Receiver with distributed attenuator

Abstract

The invention relates to a receiver with a distributed attenuator. The present disclosure is directed to power gain variation compensation for radio frequency (RF) receivers based on temperature variations. The RF receiver may include an amplification circuit having a plurality of amplifiers and / or a chain of passive elements. A plurality of distributed and / or lumped attenuators disposed at different points between amplifiers and / or passive elements of the chain may attenuate the received RF signal to compensate for gain variations of the plurality of amplifiers and / or passive elements caused by temperature variations. Thus, the distributed and / or lumped attenuator may improve the linear response of the amplifier and / or passive element and the signal-to-noise distortion ratio of the RF signal received at the receiver.

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional application of the invention patent application with application number 202310080447.3, application date February 8, 2023, and name “Receiver with Distributed Attenuator”. Technical Field

[0002] The present disclosure relates generally to wireless communications, and more particularly to gain variation in receive circuitry of wireless communication devices. Background Art

[0003] In a wireless communication device, a receiver may be coupled to one or more antennas to enable the device to receive wireless signals. The receiver may include amplification circuitry, including a low noise amplifier (LNA), which amplifies the received signal to a level above the noise floor so that the signal is available for additional processing (e.g., at a processing circuit of the device). However, temperature variations may affect the performance of the amplification circuitry. For example, the LNA may apply different amplification factors to the received signal at different temperatures. Summary of the invention

[0004] The following is a summary of certain embodiments disclosed herein. It should be understood that these aspects are presented only to provide the reader with a concise summary of these specific embodiments, and these aspects are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. In fact, the present disclosure may cover a number of aspects that may not be described below.

[0005] In one embodiment, an electronic device is described. The electronic device may include one or more antennas configured to receive radio frequency signals. The electronic device may also include a receiver circuit coupled to the one or more antennas to amplify the radio frequency signals received by the one or more antennas. The receiver circuit may include multiple amplifiers coupled in series using multiple transmission lines. Each of the multiple amplifiers and the multiple transmission lines may amplify the radio frequency signal based on gain and gain variation based on temperature. The electronic device may also include multiple distributed attenuators. A first distributed attenuator among the multiple distributed attenuators may be disposed on a first transmission line between a first amplifier and a second amplifier among the multiple amplifiers. The first amplifier and the second amplifier may be coupled in series via the first transmission line. In addition, the first distributed attenuator may attenuate the radio frequency signal with a first gain based on temperature to compensate for the first part of the cumulative gain variation of the multiple amplifiers and the multiple transmission lines, the first part of the cumulative gain variation associated with the first amplifier, the second amplifier, the first transmission line, or a combination thereof.

[0006] In another embodiment, a radio frequency receiver circuit is described. The radio receiver circuit may include a plurality of amplifiers coupled in series. Each of the plurality of amplifiers may amplify a radio frequency signal received by an antenna circuit based on a gain and a gain variation based on temperature. The plurality of amplifiers may amplify the radio frequency signal based on a cumulative gain of each of the plurality of amplifiers. A plurality of distributed attenuators may be coupled to the plurality of amplifiers, respectively. Each of the distributed attenuators may compensate for at least a portion of a cumulative gain variation of the plurality of amplifiers based on temperature.

[0007] In yet another embodiment, a method is described. The method includes receiving, by a controller of a radio frequency receiver circuit, one or more temperatures of a plurality of amplifiers of the radio frequency receiver circuit. The controller may determine that a first temperature of the one or more temperatures of a first amplifier is below a high temperature threshold. Further, the controller may determine that a first amplifier of the plurality of amplifiers includes an increased gain based on the first temperature being below the high temperature threshold. Further, the controller may provide one or more control signals based on the first temperature to increase a gain attenuation of a first distributed attenuator associated with the first amplifier of a plurality of distributed attenuators of the radio frequency receiver circuit to compensate for the increased gain.

[0008] Various improvements to the above features may exist with respect to various aspects of the present invention. Other features may also be added to these various aspects. These improvements and additional features may exist alone or in any combination. For example, the various features associated with one or more of the illustrated embodiments discussed below may be incorporated into any of the above aspects of the present invention alone or in any combination. The brief summary presented above is intended only to familiarize the reader with the specific aspects and context of the disclosed embodiments and does not limit the claimed subject matter. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] Various aspects of the present disclosure may be better understood upon reading the following detailed description and referring to the drawings described hereinafter, wherein like numerals refer to like parts.

[0010] Figure 1 is a block diagram of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0011] Figure 2 According to the embodiments of the present disclosure Figure 1 A block diagram of a transceiver of an electronic device;

[0012] Figure 3 According to the embodiments of the present disclosure Figure 1 and Figure 2 A block diagram of a receiver of an electronic device;

[0013] Figure 4According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a plurality of distributed attenuators are provided. Figure 3 Schematic diagram of the amplification circuit of the receiver;

[0014] Figure 5 According to the embodiments of the present disclosure Figure 4 The circuit diagram of the distributed attenuator of the amplifier circuit;

[0015] Figure 6 A method of implementing the present disclosure comprising a plurality of distributed attenuators and a variable attenuator Figure 3 Schematic diagram of the amplification circuit of the receiver;

[0016] Figure 7 According to the embodiments of the present disclosure Figure 6 Circuit diagram of a variable attenuator of an amplifier circuit;

[0017] Figure 8 is a method for attenuating a received RF signal to compensate for Figure 4 or Figure 6 A flowchart of a process of changing the gain of an amplifier circuit; and

[0018] Fig. 9 is a method for attenuating a received RF signal based on using a lookup table to compensate for Figure 4 or Figure 6 Flowchart of the process of gain change of the amplifier circuit. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0019] When introducing the elements of various embodiments of the present disclosure, the articles "one / a kind" and "the / said" are intended to mean one or more of the elements present. The terms "comprise", "include" and "have" are intended to be included, and mean that there may be additional elements in addition to the listed elements. Additionally, it should be understood that reference to "one embodiment" or "embodiment" of the present disclosure is not intended to be interpreted as excluding the existence of additional embodiments that also combine the quoted features. In addition, specific features, structures or characteristics can be combined in one or more embodiments in any appropriate manner. The use of the terms "roughly", "close to", "about", "close to" and / or "substantially" should be understood to mean including close to a target (e.g., design, value and amount), such as within the limits of any suitable or conceivable error (e.g., within 0.1% of the target, within 1% of the target, within 5% of the target, within 10% of the target, within 25% of the target, etc.). In addition, it should be understood that any exact value, number, measurement value, etc. provided herein can be conceived to include approximate values ​​of these exact values, numbers, measurement values, etc. (e.g., within the limits of suitable or conceivable error).

[0020] The present disclosure relates to compensation for power gain variations of a radio frequency (RF) receiver based on temperature variations. The RF circuitry of a wireless communication device (e.g., a smart phone) may include one or more antennas and one or more RF receivers having one or more RF mixers, as well as other circuits / components. The one or more antennas may provide a received signal (e.g., an RF signal) to one or more RF receivers. In addition, the RF receiver may include an amplifier circuit that amplifies the signal and / or shifts the frequency of the signal before providing the signal to the RF mixer. Subsequently, the RF mixer may provide the signal (e.g., the amplified signal and / or the shifted signal) to a downstream component of the receiver and / or device for processing. For example, the downstream component may include a processing circuit of the wireless communication device.

[0021] The RF receiver may include a cascade chain of amplifiers and transmission lines for amplifying and / or shifting a signal. In some cases, a plurality of amplifiers may be coupled in series using a transmission line. In addition, in some embodiments, the RF receiver may amplify the signal based on the cumulative gain (e.g., power gain) of the amplifiers and transmission lines of the RF receiver. Subsequently, the RF receiver may provide the signal to an RF mixer. For example, each of the amplifiers and transmission lines of the RF receiver may amplify the signal by applying a corresponding gain. However, the gain of some of the amplifiers and transmission lines of the RF receiver may change based on temperature changes (e.g., gain changes). Therefore, the cumulative gain of the RF receiver may change based on the cumulative gain changes of each of the amplifiers and transmission lines coupled in series.

[0022] Gain changes of the amplifier and transmission line of the RF receiver due to temperature may reduce the signal-to-noise-distortion ratio (SNDR) of the RF receiver. For example, lower temperatures may cause the gain of the amplifier and transmission line to increase. At the same time, lower temperatures may cause the signal-to-distortion ratio (SDR) and / or third-order intercept point (IIP3) of the amplifier to be worse. Therefore, lower temperatures may make the nonlinear response of the amplifier, and therefore the overall nonlinear response of the RF receiver, worse.

[0023] Additionally, higher temperatures may cause the power gain of the amplifier and / or transmission line to decrease, which may make the noise figure (NF) and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the amplifier worse. Therefore, if not compensated for, the gain changes of the components of the RF receiver due to temperature may accumulate and degrade the SNDR and / or the overall performance of the RF receiver.

[0024] In view of the foregoing, the RF receiver may include circuits for compensating for gain variations of amplifiers and transmission lines due to temperature. For example, the RF receiver may include a plurality of attenuators to compensate for at least some of the gain variations of at least some of the amplifiers and transmission lines. Each attenuator may apply a dynamic attenuation range to compensate for the gain variations. In some cases, a controller and / or processing circuit of the electronic device may provide one or more control signals to adjust the attenuation of each of the attenuators. For example, the controller circuit may provide one or more control signals based on temperature using a lookup table.

[0025] In some embodiments, the RF receiver may include one or more variable attenuators to compensate for gain variations of multiple amplifiers and transmission lines of the RF receiver due to temperature. For example, a variable or "lumped" attenuator may compensate for cumulative gain variations of multiple amplifiers and / or transmission lines due to temperature (e.g., a lumped attenuator). In addition, the variable attenuator may provide variable attenuation via a variable resistor. In some cases, the variable attenuator may apply a dynamic attenuation range to compensate for gain variations of multiple amplifiers and transmission lines due to temperature. The variable attenuator may be placed in series with the amplifiers and transmission lines of the RF receiver.

[0026] The variable attenuator may be related or matched to the impedance of the RF receiver while maintaining low gain attenuation error and a feasible frequency response to the signal. However, when idle (e.g., when the attenuation is adjusted to 0 decibels (dB) by a control signal), the variable attenuator may include a high minimum gain loss. In some cases, the variable attenuator may make the NF and / or SNR of the signal worse when positioned closer to one or more antennas in a cascade chain of amplifiers. In addition, the variable attenuator may make the SDR and linear response of the signal worse when positioned closer to an RF mixer in a cascade chain of amplifiers.

[0027] In various embodiments, an RF receiver may include a plurality of distributed attenuators to compensate for gain variations of an amplifier and a transmission line of the RF receiver due to temperature. In some cases, a distributed attenuator may apply a smaller attenuation dynamic range to compensate for gain variations across temperature than a variable attenuator. However, when idle (e.g., when the attenuation is adjusted to 0 dB by a control signal), the distributed attenuator may include a low minimum gain loss (e.g., 0 dB, nearly 0 dB).

[0028] For example, each distributed attenuator can at least partially compensate for gain variations of one or more amplifiers and / or transmission lines of the RF receiver due to temperature. In addition, the controller circuit can provide control signals to the plurality of distributed attenuators to compensate for gain variations at different nodes of the RF receiver. Thus, the RF receiver can use a plurality of distributed attenuators to improve the linear response and SNDR of the RF receiver.

[0029] In additional or alternative embodiments, the RF receiver may include one or more variable attenuators and a plurality of distributed attenuators to compensate for the cumulative gain variation of the RF receiver across temperature. In such embodiments, the lumped attenuator and the distributed attenuator may each compensate for a portion of the cumulative gain variation of the RF receiver across temperature. In addition, the controller circuit may provide control signals to the variable attenuator and the distributed attenuator to adjust the corresponding attenuation of the received RF signal. The variable attenuator may be related to or matched to the impedance of the RF receiver, maintain a low gain attenuation error, and maintain a feasible frequency response to the signal. The distributed attenuator may improve the linear response and SNDR of the RF receiver while having a low minimum gain loss (e.g., 0 dB, nearly 0 dB) when idle.

[0030] Figure 1 1 is a block diagram of an electronic device 10 (e.g., a wireless communication device, a mobile communication device, a smart phone, etc.) according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The electronic device 10 may include, among other things, one or more processors 12 (collectively referred to herein as a single processor for convenience, which may be implemented in any suitable form of processing circuitry), a memory 14, a non-volatile storage device 16, a display 18, an input structure 22, an input / output (I / O) interface 24, a network interface 26, and a power supply 28. Figure 1 The various functional blocks shown may include hardware elements (including circuits), software elements (including machine executable instructions), or a combination of hardware and software elements (which may be referred to as logic). Processor 12, memory 14, non-volatile storage device 16, display 18, input structure 22, I / O interface 24, network interface 26, and / or power supply 28 may each be directly or indirectly communicatively coupled to each other (e.g., through or via another component, a communication bus, a network) to transmit and / or receive data between each other. It should be noted that Figure 1 It is merely one example of a particular implementation and is intended to illustrate the types of components that may be present in electronic device 10 .

[0031] By way of example, electronic device 10 may include any suitable computing device, including a desktop or laptop computer (e.g., a computer such as the Apple Computer available from Apple Inc. of Cupertino, California). Pro, MacBook mini or Mac ), a portable electronic device or a handheld electronic device such as a wireless electronic device or a smart phone (e.g., a device available from Apple Inc. in Cupertino, California models), tablet computers (e.g., in the form of the Apple models), wearable electronic devices (e.g., in the form of Apple of the form) and other similar devices. It should be noted that Figure 1 The processor 12 and other related items in the embodiment may be embodied in whole or in part as software, hardware, or both. Figure 1 Other related items in the electronic device 10 may be single independent processing modules, or may be fully or partially integrated into any of the other elements in the electronic device 10. The processor 12 may be implemented with a combination of a general-purpose microprocessor, a microcontroller, a digital signal processor (DSP), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a programmable logic device (PLD), a controller, a state machine, a gated logic, a discrete hardware component, a dedicated hardware finite state machine, or any other suitable entity that can perform calculations or other manipulations of information. The processor 12 may include one or more application processors, one or more baseband processors, or both, and perform various functions described herein.

[0032] exist Figure 1 In the electronic device 10, the processor 12 may be operably coupled to the memory 14 and the non-volatile storage device 16 to execute various algorithms. Such programs or instructions executed by the processor 12 may be stored in any suitable article including one or more tangible computer-readable media. The tangible computer-readable medium may include the memory 14 and / or the non-volatile storage device 16, individually or collectively, to store instructions or routines. The memory 14 and the non-volatile storage device 16 may include any suitable article for storing data and executable instructions, such as random access memory, read-only memory, rewritable flash memory, hard drive, and optical disk. In addition, the program (e.g., operating system) encoded on such a computer program product may also include instructions that can be executed by the processor 12 to enable the electronic device 10 to provide various functions.

[0033] In some embodiments, display 18 may facilitate a user viewing images generated on electronic device 10. In some embodiments, display 18 may include a touch screen that may facilitate a user interacting with a user interface of electronic device 10. Furthermore, it should be understood that in some embodiments, display 18 may include one or more liquid crystal displays (LCDs), light emitting diode (LED) displays, organic light emitting diode (OLED) displays, active matrix organic light emitting diode (AMOLED) displays, or some combination of these and / or other display technologies.

[0034] The input structures 22 of the electronic device 10 may enable a user to interact with the electronic device 10 (e.g., pressing a button to increase or decrease a volume level). As with the network interface 26, the I / O interface 24 may enable the electronic device 10 to interact with various other electronic devices. In some embodiments, the I / O interface 24 may include an I / O port for a hardwired connection for charging and / or content manipulation using a standard connector and protocol such as the Lightning connector provided by Apple Inc. of Cupertino, California, a universal serial bus (USB), or other similar connectors and protocols.

[0035] The network interface 26 may include, for example, one or more interfaces for a personal area network (PAN) such as an ultra-wideband (UWB) or A network, a local area network (LAN) or a wireless local area network (WLAN) such as one of the IEEE 802.11x family of protocols (e.g., ) networks and / or wide area networks (WANs) such as any standards associated with the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) including, for example, 3rd Generation (3G) cellular networks, Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), 4th Generation (4G) cellular networks, Long Term Evolution (LET), and / or Wide Area Networks (WANs). Cellular network, Long Term Evolution Licensed Assisted Access (LTE-LAA) cellular network, 5th Generation (5G) cellular network and / or New Radio (NR) cellular network, satellite network, non-terrestrial network, etc. Specifically, the network interface 26 may include, for example, one or more interfaces for using the version 15 cellular communication standard of the 5G specification including a millimeter wave (mmWave) frequency range (e.g., 24.25-300 gigahertz (GHz)), and / or any other cellular communication standard version (e.g., version 16, version 17, any future version) that defines and / or implements a frequency range for wireless communication. The network interface 26 of the electronic device 10 may allow communication through the aforementioned networks (e.g., 5G, Wi-Fi, LTE-LAA, etc.).

[0036] The network interface 26 may also include, for example, one or more interfaces for broadband fixed wireless access networks (eg, ), mobile broadband wireless network (mobile ), asynchronous digital subscriber line (e.g., ADSL, VDSL), digital video terrestrial broadcasting Network and its extension DVB Handheld Networks, ultra-wideband (UWB) networks, alternating current (AC) power lines, etc.

[0037] As shown, the network interface 26 may include a transceiver 30. In some embodiments, all or part of the transceiver 30 may be disposed within the processor 12. The transceiver 30 may support the transmission and reception of various wireless signals via one or more antennas, and thus may include a transmitter and a receiver. The power supply 28 of the electronic device 10 may include any suitable power source, such as a rechargeable lithium polymer (Li-poly) battery and / or an alternating current (AC) power converter.

[0038] Figure 2 According to the embodiments of the present disclosure Figure 1 1 is a functional diagram of an electronic device 10. As shown, the processor 12, memory 14, transceiver 30, transmitter 52, receiver 54 and / or antenna 55 (shown as 55A-55N, collectively referred to as antenna 55) can be directly or indirectly communicatively coupled to each other (e.g., through or via another component, a communication bus and / or a network) to transmit and / or receive data between each other.

[0039] The electronic device 10 may include a transmitter 52 and / or a receiver 54, which respectively enable transmission and reception of data between the electronic device 10 and an external device via, for example, a network (e.g., including a base station) or a direct connection. As shown, the transmitter 52 and the receiver 54 may be combined into a transceiver 30. The electronic device 10 may also have one or more antennas 55A to 55N, which are electrically coupled to the transceiver 30. The antennas 55A-55N may be configured in an omnidirectional or directional configuration, a single beam, a dual beam or a multi-beam arrangement, etc.

[0040] Each antenna 55 may be associated with one or more beams and various configurations. In some embodiments, multiple antennas in the antennas 55A-55N of the antenna group or module may be communicatively coupled to the corresponding transceiver 30 and each transmits a radio frequency signal that may be advantageously and / or destructively combined to form a beam. Applicable to various communication standards, the electronic device 10 may include multiple transmitters, multiple receivers, multiple transceivers, and / or multiple antennas. In some embodiments, the transmitter 52 and the receiver 54 may transmit and receive information via other wired or wired systems or devices.

[0041] As shown, the various components of the electronic device 10 can be coupled together via a bus system 56. The bus system 56 may include, for example, a data bus and, in addition to the data bus, a power bus, a control signal bus, and a status signal bus. The components of the electronic device 10 may be coupled together or use some other mechanism to receive or provide input to each other.

[0042] Figure 3 8 is a schematic diagram of a receiver 54 (e.g., receiving circuit) according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown, the receiver 54 can receive receive data from one or more antennas 55 in the form of a signal 80 (e.g., an analog signal). The amplifier circuit 82 can amplify the received signal 80 to a suitable level for processing by the receiver 54. In particular, the amplifier circuit 82 can amplify the signal 80 by applying a gain (e.g., a power gain) to the signal 80. As shown, the amplifier circuit 82 may include one or more low noise amplifiers (LNA) 83, but the amplifier circuit 82 may also include one or more passive components (e.g., transmission lines, routing circuits, phase shifters, etc.).

[0043] As an example, the amplification circuit 82 may include multiple amplifiers (e.g., LNA 83) coupled in series using multiple transmission lines. In addition, each of the amplifiers and transmission lines of the amplification circuit 82 may apply a corresponding gain (e.g., power gain) to the received signal 80. Therefore, each of the amplifiers and transmission lines of the amplification circuit 82 may provide a portion of the total gain applied by the amplification circuit 82.

[0044] The amplifier circuit 82 may also include a plurality of attenuators, as discussed in further detail below. For example, the gain of each of the amplifier and the transmission line may change based on temperature changes. Therefore, in different embodiments, the amplifier circuit 82 may include a plurality of distributed attenuators, variable attenuators, or both to compensate for gain changes of the amplifier and the transmission line caused by temperature changes, as will be understood.

[0045] In any case, the amplifier circuit 82 may provide the amplified signal 80 to the RF mixer 84. The RF mixer 84 may include a filter 86 (e.g., filter circuit and / or software), a demodulator 88, and an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) 90. In different embodiments, the filter 86 may include a filter circuit, filtering software, or both. The filter 86 may receive the amplified signal from the amplifier circuit 82. The filter 86 may remove undesirable noise, such as cross-channel interference, from the received signal. The filter 86 may also remove additional signals at frequencies other than the desired signal received by one or more antennas 55. In addition, the filter 86 may include one or more any suitable filters for removing undesirable noise or signals from the received signal, such as a bandpass filter, a bandstop filter, a low-pass filter, a high-pass filter, and / or a decimation filter.

[0046] The demodulator 88 may remove the RF envelope from the filtered signal and / or extract the demodulated signal from the filtered signal for processing. The ADC 90 may receive the demodulated analog signal and convert the signal into a digital signal of the incoming data 92 for further processing by the electronic device 10. In addition, the receiver 54 may include any suitable additional components not shown, or may not include some of the components shown, so that the receiver 54 can receive the received signal 80 via one or more antennas 55. For example, the receiver 54 may include a mixer component and / or a digital down converter.

[0047] Figure 4 It consists of multiple distributed attenuators. Figure 3 Schematic diagram of an amplification circuit of a receiver of FIG. Amplification circuit 82 may include amplifiers 100, 102, 104, and 106, passive element 108, and distributed attenuators 110, 112, 114, 116, and 118. In the depicted embodiment, amplifiers 100, 102, 104, and 106 and passive element 108 are coupled in series. Therefore, amplification circuit 82 may amplify signal 80 based on the cumulative gain and gain variation of cascade amplifiers 100, 102, 104, and 106 and passive element 108. In addition, distributed attenuators 110, 112, 114, 116, and 118 are coupled between ground 130 and nodes 120, 122, 124, 126, and 128, respectively. Each of amplifiers 100, 102, 104, and 106 and passive element 108 may amplify signal 80 received by antenna 55 based on a corresponding gain. For example, each of amplifiers 100 , 102 , 104 , and 106 and passive element 108 may provide a portion of the gain of amplification circuit 82 .

[0048] In some cases, passive element 108 (illustrated as a phase shifter) may include one or more transmission lines, routing circuits, phase shifters, and / or other elements that receive energy from (e.g., and do not supply energy to) amplification circuit 82. Additionally, one or more of nodes 120, 122, 124, 126, and 128 may correspond to transmission lines, routing circuits, and / or connection nodes that couple amplifiers 100, 102, 104, and 106 and passive element 108. In particular, nodes 120, 122, 124, 126, and 128 may include differential transmission lines, routing circuits, and / or connection nodes. Additionally, although Figure 4 The depicted embodiment of the amplifier circuit 82 includes a particular number of amplifiers, distributed attenuators, and passive components (e.g., transmission lines), but it should be understood that in different embodiments, the amplifier circuit 82 may include a different number (e.g., more or less) of amplifiers, distributed attenuators, and passive components.

[0049] In any case, temperature changes in the elements of amplification circuit 82 (e.g., amplifiers 100, 102, 104, and 106 and passive element 108) may cause a gain change as applied by at least some of the elements. For example, an initial or standard gain of each of the elements may correspond to a gain of the corresponding element at a particular temperature (e.g., room temperature, approximately 20 degrees Celsius (° C.) to 30° C., such as 25° C., or any other suitable initial or standard temperature). For example, the particular temperature may correspond to a test temperature associated with a manufacturing facility for electronic device 10 or amplification circuit 82. In addition, when amplification circuit 82 is in operation, the total gain of each of the elements may correspond to the initial or standard gain of the corresponding element plus a gain change of each element caused by a temperature change (e.g., from a particular temperature).

[0050] For example, a higher temperature (e.g., above a certain temperature) may cause a negative gain change (e.g., -dB) of each of the amplifiers 100, 102, 104, and 106 and / or the passive element 108, thereby reducing the initial or standard gain of each of the amplifiers 100, 102, 104, and 106 and / or the passive element 108. Thus, a higher temperature may reduce the overall gain of the amplification circuit 82. Additionally, a lower temperature (e.g., below a certain temperature) may cause a positive gain change (e.g., +dB) of each of the amplifiers 100, 102, 104, and 106 and the passive element 108, thereby increasing the initial or standard gain of each of the amplifiers 100, 102, 104, and 106 and / or the passive element 108. Thus, a lower temperature may increase the overall gain of each of the amplification circuits 82.

[0051] In some embodiments, each of the distributed attenuators 110, 112, 114, 116, and 118 may apply a dynamic gain attenuation range to compensate for a gain variation range of one respective amplifier 100, 102, 104, or 106 or passive element 108. In alternative or additional embodiments, each of the distributed attenuators 110, 112, 114, 116, and 118 may apply a respective dynamic gain attenuation range to compensate for a respective portion of the cumulative gain variation of the amplifiers 100, 102, 104, and 106 and / or the passive element 108.

[0052] In a specific example, the distributed attenuator 110 can compensate for gain variations of the amplifier 100 (e.g., attenuate positive gain variations of the amplifier). The distributed attenuator 110 can apply a dynamic gain attenuation range based on the gain variation range of the amplifier 100. In addition, the distributed attenuator 112 can compensate for gain variations of the passive element 108. The distributed attenuator 112 can apply a dynamic gain attenuation range based on the gain variation range of the passive element 108. In addition, the distributed attenuator 114 can compensate for gain variations of the amplifier 102. The distributed attenuator 114 can apply a dynamic gain attenuation range based on the gain variation range of the amplifier 102.

[0053] In addition, the distributed attenuator 116 may compensate for the gain variation of the amplifier 104. The distributed attenuator 116 may include a dynamic gain attenuation range based on the gain variation range of the amplifier 104. In addition, the distributed attenuator 118 may compensate for the gain variation of the amplifier 106. The distributed attenuator 118 may include a dynamic gain attenuation range based on the gain variation range of the amplifier 106. That is, in alternative or additional embodiments, the dynamic gain attenuation range of each of the distributed attenuators 110, 112, 114, 116, and 118 may correspond to at least a portion of the cumulative gain variation range of the amplification circuit 82.

[0054] In any case, a controller circuit such as a processor 12 may provide control signals to the distributed attenuators 110, 112, 114, 116, and 118. In some cases, the processor 12 may use a multi-bit binary (e.g., a 3-bit binary) to implement the transmission control signal to fully or partially gradually turn on and off one or more of the distributed attenuators 110, 112, 114, 116, and 118 to increase or decrease attenuation. For example, the processor 12 may transmit a 3-bit binary control signal to increase (or decrease) attenuation by 0.5 dB or less, 1 dB or less, 2 dB or less, 3 dB or less, 5 dB or less, 10 dB or less, etc. The processor 12 may provide the control signal based on the temperature of the amplifiers 100, 102, 104, and / or 106 and / or the passive element 108. As mentioned above, temperature changes of each of the amplifiers 100 , 102 , 104 , and / or 106 and / or the passive element 108 may cause a gain change of the respective amplifier 100 , 102 , 104 , and / or 106 and / or the passive element 108 .

[0055] Thus, the processor 12 may provide a control signal to adjust the gain attenuation of each of the distributed attenuators 110, 112, 114, 116, and 118 based on the corresponding gain changes of the amplifiers 100, 102, 104, and / or 106 and / or the passive element 108 caused by the temperature change (e.g., a control signal may be provided to adjust the gain attenuation of each of the distributed attenuators to compensate for the corresponding gain changes of the amplifiers and / or passive elements caused by the temperature change). For example, a first control signal may cause the distributed attenuator 110 to compensate for a first gain change, a second control signal may cause the distributed attenuator 112 to compensate for a second gain change, and so on. In addition, in some cases, the processor 12 may transmit a multi-bit command signal to one or more of the distributed attenuators 110, 112, 114, 116, and 118 based on the temperature to, for example, gradually turn on or off one or more of the distributed attenuators 110, 112, 114, 116, and 118.

[0056] In the specific examples discussed above, the processor 12 may operate the distributed attenuator 110 by sending a control signal based on the temperature of the amplifier 100. The processor 12 may also operate the distributed attenuator 112 by sending a control signal based on the temperature of the passive element 108. In addition, the processor 12 may operate the distributed attenuator 114 by sending a control signal based on the temperature of the amplifier 102. In addition, the processor 12 may operate the distributed attenuator 116 by sending a control signal based on the temperature of the amplifier 106, and operate the distributed attenuator 118 by sending a control signal based on the temperature of the amplifier 104.

[0057] In some cases, the processor 12 may provide control signals to the distributed attenuators 110, 112, 114, 116, and 118 based on temperature using a lookup table (e.g., stored in the memory 14 and / or storage device 16). The lookup table may include values ​​for adjusting the gain attenuation of each of the distributed attenuators 110, 112, 114, 116, and 118 corresponding to the temperature of the associated amplifier 100, 102, 104 and / or 106 and / or passive element 108. In some embodiments, the lookup table may include different sets of values ​​for adjusting the gain attenuation of each (or some) of the distributed attenuators 110, 112, 114, 116, and / or 118 because each attenuator may have different operating characteristics than another, undergo different manufacturing processes, etc.

[0058] To determine the temperature of the amplifiers 100, 102, 104, and / or 106 and / or the passive element 108, the receiver 54 and / or the amplification circuit 82 may include a plurality of temperature sensors. In some cases, the amplification circuit 82 may include a temperature sensor (e.g., a thermocouple, a resistance temperature detector, a thermistor, etc.) associated with each of the amplifiers 100, 102, 104, and / or 106 and / or the passive element 108. In alternative cases, the amplification circuit 82 may include a temperature sensor associated with one or more of the amplifiers 100, 102, 104, and / or 106 and / or the passive element 108. In any case, the processor 12 or any other feasible circuitry may receive and / or determine the temperature of each of the amplifiers 100, 102, 104, and / or 106 and / or the passive element 108 based on receiving temperature information from one or more temperature sensors.

[0059] When a temperature equal to or greater than a threshold temperature (e.g., 25° C. or greater, 30° C. or greater, 40° C. or greater, 50° C. or greater, 60° C. or greater, 65° C. or greater, 100° C. or greater, etc.) is received at one or more of the amplifiers 100, 102, 104, and / or 106 and / or the passive element 108, the processor 12 may provide a control signal to idle one or more of the distributed attenuators 110, 112, 114, 116, and / or 118 corresponding to one or more of the amplifiers 100, 102, 104, and / or 106 and / or the passive element 108 operating at or above the threshold temperature (e.g., so that the idle attenuators are not in operation and / or do not attenuate RF signals). As mentioned above, higher temperatures (e.g., higher than an initial or standard temperature) may cause a negative gain change (e.g., -dB), which may reduce the gain of one or more of amplifiers 100, 102, 104, and 106 and passive element 108. Therefore, it may not be desirable to attenuate (e.g., or reduce) the gain change of amplifiers 100, 102, 104, and / or 106 and / or passive element 108 operating at temperatures equal to or higher than a threshold temperature because the gain change has already been reduced due to such higher temperatures.

[0060] In one example, one or more of the distributed attenuators 110, 112, 114, 116, and / or 118 may include a 3 dB (or nearly 3 dB) range of gain attenuation (e.g., a maximum gain attenuation of -3 dB), including a gain attenuation of zero or near zero at idle. In addition, the gain variation of at least some of the amplifiers 100, 102, 104, and 106 and the passive element 108 may be + / -1.5 dB (or nearly + / -1.5 dB) from an initial or standard gain (e.g., measured at a particular temperature such as room temperature, approximately 20 degrees Celsius (C) to 30° C. (such as 25° C.), or any other suitable initial or standard temperature). For example, the gain variation of at least some of the amplifiers 100, 102, 104, and 106 and the passive element 108 may be -1.5 dB at (or above) a threshold temperature. Thus, amplifiers 100, 102, 104, and 106 and passive element 108 may amplify signal 80 based on respective initial gains in combination with respective negative gain changes (eg, a gain change of -1.5 dB) from the respective initial gains at (or above) the threshold temperature.

[0061] In addition, when idle, the distributed attenuators 110, 112, 114, 116, and / or 118 can provide zero or near-zero decibel gain attenuation (e.g., minimum gain attenuation, 0 dB, ~+ / -0 dB) to the signal 80. As mentioned above, in some cases, each of the distributed attenuators 110, 112, 114, 116, and 118 can compensate for gain variations of one corresponding amplifier 100, 102, 104, or 106 or passive element 108. In this case, each distributed attenuator 110, 112, 114, 116, or 118 can include a relatively narrow gain attenuation dynamic range, including zero or near-zero gain attenuation when idle, to compensate for gain variations of one corresponding amplifier 100, 102, 104, or 106 or passive element 108. Thus, idle distributed attenuators 110, 112, 114, 116, and / or 118 may provide zero or near zero decibel gain attenuation (eg, minimum gain attenuation, 0 dB, ~+ / - 0 dB) to signal 80 based at least in part on having a narrow dynamic gain attenuation range.

[0062] When a temperature below a threshold temperature (e.g., less than 25° C. or more, 30° C. or more, 40° C. or more, 50° C. or more, 60° C. or more, 65° C. or more, 100° C. or more, etc.) is received, the processor 12 may provide a control signal to increase the gain attenuation of one or more of the distributed attenuators 110, 112, 114, 116, and / or 118 (e.g., to compensate for gain changes of the amplifiers 100, 102, 104, and / or 106 and / or the passive element 108 caused by the temperature being below the threshold temperature). In some cases, the processor 12 may provide a control signal to increase the gain attenuation inversely proportional to the temperature of the component below the threshold temperature that provides a gain attenuation reduction. In one example, when the temperature of at least one of the amplifiers 100, 102, 104, or 106 or the passive element 108 decreases below a threshold temperature, the processor 12 may provide a control signal to increase the gain attenuation of the distributed attenuator 110, 112, 114, 116, or 118 on the signal 80.

[0063] As mentioned above, reducing the temperature of each of the amplifiers 100, 102, 104, and 106 and the passive element 108 may cause a positive gain change (e.g., +dB) of the respective amplifiers 100, 102, 104, and 106 and the passive element 108. Furthermore, the positive gain change may increase the overall gain of the respective amplifiers 100, 102, 104, and 106 and the passive element 108. Thus, the processor 12 may provide a control signal based on the reduced temperature to increase the gain attenuation of the respective distributed attenuators 110, 112, 114, 116, and / or 118 to compensate for the increased overall gain of the amplifiers 100, 102, 104, and / or 106 and / or the passive element 108.

[0064] Figure 5 yes Figure 4 1. A circuit diagram of a distributed attenuator for an amplifier circuit of FIG. 1. In different embodiments, the distributed attenuators 112, 114, 116, and / or 118 may be similar to or different from the depicted distributed attenuator 110. In the depicted embodiment, the distributed attenuator 110 may be coupled to a node 120 of the amplifier circuit 82. In particular, the distributed attenuator 110 may be differentially coupled between a node 120A (e.g., a positive power rail) and a node 120B (e.g., a negative power rail).

[0065] The distributed attenuator 110 may include a first switch 152 and a second switch 154. In some cases, the first switch 152 and / or the second switch 154 may be configured to be conductive or non-conductive (e.g., using a metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET), a resistor, or other feasible component). Alternatively or additionally, the first switch 152 and / or the second switch 154 may be configured to provide a variable resistance (e.g., using a variable resistance transistor). In any case, the processor 12 may provide a first control signal 156 to the first switch 152 and a second control signal 158 to the second switch 154 (e.g., to the respective gates of each MOSFET switch 152, 154). In different cases, the first control signal 156 may partially or fully activate the first switch 152, the second switch 154, or both to apply a lower or higher attenuation within the dynamic gain attenuation range of the distributed attenuator 110.

[0066] As discussed above, the processor 12 may provide the first control signal 156 and / or the second control signal 158 based on the received and / or determined temperature of the amplifier (e.g., 100). In addition, the processor 12 may provide the first control signal 156 and / or the second control signal 158 based on the temperature using a lookup table. That is, the lookup table may be indexed by temperature and may store values ​​corresponding to the temperature that the processor 12 may send to the first switch 152 and / or the second switch 154 via the first control signal 156 and / or the second control signal 158. In certain instances, the processor 12 may adjust the gain attenuation of the distributed attenuator 110 by adjusting the variable resistance of the first switch 152, the second switch 154, or both.

[0067] Figure 6 It includes multiple distributed attenuators and variable attenuators. Figure 3 Schematic diagram of an amplification circuit of a receiver of FIG. Amplification circuit 82 may include amplifiers 100, 102, 104, and 106 and passive element 108 coupled in series with variable attenuator 160 (e.g., a "lumped" attenuator). Processor 12 may provide a control signal to variable attenuator 160 to compensate one or more elements of amplification circuit 82. Amplification circuit 82 may include a distributed attenuator 162 coupled to a node 166 disposed between passive element 108 and amplifier 102. Amplification circuit 82 may also include a distributed attenuator 164 coupled to a node 168 disposed between amplifiers 102 and 104.

[0068] The variable attenuator 160, the distributed attenuator 162, and the distributed attenuator 164 can each compensate for a portion of the gain variation of the amplifier circuit 82 caused by the temperature variation of the amplifier circuit 82. For example, the variable attenuator 160 can receive a control signal. In some embodiments, the variable attenuator 160 (or the distributed attenuators 162 and / or 164) can receive a multi-bit control signal from the processor 12 to compensate for the gain variation of the amplifiers 104 and 106 (e.g., based on the temperature at the amplifier 104 and / or the amplifier 106) by adjusting the attenuation based on the resistance switching. However, in other embodiments, the variable attenuator 160 can receive a control signal to compensate for the gain variation of only one of the amplifiers 104 or 106.

[0069] In addition, the distributed attenuator 164 may receive a control signal from the processor 12 to compensate for gain variations of the amplifier 102 (e.g., based on the temperature at the amplifier 102). In addition, the distributed attenuator 162 may receive a control signal from the processor 12 to compensate for gain variations of the amplifier 100 and the passive element 108 (e.g., based on the temperature at the amplifier 100 and / or the passive element 108). Thus, each of the variable attenuator 160, the distributed attenuator 162, and the distributed attenuator 164 may compensate for a different portion of the gain variation of the amplification circuit 82 based on their respective attenuation ranges. In this manner, the variable attenuator 160, the distributed attenuator 162, and the distributed attenuator 164 may each compensate for a different portion of the gain variation of the amplification circuit 82.

[0070] In some cases, the variable attenuator 160 may include a wider range of attenuation than the distributed attenuators 162 and 164. For example, in different cases, the variable attenuator 160 may compensate for 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or more elements of the amplification circuit 82 (e.g., amplifiers 100, 102, 104 and 106, and / or the passive element 108). In one example, the variable attenuator 160 may provide a gain attenuation (e.g., gain reduction or damping) of 5 dB or greater, 10 dB or greater, 15 dB or greater, etc. In some embodiments, the processor 12 may use a lookup table to provide control signals to the variable attenuator 160, the distributed attenuator 162, and / or the distributed attenuator 164 based on temperature. In one example, as the temperature decreases, the gain change of at least some of the elements of the amplification circuit 82 may increase (e.g., each increase of 0.1 dB or greater, 0.5 dB or greater, 1.0 dB or greater, 1.5 dB or greater, etc. from the initial or standard gain measured at a particular temperature). Thus, the processor 12 may operate or cause the distributed attenuators 162 and 164 to each attenuate (e.g., reduce or damp the power of) the signal 80 in response to the reduced temperature (e.g., by up to 1 dB or more, 2 dB or more, 3 dB or more, etc.). Additionally, the processor 12 may operate or cause the variable attenuator 160 to attenuate the signal 80 in response to the reduced temperature (e.g., by up to 5 dB or more, 10 dB or more, 15 dB or more, etc.).

[0071] In view of the foregoing, the variable attenuator 160 can be related to or matched to the impedance of the amplifier circuit 82, provide a desired frequency response (e.g., lower frequency roll-off), and / or provide a lower gain reduction error when attenuating the signal 80. Therefore, the amplifier circuit 82 can use a combination of a variable attenuator (e.g., variable attenuator 220) and a distributed attenuator (e.g., distributed attenuators 222 and 224) to provide the signal 80 to the RF mixer 84, thereby substantially utilizing the advantages of each while mitigating the disadvantages of each. Although in the depicted embodiment, the variable attenuator 160 is coupled between the amplifier amplification and the RF mixer 84, the variable attenuator 160 can be disposed at a different node of the amplifier circuit 82. For example, in different embodiments, the variable attenuator 160 can be disposed in series with the cascade amplifiers 100, 102, 104 and 106 and the passive element 108 at a node 166, a node 168, or a different node.

[0072] Figure 7 yes Figure 6As mentioned above, the variable attenuator can provide variable attenuation via a variable resistor. In some cases, the variable attenuator can apply a dynamic attenuation range (e.g., based on resistor switching) to compensate for gain changes caused by temperature of multiple amplifiers and transmission lines (or one amplifier). In different embodiments, the amplifier circuit 82 can use different circuits or specific implementations for the variable attenuator 160. In some cases, the first switch 170 (e.g., MOSFET, transistor, resistor, or other feasible component) of the variable attenuator 160 can receive a serial control signal 172 (e.g., via Figure 6 That is, in various embodiments, the series control signal 172 of the variable attenuator 160 may receive the series control signal 172 via other cascaded elements (and / or nodes) of the amplification circuit 82 (e.g., the amplifiers 100, 102, 104, and 106 and the passive element 108).

[0073] The variable attenuator 160 may also include a second switch 174. The second switch 174 may receive a first shunt control signal 176. In addition, the variable attenuator 160 may include a third switch 178. The third switch 178 may receive a second shunt control signal 180. In the depicted embodiment, the second switch 174 and the third switch 178 are coupled between the first switch 170 and the ground 130. In some cases, the first switch 170, the second switch 174, and / or the third switch 178 may be configured to be conductive or non-conductive (e.g., using a MOSFET). Alternatively or additionally, the first switch 170, the second switch 174, and / or the third switch 178 may be configured to provide a variable resistance (e.g., using a variable resistance transistor).

[0074] In any case, the processor 12 may provide the first shunt control signal 176 to the second switch 174 and the second shunt control signal 180 to the third switch 178 (e.g., based on the received and / or determined temperature of the amplifiers 100, 102, 104 and / or 106 and / or the passive element 108). In addition, the processor 12 may use a lookup table to determine the first shunt control signal 176 and the second shunt control signal 180 to provide to the switches 174, 178 based on the temperature. In certain cases, the processor 12 may adjust the gain attenuation of the variable attenuator 160 by adjusting the variable resistance of the second switch 174, the third switch 178, or both.

[0075] Figure 8 is used to attenuate the received RF signal to compensate Figure 4 or Figure 6The method 190 may facilitate the use of distributed attenuators to compensate for gain variations at different nodes of the receiver 54. Any suitable device (e.g., a controller circuit) that can control components of the electronic device 10 (such as the processor 12) may perform the method 190.

[0076] For example, processor 12 may use method 190 to provide a control signal to Figure 4 The distributed attenuators 110, 112, 114, 116 and / or 118, Figure 6 The variable attenuator 160 and / or Figure 6 164 of the distributed attenuators 162 and 164. Therefore, the processor 12 may use the method 190 to compensate for the gain changes of the amplifiers 100, 102, 104 and / or 108 and / or the passive element 108 due to temperature changes. In some embodiments, the method 190 may be implemented by using the processor 12 to execute instructions stored in a tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium such as the memory 14 or the storage device 16. For example, the method 190 may be performed at least in part by one or more software components such as an operating system of the electronic device 10, one or more software applications of the electronic device 10, etc.

[0077] Although the method 190 is described using a particular order of steps, it should be understood that the present disclosure contemplates that the described steps may be performed in an order different from that shown, and that certain described steps may be skipped or not performed at all. For example, although the method 190 is described with respect to the amplifier 100, it should be understood that the method 190 may additionally or alternatively be similarly used with the amplifiers 102, 104, 106, the passive components 108, and / or combinations of such components of the amplifier circuit 82.

[0078] In process block 192, processor 12 receives a temperature of amplifier 100. In some cases, processor 12 may determine the temperature based on receiving one or more temperature measurements associated with amplifier 100 (e.g., from a temperature sensor). In process block 194, processor 12 determines whether the temperature of amplifier 100 is equal to or above a threshold temperature. As mentioned above, higher temperatures (e.g., above an initial or standard temperature) may cause a negative gain change and a reduced overall gain of amplifier 100. Thus, in some cases, the threshold temperature may correspond to a temperature at which amplifier 100 operates at a threshold low gain. For example, when amplifier 100 exhibits a high (e.g., maximum) negative gain change, the threshold low gain may correspond to a low (e.g., minimum) overall gain of amplifier 100.

[0079] In process block 196, when the temperature of the amplifier 100 is equal to or greater than a threshold temperature, the processor 12 causes (e.g., by sending one or more control signals) one or more distributed attenuators and / or variable attenuators to reduce gain attenuation (e.g., perform less gain attenuation). The one or more distributed attenuators may include distributed attenuators 110, 112, 114, 116, 118, 162, and / or 164, and the variable attenuator may include the variable attenuator 160 described above. Additionally, in one example, when the temperature of the amplifier 100 is equal to or greater than a threshold temperature, the processor 12 may provide one or more control signals to idle at least one distributed attenuator and / or variable attenuator (e.g., such that the gain provided by the one or more distributed attenuators and / or variable attenuators is 0 dB).

[0080] In certain cases, when the temperature of the amplifier 100 is equal to or above a threshold temperature, one or more of the distributed attenuators 110, 112, 114, 116, 118, 162, and / or 164 and / or the variable attenuator 160 may provide a low (e.g., minimum) attenuation (e.g., 0 dB, near 0 dB) to the signal 80. However, the processor 12 may also consider the temperatures of the other amplifiers 102, 104, 106 and / or the passive element 108 to provide a control signal for the gain attenuation of one or more of the distributed attenuators 110, 112, 114, 116, 118, 162, and / or 164 and / or the variable attenuator 160. For example, a first distributed attenuator 110, 112, 114, 116, 118, 162, or 164 may receive a control signal to provide low (e.g., minimum) attenuation based on a low temperature (e.g., minimum) of one or more associated amplifiers 102, 104, 106 and / or passive components 108. Additionally, a second distributed attenuator 110, 112, 114, 116, 118, 162, or 164 may receive a control signal to provide greater attenuation based on a higher temperature of one or more associated amplifiers 102, 104, 106 and / or passive components 108 of the second distributed attenuator 110, 112, 114, 116, 118, 162, or 164.

[0081] In addition, in process block 198, when the temperature of the amplifier 100 is below a threshold temperature, the processor 12 causes (e.g., by sending one or more control signals) one or more distributed attenuators and / or variable attenuators to compensate for a gain variation of the amplifier 100. As mentioned above, when the temperature of the amplifier 100 decreases, the gain variation of the amplifier 100 may increase. Thus, when the temperature of the amplifier 100 decreases, the overall gain of the amplifier 100 may increase. Thus, in some cases, when the temperature of the amplifier 100 is below a threshold temperature, the processor 12 may cause the distributed attenuators 110, 112, 114, 116, 118, 162, and / or 164 and / or the variable attenuator 160 to attenuate the signal 80. In some cases, one of the distributed attenuators 110, 112, 114, 116, 118, 162, and / or 164 may compensate for a positive gain variation of the amplifier 100. Alternatively or additionally, the variable attenuator 160 and / or a combination of the distributed attenuators 110 , 112 , 114 , 116 , 118 , 162 and / or 164 and / or the variable attenuator 160 may compensate for positive gain variations of the amplifier 100 .

[0082] In some embodiments, the processor 12 provides control signals based on temperature to cause one or more of the distributed attenuators 110, 112, 114, 116, 118, 162, and / or 164 and / or the variable attenuator 160 to apply different amounts of attenuation. For example, the processor 12 may provide different control signals to compensate for gain changes of the amplifier 100 having different temperatures. In some embodiments, the processor 12 may cause one of the distributed attenuators 110, 112, 114, 116, 118, 162, and 164 and the variable attenuator 160 to apply different amounts of attenuation than another of the distributed attenuators 110, 112, 114, 116, 118, 162, and 164 and the variable attenuator 160 because the temperatures at these respective components are different. As the temperature decreases, the processor 12 may provide control signals to cause higher gain attenuation. In some cases, the processor 12 may provide such control signals using the lookup table mentioned above and discussed below.

[0083] Fig. 9 1 is another flow chart of a method 200 for electronic device 10 to amplify signal 80 independent of gain variations of amplifiers 100, 102, 104, and / or 106 and / or passive elements 108 caused by temperature variations according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Method 200 may facilitate using distributed attenuators to compensate for gain variations at different nodes of receiver 54. Similar to method 190 described above, method 200 may use distributed attenuators 110, 112, 114, 116, 118, 162, and / or 164 and / or variable attenuator 160 to compensate for gain variations of amplifier 100.

[0084] Any suitable device (e.g., a controller circuit) that can control components of the electronic device 10 (such as the processor 12) can perform the method 200. In some embodiments, the method 200 can be implemented by using the processor 12 to execute instructions stored in a tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium such as the memory 14 or the storage device 16. For example, the method 200 can be performed at least in part by one or more software components such as an operating system of the electronic device 10, one or more software applications of the electronic device 10, etc. Although the method 200 is described using a particular order of steps, it should be understood that the present disclosure contemplates that the described steps can be performed in an order different from the order shown, and that certain described steps can be skipped or not performed at all.

[0085] At process block 202, processor 12 receives a temperature of amplifier 100. In some cases, processor 12 may determine the temperature based on receiving one or more temperature measurements (e.g., from a temperature sensor) associated with amplifier 100. At process block 204, processor 12 determines one or more control signals from a lookup table based on the temperature of amplifier 100.

[0086] In some cases, the lookup table may include a specific set of attenuation values ​​for different amplifiers 100, 102, 104, and / or 106 and / or passive elements 108. In addition or alternatively, the electronic device 10 may include multiple lookup tables associated with different amplifiers 100, 102, 104, and / or 106 and / or passive elements 108. The memory 14 and / or storage device 16 may store one or more lookup tables. In addition, the lookup table may include attenuation values ​​to use the distributed attenuators 110, 112, 114, 116, and / or 118 to compensate for gain changes at different nodes 120, 122, 124, 126, and / or 128 of the amplification circuit 82 at different temperatures.

[0087] Subsequently, at process block 206, the processor 12 provides one or more control signals to one or more of the distributed attenuators 110, 112, 114, 116, 118, 162, and / or 164 and / or the variable attenuator 160, or a combination thereof. Thus, the amplification circuit 82 of the electronic device 10 can amplify the signal 80 by compensating for gain changes of the amplifiers 100, 102, 104, and / or 106 and / or the passive element 108 caused by temperature changes.

[0088] In different embodiments, the receiver 54 may include different combinations of distributed attenuators and / or variable attenuators, such as those discussed above. Figure 4 and Figure 6An embodiment of the present invention is provided to compensate for gain variations of the amplifier circuit 82 caused by temperature using distributed attenuators (eg, distributed attenuators 110, 112, 114, 116, 118, 162, and / or 164).

[0089] The above specific embodiments have been shown by way of example, and it should be understood that these embodiments are susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms. It should also be understood that the claims are not intended to be limited to the specific forms disclosed, but are intended to cover all modifications, equivalents and alternatives that fall within the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.

[0090] The technology described and claimed herein is cited and applied to specific examples of a physical and practical nature that significantly improves the art and is therefore not abstract, intangible, or purely theoretical. In addition, if any claim appended to the end of this specification contains one or more elements designated as "means for [performing] [the function] ..." or "steps for [performing] [the function] ...", then those elements will be interpreted in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f). However, for any claim containing elements designated in any other manner, those elements will not be interpreted in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f).

[0091] It is understood that the use of personally identifiable information should be subject to privacy policies and practices that are generally recognized to meet or exceed industry or government requirements for maintaining user privacy. Specifically, personally identifiable information data should be managed and processed to minimize the risk of unintentional or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of the authorized use should be clearly stated to users.

Claims

1. An electronic device, comprising: an antenna configured to receive a radio frequency signal; a plurality of amplifiers arranged in series along a transmission line and coupled to the antenna, each of the plurality of amplifiers having a gain variation based on temperature; a phase shifter coupled in series to at least one of the plurality of amplifiers along the transmission line, the phase shifter having a gain variation based on the temperature; A first attenuator is coupled to a first amplifier among the plurality of amplifiers or the phase shifter, and the first attenuator is configured to attenuate the RF signal based on the temperature to compensate for at least a portion of a cumulative gain variation of the plurality of amplifiers or the phase shifter based on the temperature.

2. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein: The first attenuator is coupled between the transmission line and ground.

3. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein: The first attenuator includes a first dynamic gain attenuation range and is configured to attenuate the radio frequency signal based on the first dynamic gain attenuation range to compensate for at least a portion of the accumulated gain variation caused by the first amplifier.

4. The electronic device according to claim 3 comprises a second attenuator, which is coupled in series with at least one second amplifier among the multiple amplifiers, and the second attenuator comprises a second dynamic gain attenuation range higher than the first dynamic gain attenuation range, and is configured to: attenuate the RF signal based on the second dynamic gain attenuation range to compensate for at least a second part of the cumulative gain change caused by the second amplifier.

5. The electronic device according to claim 4, wherein: The third attenuator includes a third dynamic gain attenuation range that is lower than the second dynamic gain attenuation range, and the third attenuator is configured to: attenuate the RF signal based on the third dynamic gain attenuation range to compensate for at least a third portion of the cumulative gain variation caused by the first amplifier, the second amplifier and the transmission line.

6. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein: The first attenuator is differentially coupled to the transmission line.

7. The electronic device according to claim 1, comprising: A controller circuit is coupled to the first attenuator and is configured to provide one or more control signals to the first attenuator to attenuate the radio frequency signal based on the temperature. 8 . The electronic device of claim 7 , wherein the first attenuator comprises a plurality of field effect transistor switches configured to receive the one or more control signals to attenuate the RF signal based on the temperature.

9. The electronic device of claim 8, wherein the one or more control signals cause at least one field effect transistor switch of the plurality of field effect transistor switches to: partially activating to apply a first attenuation based on a dynamic gain attenuation range of the first attenuator, or Based on the dynamic gain attenuation range of the first attenuator, it is fully activated to apply a second attenuation higher than the first attenuation.

10. A receiver, comprising: a plurality of amplifiers arranged in series along a transmission line and coupled to an antenna, each amplifier of the plurality of amplifiers having a gain variation based on temperature; a phase shifter coupled in series with at least one of the plurality of amplifiers along the transmission line, the phase shifter having a gain variation based on the temperature; A first attenuator is coupled to a first amplifier among the plurality of amplifiers or the phase shifter, and the first attenuator is configured to attenuate the RF signal based on the temperature to compensate for at least a portion of a cumulative gain variation of the plurality of amplifiers or the phase shifter based on the temperature.

11. The receiver according to claim 10, wherein: The first attenuator includes a first dynamic gain attenuation range, and is configured to attenuate the RF signal based on the first dynamic gain attenuation range.

12. The receiver according to claim 11, wherein: The first attenuator is configured to attenuate the radio frequency signal to compensate for at least a portion of a cumulative gain variation caused by the first amplifier.

13. The receiver of claim 10, wherein the first attenuator comprises a plurality of field effect transistor switches configured to attenuate the RF signal based on the temperature.

14. The receiver according to claim 13, wherein: At least one of the plurality of field effect transistor switches is configured to: partially activating to apply a first attenuation based on a dynamic gain attenuation range of the first attenuator, or Based on the dynamic gain attenuation range of the first attenuator, it is fully activated to apply a second attenuation higher than the first attenuation.

15. A method comprising: receiving an input signal at a radio frequency receiver circuit; receiving, at a processing circuit of the RF receiver circuit, the temperature of one or more amplifiers or phase shifters of a plurality of amplifiers of the RF receiver circuit, the plurality of amplifiers being coupled in series, the phase shifter being coupled to at least one of the plurality of amplifiers, each of the plurality of amplifiers and the phase shifter having a gain variation based on the temperature; providing one or more control signals by the processing circuit to adjust a gain attenuation of a first distributed attenuator among the plurality of distributed attenuators, the first distributed attenuator being coupled to a first amplifier among the plurality of amplifiers or the phase shifter, to compensate for a portion of a cumulative gain variation of the plurality of amplifiers or the phase shifter, the cumulative gain variation comprising a sum of gain variations of the plurality of amplifiers and the phase shifter based on the temperature; applying, by the first distributed attenuator, the gain attenuation to the input signal based on the one or more control signals; as well as The input signal is transmitted by the radio frequency receiver circuit to the processing circuit.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein each of the plurality of distributed attenuators comprises a dynamic gain attenuation range associated with compensating for an increased gain of a respective one of the plurality of amplifiers.

17. The method according to claim 16, comprising: The one or more control signals are provided by the processing circuit to increase the gain attenuation of the first distributed attenuator or the lumped attenuator of the RF receiver circuit to compensate for the increased gain of the first amplifier, based on the temperature of one or more of the multiple amplifiers being below a temperature threshold, and the gain attenuation range of the lumped attenuator being higher than the dynamic gain attenuation range of each of the multiple distributed attenuators.

18. The method according to claim 15, comprising: The one or more control signals are provided by the processing circuit to idle the first distributed attenuator based on a reduced gain of a first amplifier of the plurality of amplifiers, the reduced gain being based on a temperature of one or more amplifiers of the plurality of amplifiers being equal to or greater than a temperature threshold.

19. The method according to claim 15, comprising: After receiving the temperature, receiving, by the processing circuit, a plurality of temperatures of the plurality of amplifiers or the phase shifters; determining, by the processing circuitry, a second temperature increase associated with the first amplifier based on receiving the plurality of temperatures; as well as One or more additional control signals are provided by the processing circuit to reduce the gain attenuation of the first distributed attenuator based on the second temperature.

20. The method according to claim 15, comprising: A lookup table is referenced, by the processing circuit, to generate the one or more control signals based on the temperature.

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