of the second reference signal, and the signal is transmitted to the first phase detection and adjustment module.

[0014] Furthermore, in some embodiments, when the first timing adjustment module detects that the rising edge or falling edge of the signal from the first signal generating module coincides with the rising edge or falling edge of the second reference signal, the phase of the signal is adjusted to be delayed by 2 delay periods, and the delay period is determined by the delay unit.

[0015] Furthermore, in some embodiments, the first phase detection and adjustment module further includes an enable signal input terminal. When the first phase detection and adjustment module detects that the enable signal is input from the enable signal input terminal, the first phase detection and adjustment module is configured to detect the phase difference between the signal from the first timing adjustment module and the signal from the second signal generation module.

[0016] Furthermore, in some embodiments, the first phase detection and adjustment module is configured to begin outputting the phase difference between the signal from the first signal generation module and the signal from the second signal generation module during the rising edge of the second reference signal. It should be understood that the first phase detection and adjustment module is always in a detection state. When the enable signal flips to a high level, it outputs the detection result when the reference signal is high, and maintains the previous output value when the reference signal is low. When the enable signal is low, the output is set to 0. In other embodiments, the control logic can also be reversed.

[0017] Further, in some embodiments, when the first phase detection and adjustment module detects that the phase difference between the signal from the first timing adjustment module and the signal from the second signal generation module is 180 degrees, the first phase detection and adjustment module adjusts the second signal generation module so that the phase difference between the signal from the second signal generation module and the signal from the first timing adjustment module is 0 degrees.

[0018] Further, in some embodiments, when the above-mentioned first signal generating module is configured as the above-mentioned divide-by-2 frequency divider and the above-mentioned second signal generating module is configured as the above-mentioned divide-by-2 frequency divider with delay; and when the above-mentioned first phase detection and adjustment module detects that the phase difference between the signal from the above-mentioned first timing adjustment module and the signal from the above-mentioned second signal generating module is 180 degrees at the rising edge stage of the above-mentioned second reference signal, the above-mentioned second signal generating module is configured to switch from the above-mentioned divide-by-2 frequency dividing mode to the above-mentioned delayed frequency dividing mode; when the above-mentioned first phase detection and adjustment module detects that the phase difference between the signal from the above-mentioned first timing adjustment module and the signal from the above-mentioned second signal generating module is 0 degree at the rising edge stage of the above-mentioned second reference signal, the above-mentioned second signal generating module switches from the above-mentioned delayed frequency dividing mode to the above-mentioned divide-by-2 frequency dividing mode.

[0019] Furthermore, in some embodiments, the self-calibration local oscillator signal generating device further includes: an Nth signal generating module, configured to output an Nth local oscillator reference signal in the above-mentioned reference state, and to output an Nth local oscillator working signal in the above-mentioned working state; an N+1th signal generating module, configured to output an N+1th local oscillator reference signal in the above-mentioned reference state, and to output an N+1th local oscillator working signal in the above-mentioned working state; an Nth phase detection and adjustment module, configured to adjust the N+1th local oscillator working signal when detecting that the phase difference between the N+1th local oscillator working signal and the Nth local oscillator working signal is different from the phase difference between the N+1th local oscillator reference signal and the Nth local oscillator reference signal, so that the N+1th local oscillator working signal The phase difference between the Nth local oscillator working signal and the Nth local oscillator working signal is equal to the phase difference between the N+1th local oscillator reference signal and the Nth local oscillator reference signal; the Nth signal generating module is configured to generate and output the Nth local oscillator reference signal or the Nth local oscillator working signal based on the Nth reference signal; the N+1th signal generating module is configured to generate and output the N+1th local oscillator reference signal or the N+1th local oscillator working signal based on the N+1th reference signal; the Nth timing adjustment module is configured to generate the Nth local oscillator reference adjustment signal or the Nth local oscillator working adjustment signal from the Nth signal generating module based on the N+1th reference signal and transmit the Nth local oscillator working signal to the Nth phase detection and adjustment module; wherein N is a positive integer greater than 1.

[0020] In the second aspect of the present disclosure, a calibration method for the above-mentioned self-calibration local oscillator signal generating device is also proposed, and the calibration method includes: receiving the above-mentioned first local oscillator reference signal and the above-mentioned second local oscillator reference signal based on the above-mentioned calibration state; receiving the above-mentioned first local oscillator working signal and the above-mentioned second local oscillator working signal based on the above-mentioned working state; in the above-mentioned working state, when it is detected that the phase difference between the above-mentioned second local oscillator working signal and the above-mentioned first local oscillator working signal is different from the phase difference between the above-mentioned second local oscillator reference signal and the above-mentioned first local oscillator reference signal, adjusting the above-mentioned second local oscillator working signal so that the phase difference between the above-mentioned second local oscillator working signal and the above-mentioned first local oscillator working signal is equal to the phase difference between the above-mentioned second local oscillator reference signal and the above-mentioned first local oscillator reference signal.

[0021] Compared with the prior art, the present disclosure has the following beneficial effects: (1) In some embodiments, by setting a first phase detection and adjustment module, when it is detected that the phase difference between the second local oscillator working signal and the first local oscillator working signal is different from the phase difference between the second local oscillator reference signal and the first local oscillator reference signal, a new second local oscillator working signal is generated by adjusting the second signal generation module so that the phase difference between the new second local oscillator working signal and the first local oscillator working signal is equal to the phase difference between the second local oscillator reference signal and the first local oscillator reference signal, thereby avoiding the system from being unable to work properly due to the uncertainty of the phase difference between the local oscillator signals generated by the first signal generation module and the second signal generation module after power is turned on again; (2) Furthermore, in some embodiments, the second signal generating module is configured as a divide-by-two delay divider. When it is detected that the phase difference between the second local oscillator working signal and the first local oscillator working signal is different from the phase difference between the second local oscillator reference signal and the first local oscillator reference signal, the divide-by-two delay divider can be configured to a delayed frequency division mode and maintain the waveform of the second local oscillator working signal for half a cycle, so that the phase of the second local oscillator working signal is delayed by 180 degrees. Thus, the uncertainty in the phase of the local oscillator signal generated by the divide-by-two circuit is converted into a certainty, thereby enabling the system to operate normally. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022] The above and other features, advantages and aspects of the embodiments of the present disclosure will become more apparent with reference to the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 shows a timing diagram of a divide-by-two circuit according to some embodiments of the present disclosure; Figure 2 A diagram showing a self-calibration local oscillator signal generating device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown; Figure 3 shows a timing diagram of a self-calibration local oscillator signal generating device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure; Figure 4shows a circuit diagram of a second signal generating module according to some embodiments of the present disclosure; Figure 5 shows a circuit diagram of a first phase detection and adjustment module according to some embodiments of the present disclosure; Figure 6 A diagram showing another self-calibration local oscillator signal generating device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure; Figure 7 shows a timing diagram of a first timing adjustment module according to some embodiments of the present disclosure; Figure 8 A diagram showing another self-calibration local oscillator signal generating device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure; Figure 9 shows a circuit diagram of another second signal generating module according to some embodiments of the present disclosure; Figure 10 A flow chart showing a calibration method of a self-calibration local oscillator signal generating device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is provided; and In the various drawings, the same or corresponding reference numerals denote the same or corresponding parts. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0023] Embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Although certain embodiments of the present disclosure are shown in the accompanying drawings, it should be understood that the present disclosure can be implemented in various forms and should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments described herein. On the contrary, these embodiments are provided to provide a more thorough and complete understanding of the present disclosure. It should be understood that the drawings and embodiments of the present disclosure are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present disclosure.

[0024] In the description of the embodiments of the present disclosure, the term "including" and similar terms should be understood as open inclusion, that is, "including but not limited to." The term "based on" should be understood as "based at least in part on." The term "one embodiment" or "the embodiment" should be understood as "at least one embodiment." The terms "first," "second," etc. may refer to different or the same objects. Other explicit and implicit definitions may also be included below.

[0025] Generally, in some wireless communication transceivers, the local oscillator signal is usually generated by a divide-by-2 circuit. However, since the local oscillator signal generated by the divide-by-2 circuit has phase uncertainty, in a MIMO system, the phase uncertainty of the local oscillator signal between different channels makes the system unable to work properly. For example, Figure 1The timing diagram for a divide-by-2 circuit illustrates the phase uncertainty of the divide-by-2 circuit's output. In the diagram, clk_in is the input, corresponding to the two outputs clk_out0 and clk_out1 of two divide-by-2 circuits (e.g., a divide-by-2 frequency divider). It should be understood that the diagram illustrates one possible output scenario. Given the same input signal, phase uncertainty exists between the outputs of the two divide-by-2 circuits. In some cases, the two outputs may be in phase. In other cases, particularly during initial power-up, the two outputs may be in phase, but upon subsequent power-up, the phases may be opposite.

[0026] To address the phase uncertainty of the local oscillator signals between different paths, some implementations employ a divide-by-two circuit across the entire chip to generate four-phase local oscillator signals, which are then sent to different paths. However, this approach has two major drawbacks: the four-phase local oscillator signal distribution network consumes a significant amount of chip area, and the local oscillator signal traces become very long, which degrades image rejection performance.

[0027] To further address this uncertainty, some implementations employ a divide-by-two circuit for each path, routing the two-phase signals to each divide-by-two circuit. This reduces chip area and improves image rejection. However, due to the phase uncertainty of the divide-by-two circuits, these divide-by-two circuits cannot be disabled once enabled. Re-enabling them would otherwise introduce phase uncertainty, leading to increased overall power consumption.

[0028] Therefore, in order to solve at least one of the above problems and one or more of other potential problems, an example embodiment of the present disclosure proposes a self-calibration local oscillator signal generating device; the following is a detailed description with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0029] Figure 2A diagram illustrates a self-calibrating local oscillator signal generator according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. It should be understood that in actual circuits, the input is generally a differential signal, and the output is a four-phase quadrature local oscillator signal. For ease of explanation, the illustrated embodiments are presented in single-phase form. This illustrated embodiment provides a self-calibrating local oscillator signal generator. Structurally, the local oscillator signal generator comprises a first signal generation module, a second signal generation module, and a first phase detection and adjustment module. The first signal generation module, located at the top of the illustrated embodiment, acts as a divide-by-two frequency divider (in some embodiments, referred to as a divide-by-two circuit). This first signal generation module receives input from clk_in and a reference signal via its clk terminal. It should be understood that this reference signal is typically a voltage-controlled oscillator signal from a VCO. After passing through the first signal generation module (divide-by-two frequency divider), it is transmitted from its output terminal out to clk_out0. As shown in the diagram, for the first signal generation module to function properly, an MC port is also necessary. For example, this port can be connected to VSS. For example, the MC port can be connected to a low level to enable the first signal generation module to function properly. Furthermore, in the illustrated embodiment, the second signal generating module is located in the middle of the diagram, and may be a divide-by-2 / 3 frequency divider. The divide-by-2 / 3 frequency divider operates in the divide-by-2 frequency divider mode most of the time. Of course, it may also be controlled by the first phase detection and adjustment module at the bottom of the diagram to switch to the divide-by-3 frequency divider mode. Obviously, according to Figure 2As shown, the second signal generation module (divider by 2 / 3) also receives input from clk_in and inputs a reference signal through its clk terminal. It should be understood that this reference signal is generally also a voltage-controlled oscillator signal from the VCO. After passing through the second signal generation module (divider by 2 / 3), it is transmitted from its output terminal out to clk_out1. Furthermore, the first phase detection and adjustment module at the bottom receives input from the two output terminals (clk_out0 and clk_out1) mentioned above and can perform phase detection on these two inputs. The detection result is output as its out terminal and fed back to the mc terminal of the second signal generation module to control and adjust the second signal generation module to switch from divide-by-2 divider mode to divide-by-3 divider mode and back to divide-by-2 divider mode. Furthermore, according to the structural mode illustrated in the above figure, the local oscillator signal generating device is provided with a reference state and a working state, whereby, in the reference state, the first signal generating module is provided to output a first local oscillator reference signal, the second signal generating module is provided to output a second local oscillator reference signal, and the first phase detection and adjustment module can detect and record the phase difference between the second local oscillator reference signal and the first local oscillator reference signal, thereby serving as a reference point for the entire device; then, the local oscillator signal generating device is powered on and restarted (after a restart), so that when the local oscillator signal generating device is in the working state, the first signal generating module is provided to output a first local oscillator working signal, and the second signal generating module is provided to output a second local oscillator working signal; at this time, due to the phase uncertainty after power-on again, the first phase detection and adjustment module The first phase detection and adjustment module is configured to detect a phase difference between a second local oscillator working signal and a first local oscillator working signal. When it is detected that the phase difference between the second local oscillator working signal and the first local oscillator working signal is different from the phase difference between the second local oscillator reference signal and the first local oscillator reference signal recorded in the reference state, the first phase detection and adjustment module adjusts the second local oscillator working signal by issuing a control adjustment instruction to the second signal generating module (for example, sending an instruction to the mc terminal of the second signal generating module via its out terminal) so that the phase difference between the second local oscillator working signal and the first local oscillator working signal is equal to the phase difference between the second local oscillator reference signal and the first local oscillator reference signal. This ensures that after power is restored, the phase difference between the signal output by the second signal generating module and the signal output by the first signal generating module remains unchanged.

[0030] Further, in Figure 2 In the exemplary embodiment, how the self-calibration local oscillator signal generating device specifically operates is further explained below in conjunction with a timing diagram.

[0031] Figure 3 FIG. 1 shows a timing diagram of a self-calibration local oscillator signal generating device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Figure 3In the embodiment, the phases of the output signals of the first signal generating module (eg, a divide-by-2 frequency divider) and the second signal generating module (eg, a divide-by-2 / 3 frequency divider) are detected to synchronize the phases of the two output signals. Figure 2 In an exemplary embodiment, a first signal generation module (e.g., a divide-by-2 frequency divider) and a second signal generation module (e.g., a divide-by-2 / 3 frequency divider) may be used. When the mc input to the second signal generation module (divide-by-2 / 3 frequency divider) is 0, the second signal generation module implements a divide-by-2 function. When the mc input is switched to 1, the second signal generation module implements a divide-by-3 function (or a function mode with a delayed phase, e.g., a function that delays the divide-by-2 function by half a cycle, as shown in the dashed area). The two outputs are judged by a phase detection circuit (e.g., a first phase detection and adjustment module). If the two phases are the same, the output is 0; otherwise, the output is 1. See FIG. Figure 3 , which is Figure 2 The timing diagram of the example self-calibration local oscillator signal generating device, initially, the first signal generating module (for example, the divide-by-2 frequency divider) and the second signal generating module (for example, the divide-by-2 / 3 frequency divider) both perform a divide-by-2 operation. If the two output phases are different, the output of the first phase detection and adjustment module is 1, and the second signal generating module (for example, the divide-by-2 / 3 frequency divider) performs a divide-by-3 operation with respect to the reference signal clk_in in the upper row of the input diagram. When the divide-by-3 operation is completed, the two output phases will become the same, and the output of the first phase detection and adjustment module will become 0. At this time, the second signal generating module (for example, the divide-by-2 / 3 frequency divider) has been performing a divide-by-2 operation since then, and phase synchronization is completed. It should be understood that in Figure 2 In this example embodiment, the first signal generation module (e.g., a divide-by-2 divider) can be replaced by a divide-by-2 / 3 divider, as long as it includes a divide-by-2 function. Furthermore, in other embodiments, the second signal generation module may not be a divide-by-2 / 3 divider; the example of a divide-by-2 / 3 divider is merely for the purpose of illustrating the principle. It should be understood that the second signal generation module can also be a divide-by-2 divider with a pulse swallowing function, which swallows an input pulse at a certain beat during operation, acting as a divide-by-3 divider, but it can also be a divide-by-3 divider that does not implement a continuous divide-by-3 function.

[0032] Figure 4A circuit diagram of a second signal generation module according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. In this exemplary embodiment, a circuit unit with a divide-by-two delay function is shown, where clk is the input clock (e.g., a signal from a voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO)), out is the output signal, and mc is the mode control signal. When mc is 0, the circuit implements a divide-by-two function, with the frequency of the output signal at out being half that of the input clock clk. When mc is 1, the circuit maintains the output at 1 (or remains high, for example, performing a divide-by-3 function relative to the input clock clk). Therefore, the illustrated embodiment is not a true divide-by-two / three circuit. The pulse width of mc (at a high level) determines how many input pulses are swallowed. Only when mc returns to 0 does the circuit output out flip. If the pulse width of the mc signal is one input signal period, the circuit output will behave as a divide-by-three function. If the pulse width of the mc signal is N input signal periods, the circuit output will behave as a divide-by-N+2 function. It should be understood that in other embodiments, when mc is 1, the output may remain 1 or 0, depending on the specific circuit implementation. Figure 4 The output of the circuit shown is indeed maintained at 1. In other embodiments, if Figure 4 If the OR gate in the embodiment is replaced by an AND gate, the circuit can realize the division by 2 function when mc is 1, and the output will remain 0 when mc is 0.

[0033] Figure 5 A circuit diagram of a first phase detection and adjustment module according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. In this example embodiment, a circuit unit with a phase detection function (XNOR gate) is shown, where in1 and in2 are two clock inputs, out is the output of the phase detection and adjustment module, pd_en is the output enable signal, and clk is the synchronous clock. When pd_en is 0, out is 0. When pd_en is 1, if in1 and in2 are in phase, out outputs 1, otherwise it outputs 0.

[0034] Furthermore, in some embodiments, the first signal generating module is configured to generate a first signal based on a first reference signal (eg, Figure 2 clk_in in the exemplary embodiment leads to a branch of the first signal generating module above) to generate and output a first local oscillator reference signal or a first local oscillator working signal (for example, Figure 2 clk_out0 output in the example embodiment); the second signal generating module is configured to generate a signal based on a second reference signal (eg, Figure 2 clk_in in the exemplary embodiment leads to a branch of the second signal generating module in the middle) to generate and output a second local oscillator reference signal or a second local oscillator working signal (for example, Figure 2 clk_out1 output in the example embodiment).

[0035] Furthermore, in some embodiments, Figure 2 In an exemplary embodiment, the first signal generating module is configured as a divide-by-2 frequency divider, which is used to divide the frequency of the first reference signal by 2, so that the frequency of the output first local oscillator reference signal or the first local oscillator working signal is half the frequency of the first reference signal. Furthermore, the second signal generating module is configured as a divide-by-2 frequency divider with a delay, which can include a divide-by-2 frequency divider mode and a delay frequency divider mode. When the divide-by-2 frequency divider with a delay is in the divide-by-2 frequency divider mode, the divide-by-2 frequency divider with a delay is used to divide the frequency of the second reference signal by 2, so that the frequency of the output second local oscillator reference signal or the second local oscillator working signal is half the frequency of the second reference signal. When the divide-by-2 frequency divider with a delay is in the delay frequency divider mode, the divide-by-2 frequency divider with a delay is configured to maintain the signal waveform output state of the signal output at that moment until the divide-by-2 frequency divider switches back to the divide-by-2 frequency divider mode and continues to output the signal in the divide-by-2 frequency divider mode. Figure 3 As shown in the timing diagram.

[0036] It should be noted that in some embodiments, as Figure 3 As shown in the timing diagram, when it is detected that the phase difference between the second local oscillator working signal and the first local oscillator working signal is different from the phase difference between the second local oscillator reference signal and the first local oscillator reference signal (for example, Figure 3 When there is a phase difference, it is 180 degrees; when there is no phase difference, it is 0 degrees). The 2-band delay divider is set to a delayed frequency division mode (for example, the divide-by-3 mode shown in the figure), and the waveform of the second local oscillator working signal is maintained for half a cycle, so that the phase of the second local oscillator working signal is delayed by 180 degrees (i.e., the waveform is inverted).

[0037] Furthermore, in some embodiments, Figure 3As shown in the timing diagram, the divide-by-2 delay divider is configured to include a divide-by-2 / 3 divider. The divide-by-2 / 3 divider is configured such that, when in delay division mode (divide-by-3 mode), it divides the frequency of the second reference signal by 3, resulting in the output second local oscillator operating signal having a frequency that is one-third the frequency of the second reference signal. It should be understood that in reference mode, the divide-by-2 delay divider should only be in divide-by-2 mode to collect the phase difference with the first signal generating module (divide-by-2 divider). Adjustment of the operating second local oscillator operating signal is only required when the device enters the operating state. It should also be understood that, after each power-on / restart, the phase difference between the first local oscillator operating signal and the first local oscillator reference signal may actually be 180 degrees. Therefore, the self-calibrating local oscillator signal generating device in the above embodiment is referred to as self-calibrating because this calibration or adjustment process is not a static, one-time process, but is performed upon each power-on / restart.

[0038] Furthermore, from a layout perspective, there must be a certain physical distance between multiple transceivers, so the two inputs of the phase detection module experience different physical delays. This manifests as different physical distances between the first and second signal generation modules and the first phase detection and adjustment module, resulting in different input signal delays. Generally, the phase detection module can be placed directly between the two local oscillator signal generation modules. This ensures that the physical delays experienced by the signals output from the two local oscillator signal generation modules to the phase detection module remain consistent, thus avoiding misjudgments caused by delays. However, the phase detection module outputs a control signal mc to the second signal generation module, which also experiences a physical delay. Excessive delay can cause synchronization failure between the two local oscillator signals. To this end, the phase detection module is generally placed closer to the second signal generation module to reduce the delay of mc. Furthermore, a timing control module (e.g., a first timing adjustment module) is introduced to control the timing of the output signals from the first signal generation module to avoid unstable states.

[0039] Figure 6 A diagram illustrates another self-calibrating local oscillator signal generation device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. In this exemplary embodiment, the local oscillator signal generation device further includes a first timing adjustment module located in the center portion of the diagram. This first timing adjustment module is configured to generate an adjusted first local oscillator reference signal or an adjusted first local oscillator operating adjustment signal from the rightmost first signal generation module based on a second reference signal (e.g., a pair of differential signals vcop and vcon shown in the figure (e.g., generated by a VCO voltage-controlled oscillator)) and transmit the adjusted first local oscillator reference signal or the adjusted first local oscillator operating adjustment signal to the first phase detection and adjustment module in the lower left portion (via the out terminal of the first timing adjustment module), where the signal is received by the in2 terminal of the first phase detection and adjustment module.

[0040] Furthermore, in some embodiments, when the first timing adjustment module detects that the rising edge or falling edge of the signal from the first signal generation module coincides with the rising edge or falling edge of the second reference signal, the first timing adjustment module adjusts the phase of the signal so that the rising edge or falling edge of the signal no longer coincides with the rising edge or falling edge of the second reference signal, and transmits the signal to the first phase detection and adjustment module. Specifically, in some embodiments, when the first timing adjustment module detects that the rising edge or falling edge of the signal from the first signal generation module coincides with the rising edge or falling edge of the second reference signal, the phase of the signal is adjusted to be delayed by two delay cycles (or, for example, one delay cycle), where the delay cycle is determined by the delay unit. It should be understood that the two delay cycles of the timing adjustment module are adjusted to meet the setup time and hold time requirements. As for the specific delay period, in some embodiments, for example, the internal delay unit can be used to adjust the delay period. For example, one delay period is the delay of one delay unit. Adjusting the delay period backward by two delay periods is to add two delay units, and adjusting the delay period forward by two delay periods is to subtract two delay units. Specifically, the timing diagram of the adjustment process is as follows: Figure 7 As shown in .

[0041] Alternatively, in some embodiments, the first phase detection and adjustment module further includes an enable signal input terminal. When the first phase detection and adjustment module detects an enable signal inputted at the enable signal input terminal, the first phase detection and adjustment module is configured to detect the phase difference between the signal from the first signal generation module and the signal from the second signal generation module. It should be understood that the enable signal serves as an operating switch for the first phase detection and adjustment module. Therefore, the enable signal may be omitted, thereby ensuring that the first phase detection and adjustment module is always in the detection and adjustment operating state.

[0042] Preferably, in some embodiments, the first phase detection and adjustment module is configured to start detecting the phase difference between the signal from the first signal generation module and the signal from the second signal generation module at the rising edge stage of the second reference signal.

[0043] Further, in some embodiments, if the phase difference between the signal from the first timing adjustment module and the signal from the second signal generating module is 0 degree in the reference mode, then in the working state, when the first phase detection and adjustment module detects that the phase difference between the signal from the first timing adjustment module and the signal from the second signal generating module is 180 degrees, the first phase detection and adjustment module adjusts the second signal generating module so that the phase difference between the signal from the second signal generating module and the signal from the first timing adjustment module is 0 degree.

[0044] More specifically, in some embodiments, when the first signal generation module is configured as a divide-by-2 frequency divider and the second signal generation module is configured as a divide-by-2 frequency divider with a delay, and the phase difference between the signal from the first timing adjustment module and the signal from the second signal generation module is set to 0 degrees in the reference mode, then in the operating state, when the first phase detection and adjustment module detects that the phase difference between the signal from the first timing adjustment module and the signal from the second signal generation module is 180 degrees during the rising edge phase of the second reference signal, the second signal generation module is configured to switch from the divide-by-2 frequency division mode to the delayed frequency division mode (e.g., the divide-by-3 mode); when the first phase detection and adjustment module detects that the phase difference between the signal from the first timing adjustment module and the signal from the second signal generation module is 0 degrees during the rising edge phase of the second reference signal, the second signal generation module switches from the delayed frequency division mode to the divide-by-2 frequency division mode. Thus, the entire process from the need for calibration to the completion of a complete detection is completed.

[0045] It should be understood that the above discussion mainly involves the case of two signal generating modules. In some embodiments, more modules may be included. For example, the self-calibration local oscillator signal generating device may further include an Nth signal generating module, which is configured to output the Nth local oscillator reference signal in the reference state and the Nth local oscillator working signal in the working state; an N+1th signal generating module, which is configured to output the N+1th local oscillator reference signal in the reference state and the N+1th local oscillator working signal in the working state; and an Nth phase detection and adjustment module, which is configured to adjust the N+1th local oscillator working signal when it is detected that the phase difference between the N+1th local oscillator working signal and the Nth local oscillator working signal is different from the phase difference between the N+1th local oscillator reference signal and the Nth local oscillator reference signal. N+1 local oscillator working signal, so that the phase difference between the N+1th local oscillator working signal and the Nth local oscillator working signal is equal to the phase difference between the N+1th local oscillator reference signal and the Nth local oscillator reference signal; the Nth signal generating module is configured to generate and output the Nth local oscillator reference signal or the Nth local oscillator working signal based on the Nth reference signal; the N+1th signal generating module is configured to generate and output the N+1th local oscillator reference signal or the N+1th local oscillator working signal based on the N+1th reference signal; the Nth timing adjustment module is configured to generate the signal from the N signal generating module based on the N+1th reference signal and transmit the Nth local oscillator reference adjustment signal or the Nth local oscillator working adjustment signal to the Nth phase detection and adjustment module; wherein N is a positive integer greater than 1; such as Figure 8 As shown in the embodiment.

[0046] Furthermore, for the second signal generating module, the inventors of the present disclosure have specifically designed an implementable circuit structure, such as Figure 9 As shown. Figure 9In the exemplary embodiment, the circuit structure is an orthogonal 4-phase output divided by 2 delay divider, which can also be considered as Figure 4 Another implementation of the embodiment; specifically, in Figure 4 In addition to OR gates, AND gates can also be used near the input of the front end, and Figure 9 The circuit of the embodiment has an orthogonal 4-phase output and can directly provide a local oscillator signal to a mixer of a receiver or transmitter. Figure 9 In the embodiment, Figure 4 The OR gate (the figure shows an AND gate, but an OR gate can also be formed) is integrated into the subsequent DFF, which further simplifies the circuit; more specifically, the gate input is changed to several transistors with !mc.

[0047] Furthermore, with respect to the above-mentioned self-calibration local oscillator signal generating device, the inventors of the present disclosure also propose a corresponding calibration method. Figure 10 A flow chart of a calibration method for a self-calibrating local oscillator signal generator according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. The calibration method 100 includes: step 120, receiving the first local oscillator reference signal and the second local oscillator reference signal based on the calibration state; step 140, receiving the first local oscillator working signal and the second local oscillator working signal based on the working state; and step 160, in the working state, when it is detected that the phase difference between the second local oscillator working signal and the first local oscillator working signal is different from the phase difference between the second local oscillator reference signal and the first local oscillator reference signal, adjusting the second local oscillator working signal so that the phase difference between the second local oscillator working signal and the first local oscillator working signal is equal to the phase difference between the second local oscillator reference signal and the first local oscillator reference signal.

[0048] While various embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above, the foregoing description is intended to be illustrative, non-exhaustive, and not limited to the disclosed embodiments. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the described embodiments. The terminology used herein is selected to best explain the principles of the embodiments, their practical applications, or technological improvements in the marketplace, or to enable others skilled in the art to understand the embodiments disclosed herein.

[0049] The foregoing description is merely an optional embodiment of the present disclosure and is not intended to limit the present disclosure. Those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that the present disclosure is susceptible to various modifications and variations. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, or improvements made within the spirit and principles of the present disclosure shall be included within the scope of protection of the present disclosure.

Claims

1. A self-calibration local oscillator signal generating device, characterized in that: The local oscillator signal generating device is provided with a reference state and a working state, and the local oscillator signal generating device comprises: A first signal generating module is configured to output a first local oscillator reference signal in the reference state, and to output a first local oscillator working signal in the working state; A second signal generating module is configured to output a second local oscillator reference signal in the reference state, and to output a second local oscillator working signal in the working state; The first phase detection and adjustment module is configured to adjust the second local oscillator working signal when it is detected that the phase difference between the second local oscillator working signal and the first local oscillator working signal is different from the phase difference between the second local oscillator reference signal and the first local oscillator reference signal, so that the phase difference between the second local oscillator working signal and the first local oscillator working signal is equal to the phase difference between the second local oscillator reference signal and the first local oscillator reference signal.

2. The self-calibration local oscillator signal generating device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The first signal generating module is configured to generate and output the first local oscillator reference signal or the first local oscillator working signal based on the first reference signal; The second signal generating module is configured to generate and output the second local oscillator reference signal or the second local oscillator working signal based on a second reference signal.

3. The self-calibration local oscillator signal generating device according to claim 2, characterized in that: The first signal generating module is configured as a divide-by-2 frequency divider, and the divide-by-2 frequency divider is used to divide the frequency of the first reference signal by 2, so that the frequency of the output first local oscillator reference signal or the first local oscillator working signal is half of the frequency of the first reference signal; The second signal generating module is configured as a divide-by-2 delay frequency divider, and the divide-by-2 delay frequency divider includes a divide-by-2 frequency divider mode and a delay frequency divider mode. In the divide-by-2 frequency divider mode, the divide-by-2 delay frequency divider is used to divide the frequency of the second reference signal by 2, so that the frequency of the output second local oscillator reference signal or the second local oscillator working signal is half of the frequency of the second reference signal; in the delay frequency divider mode, the divide-by-2 delay frequency divider is configured to maintain the signal waveform output state of the signal output at that moment until the divide-by-2 delay frequency divider switches back to the divide-by-2 frequency divider mode and continues to output the signal in the divide-by-2 frequency divider mode.

4. The self-calibration local oscillator signal generating device according to claim 3, characterized in that: When it is detected that the phase difference between the second local oscillator working signal and the first local oscillator working signal is different from the phase difference between the second local oscillator reference signal and the first local oscillator reference signal, the 2-band delay divider is set to a delayed division mode and the waveform of the second local oscillator working signal is maintained for half a cycle, so that the phase of the second local oscillator working signal is delayed by 180 degrees.

5. The self-calibration local oscillator signal generating device according to claim 3, characterized in that: The divide-by-2 band delay divider is configured to include a divide-by-2 / 3 divider, the divide-by-2 / 3 divider being configured to: When the 2 / 3 divider is in the delayed frequency division mode, the 2 / 3 divider divides the frequency of the second reference signal by 3, so that the frequency of the output second local oscillator reference signal or the second local oscillator working signal is one third of the frequency of the second reference signal.

6. The self-calibration local oscillator signal generating device according to claim 3, characterized in that: Also includes: The first timing adjustment module is configured to generate a signal from the first signal generation module based on the second reference signal and transmit an adjusted first local oscillator reference signal or an adjusted first local oscillator working adjustment signal to the first phase detection and adjustment module.

7. The self-calibration local oscillator signal generating device according to claim 6, characterized in that: When the first timing adjustment module detects that the rising edge or falling edge of the signal from the first signal generating module coincides with the rising edge or falling edge of the second reference signal, the phase of the signal is adjusted so that the rising edge or falling edge of the signal no longer coincides with the rising edge or falling edge of the second reference signal, and the signal is transmitted to the first phase detection and adjustment module.

8. The self-calibration local oscillator signal generating device according to claim 7, characterized in that: When the first timing adjustment module detects that the rising edge or falling edge of the signal from the first signal generating module coincides with the rising edge or falling edge of the second reference signal, the phase of the signal is adjusted to be delayed by 2 delay periods, and the delay period is determined by the delay unit.

9. The self-calibration local oscillator signal generating device according to claim 6, characterized in that: The first phase detection and adjustment module also includes an enable signal input terminal. When the first phase detection and adjustment module detects that an enable signal is input from the enable signal input terminal, the first phase detection and adjustment module is configured to detect the phase difference between the signal from the first timing adjustment module and the signal from the second signal generation module.

10. The self-calibration local oscillator signal generating device according to claim 7, characterized in that: The first phase detection and adjustment module is configured to start outputting a phase difference between a signal from the first signal generation module and a signal from the second signal generation module at a rising edge stage of the second reference signal.

11. The self-calibration local oscillator signal generating device according to claim 6, characterized in that: When the first phase detection and adjustment module detects that the phase difference between the signal from the first timing adjustment module and the signal from the second signal generating module is 180 degrees, the first phase detection and adjustment module adjusts the second signal generating module so that the phase difference between the signal from the second signal generating module and the signal from the first timing adjustment module is 0 degrees.

12. The self-calibration local oscillator signal generating device according to claim 8, characterized in that: When the first signal generating module is configured as the divide-by-2 frequency divider, and the second signal generating module is configured as the divide-by-2 frequency divider with delay; and When the first phase detection and adjustment module detects that the phase difference between the signal from the first timing adjustment module and the signal from the second signal generation module is 180 degrees at the rising edge stage of the second reference signal, the second signal generation module is configured to switch from the divide-by-2 frequency division mode to the delayed frequency division mode; When the first phase detection and adjustment module detects that the phase difference between the signal from the first timing adjustment module and the signal from the second signal generation module is 0 degree at the rising edge stage of the second reference signal, the second signal generation module switches from the delayed division mode to the division by 2 mode.

13. The self-calibration local oscillator signal generating device according to claim 6, characterized in that: Also includes: an Nth signal generating module, configured to output an Nth local oscillator reference signal in the reference state, and to output an Nth local oscillator working signal in the working state; an N+1th signal generating module, configured to output an N+1th local oscillator reference signal in the reference state, and to output an N+1th local oscillator working signal in the working state; an Nth phase detection and adjustment module, configured to adjust the N+1th local oscillator working signal so that the phase difference between the N+1th local oscillator working signal and the Nth local oscillator working signal is equal to the phase difference between the N+1th local oscillator reference signal and the Nth local oscillator reference signal when detecting that the phase difference between the N+1th local oscillator working signal and the Nth local oscillator working signal is different from the phase difference between the N+1th local oscillator reference signal and the Nth local oscillator reference signal; The Nth signal generating module is configured to generate and output the Nth local oscillator reference signal or the Nth local oscillator working signal based on the Nth reference signal; The N+1th signal generating module is configured to generate and output the N+1th local oscillator reference signal or the N+1th local oscillator working signal based on the N+1th reference signal; The Nth timing adjustment module is configured to generate a signal from the Nth signal generation module based on the N+1th reference signal and transmit an Nth local oscillator reference adjustment signal or an Nth local oscillator working adjustment signal to the Nth phase detection and adjustment module; Wherein, N is a positive integer greater than 1.

14. A calibration method for a self-calibration local oscillator signal generating device as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 13, characterized in that: include: receiving the first local oscillator reference signal and the second local oscillator reference signal based on the calibration state; receiving the first local oscillator working signal and the second local oscillator working signal based on the working state; In the working state, when it is detected that the phase difference between the second local oscillator working signal and the first local oscillator working signal is different from the phase difference between the second local oscillator reference signal and the first local oscillator reference signal, the second local oscillator working signal is adjusted so that the phase difference between the second local oscillator working signal and the first local oscillator working signal is equal to the phase difference between the second local oscillator reference signal and the first local oscillator reference signal.

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