A digital circuit, chip and transmitter for realizing multi-band signal combination

Abstract

The present invention provides a digital circuit, chip and transmitter for realizing multi-band signal combining, including N input modules and N data processing channels, each data processing channel is connected to all input modules, including a data processing module and a digital-to-analog conversion module DAC connected to the data processing module. The data processing module includes: N data selectors, each data selector is connected to the output end of all input modules, and another input end is fixed to 0, the data selector is used to select a signal output from the signals of all input ends of the data selector; an addition module is connected to the output ends of the N data selectors, and is used to add the outputs of the N data selectors. The present invention can improve the flexibility of multi-band signal combining, support more routing paths, and improve the fault tolerance and ease of use of the design.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of digital circuits, and in particular to a digital circuit, a chip and a transmitter for realizing multi-band signal combination. Background Art

[0002] Multi-band communication technology is a technology that uses multiple frequency bands to send and receive signals, and plays an important role in mobile communications, satellite communications and wireless local area networks.

[0003] A frequency band refers to spectrum resources distributed within a certain bandwidth, and a multi-band refers to a combination of two or more frequency bands that are separated by a certain distance on the spectrum. A multi-band communication system requires a multi-band transceiver. Taking the transmitter as an example, the traditional multi-band transmitter has complex hardware circuits, and each frequency band signal needs to use a separate transmission link, which is combined through the RF circuit and then output to the antenna. With the development of semiconductor technology, it is now possible to complete the fusion of multiple frequency bands in the digital domain through digital methods. The fused digital signal is converted into an analog signal through a high-performance DAC and then output to the antenna, thereby realizing single-channel multi-band transmission.

[0004] like Figure 5 As shown in the figure, a typical block diagram of a complex mode 4-band fusion circuit can realize the combination of 4-band signals in the digital domain. Among them, s00~s03 are 4 input data interfaces, which are used to introduce baseband IQ signals of 4 bands; the baseband IQ signals of these 4 bands are respectively converted into RF signals of corresponding bands by mixer processing; DAC0~DAC3 are 4 output interfaces. This circuit only supports DAC0 to output the I component (i.e., real part) after combination, DAC1 to output the Q component (i.e., imaginary part) after combination, and DAC2 and DAC3 have no output. This circuit regards the 4-way input signal as 2 groups, namely s00 / s01 and s02 / s03. In the implementation, a fixed mapping relationship from input interface to output interface is adopted, which reduces the fault tolerance and flexibility of development to a certain extent.

[0005] In order to improve the flexibility of combining multi-band signals, it is necessary to improve the existing circuits for combining multi-band signals. Summary of the invention

[0006] One of the purposes of the present invention is to overcome at least some of the deficiencies in the prior art and to provide a digital circuit, chip and transmitter for realizing multi-band signal combination.

[0007] The technical solution provided by the present invention is as follows:

[0008] A digital circuit for realizing multi-band signal combination, comprising N input modules and N data processing channels, each data processing channel being connected to all the input modules, each data processing channel comprising a data processing module and a digital-to-analog conversion module DAC connected to the data processing module; the input module is used to provide the data processing channel with an I component and / or a Q component of a digital intermediate frequency signal or a digital radio frequency signal of one frequency band;

[0009] The data processing module includes:

[0010] N data selectors, each of which is connected to the output terminals of all input modules, and has an input terminal fixed at 0, for selecting a signal output from the signals of all input terminals of the data selector;

[0011] The adding module is connected to the output ends of the N data selectors and is used to add the output signals of the N data selectors.

[0012] In some embodiments, the data processing module further includes:

[0013] The gain control module is connected to the addition module and is used to left-shift the input signal and then perform saturation processing to make the bit width of the output data consistent with the bit width of the input signal of the addition module.

[0014] In some embodiments, the number of left shifts is configurable.

[0015] In some embodiments, the input module includes an input data interface and a digital mixer connected thereto for implementing an up-conversion function, and the input data interface is used to introduce a baseband IQ signal of a frequency band.

[0016] In some embodiments, N is 4;

[0017] The data processing module includes:

[0018] 4 data selectors;

[0019] The addition module includes a two-stage adder, the output ends of the four data selectors are respectively connected to the input ends of the two first-stage adders, and the first-stage adders expand their output results by one bit; the output ends of the two first-stage adders are respectively connected to the input ends of the second-stage adder, and the second-stage adder expands its output results by one bit.

[0020] In some embodiments, the data processing module further includes:

[0021] The gain control module is connected to the addition module and is used to left-shift the input signal and then perform saturation processing to make the bit width of the output data consistent with the bit width of the input signal of the addition module.

[0022] In some embodiments, the number of left shifts includes 0, 1, or 2.

[0023] In some embodiments, the input module includes an input data interface and a digital mixer connected thereto for implementing an up-conversion function, and the input data interface is used to introduce a baseband IQ signal of a frequency band.

[0024] The present invention further provides a chip, comprising the digital circuit for realizing multi-band signal combination as described in any of the above embodiments.

[0025] The present invention also provides a transmitter, comprising the digital circuit for realizing multi-band signal combination as described in any of the above embodiments.

[0026] The digital circuit, chip and transmitter for realizing multi-band signal combining provided by the present invention can at least bring the following beneficial effects: the present invention can support any mapping of input interface to output interface and a multi-band output mode supported by any port through a fully interconnected input-to-output data path, thereby improving the flexibility of multi-band signal combining, supporting more routing paths, and improving the fault tolerance and ease of use of the design; the configurable output amplitude can enable the customer to flexibly control the amplitude of the output signal according to the input data. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0027] The following will explain the preferred implementation mode in a clear and understandable manner with reference to the accompanying drawings, and further explain the above-mentioned characteristics, technical features, advantages and implementation methods of a digital circuit, chip and transmitter for realizing multi-band signal combining.

[0028] Figure 1 It is a structural schematic diagram of an embodiment of a digital circuit for realizing multi-band signal combining of the present invention;

[0029] Figure 2 yes Figure 1 A structural diagram of an embodiment of a data processing module;

[0030] Figure 3 It is a structural schematic diagram of another embodiment of a digital circuit for realizing multi-band signal combining of the present invention;

[0031] Figure 4 is a structural schematic diagram of an embodiment of a transmitter of the present invention;

[0032] Figure 5 The present invention is a schematic diagram of the structure of an existing complex mode 4-band fusion circuit.

[0033] Description of Figure Numbers:

[0034] 11. Input module, 12. Data processing module, 13. Digital-to-analog conversion module DAC, 200. Data selector, 210. Addition module, 220. Gain control module, 10. Digital circuit for realizing multi-band signal combination. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0035] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the specific implementation methods of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the accompanying drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings and other implementation methods can be obtained based on these drawings without creative work.

[0036] In order to simplify the drawings, only the parts related to the present invention are schematically shown in each figure, and they do not represent the actual structure of the product. In addition, in order to simplify the drawings and facilitate understanding, in some figures, only one of the parts with the same structure or function is schematically drawn or marked. In this article, "one" not only means "only one", but also means "more than one".

[0037] One embodiment of the present invention, as Figure 1 , Figure 2 As shown, a digital circuit 10 for realizing multi-band signal combining includes N input modules and N data processing channels, each data processing channel is connected to all input modules, and each data processing channel includes a data processing module 12 and a digital-to-analog conversion module 13 connected to the data processing module 12. N>=2.

[0038] The input module is used to provide the data processing channel with a digital intermediate frequency signal of one frequency band or an I component and / or a Q component of a digital radio frequency signal.

[0039] The data processing module 12 includes:

[0040] N data selectors 200, each of which is connected to the output terminals of all input modules and has an input terminal fixed at 0 (low level) for selecting a signal to output from the signals of all input terminals of the data selector;

[0041] The adding module 210 is connected to the output ends of the N data selectors and is used to add the output signals of the N data selectors.

[0042] Specifically, the input module provides each data processing channel with an I component, a Q component, and an IQ component of a digital intermediate frequency signal or a digital radio frequency signal of a frequency band. A digital intermediate frequency signal refers to a digital signal in an intermediate frequency range, and a digital radio frequency signal refers to a digital signal in a radio frequency range.

[0043] Each data processing channel is connected to all input modules and can receive data from all input modules at the same time, that is, the digital data of each frequency band signal, and then realize the addition (combining) of various frequency band signals through an adder inside the channel. The combined signal is converted into an analog signal through a DAC and output from a fixed interface.

[0044] The control terminals of all data selectors are connected to a processor (not shown), which may be arranged outside the circuit described in this embodiment or included in the circuit, so that the data selector can be flexibly configured by the processor to select a signal output of an input terminal.

[0045] For example, if a data processing channel needs to realize the combination of 2 frequency band signals, it only needs to control to select 2 data selectors from N data selectors to output the corresponding 2 frequency band signals respectively, and the other data selectors select the '0' data channel for output. Other multi-band signal combination can be realized through similar configuration processing.

[0046] This realizes a fully interconnected input-to-output data path, supports any mapping from input interface to output interface, and keeps the delay of each frequency band unified during the design process. By modifying the configuration, it is possible to flexibly combine any multiple frequency band signals, meet the requirements of various multi-band output modes, improve the flexibility of the circuit, support more routing paths, and enable customers to design hardware circuits conveniently.

[0047] In one embodiment, the data processing module further includes:

[0048] The gain control module 220 is connected to the adding module, and is used to left-shift the input signal and then perform saturation processing to make the bit width of the output data consistent with the bit width of the input signal of the adding module.

[0049] The number of left shifts is configurable.

[0050] This embodiment adds a flexible amplitude control module and opens it to users, so that customers can flexibly control the amplitude of the output signal according to input data.

[0051] In one embodiment, the input module includes an input data interface and a digital mixer connected thereto for implementing an up-conversion function, wherein the input data interface is used to introduce a baseband IQ signal of a frequency band, and the digital mixer is used to up-convert the baseband IQ signal to an intermediate frequency or radio frequency range.

[0052] In one embodiment, N is 4, and the data processing module includes 4 data selectors and an adding module. The adding module includes a 2-stage adder, the output ends of the 4 data selectors are respectively connected to the input ends of the two first-stage adders, and the first-stage adders perform one-bit expansion on their output results; the output ends of the two first-stage adders are respectively connected to the input ends of the second-stage adders, and the second-stage adders perform one-bit expansion on their output results.

[0053] This embodiment can realize the combination of signals of up to 4 frequency bands.

[0054] In one embodiment, N is 4, and the data processing module includes 4 data selectors, an adding module and a gain control module. The adding module includes a 2-stage adder, the output ends of the 4 data selectors are respectively connected to the input ends of the two first-stage adders, and the first-stage adders perform one-bit expansion on their output results; the output ends of the two first-stage adders are respectively connected to the input ends of the second-stage adders, and the second-stage adders perform one-bit expansion on their output results.

[0055] The gain control module is connected to the addition module and is used to left-shift the input signal and then saturate it so that the bit width of the output data is consistent with the bit width of the input signal of the addition module. The left-shift bit number includes 0, 1, and 2.

[0056] The input module includes an input data interface and a digital mixer connected thereto for realizing up-conversion function. The input data interface is used to introduce a baseband IQ signal of a frequency band, and the digital mixer is used to up-convert the baseband IQ signal to an intermediate frequency or radio frequency range.

[0057] The present invention also provides a specific example. Figure 3 The circuit shown provides a combination of signals of up to 4 frequency bands. The circuit includes 4 input modules 11 and 4 data processing channels, each of which is connected to all input modules. Each input module includes an input data interface and a digital mixer connected thereto, and each data processing channel includes a data processing module 12 and a digital-to-analog conversion module DAC13 connected thereto.

[0058] s00~s03 are 4 input data interfaces, each of which is used to introduce a baseband IQ signal of a frequency band. The digital mixer is used to up-convert the baseband IQ signal to the intermediate frequency or radio frequency range. The baseband IQ signal of each frequency band is processed by the digital mixer and mixed with a high-frequency carrier signal to increase the signal frequency to the intermediate frequency or radio frequency range to obtain the IQ component of the digital intermediate frequency signal or digital radio frequency signal of the corresponding frequency band. The data processing module combines the I component or Q component of the digital intermediate frequency signal or digital radio frequency signal of multiple frequency bands, and the DAC converts the I component or Q component of the combined digital intermediate frequency signal or digital radio frequency signal into the corresponding analog signal output.

[0059] The specific processing of each data processing module is as follows:

[0060] 1. Each data processing module simultaneously receives 8 channels of data (4xI, 4xQ) output by 4 mixers, which realizes a fully interconnected input-to-output data path.

[0061] 2. Each data processing module DATA PATH includes 4 data selectors, each of which is a 9-to-1 selector, which is used to select an arbitrary channel output from the input 8-channel data and the '0' data channel (low-level channel) according to the signal of the control end. The control end of all data selectors is connected to the processor (not shown), so that the data selector can be flexibly configured by the processor to select the signal output of one input end.

[0062] 3. Design the first-level adder, which includes two adders. The addend and augend of each adder can be selected from 9 channels (including the data '0' channel) according to the configuration. Each added output result is expanded by 1 bit.

[0063] 4. Design the second-stage adder, fix it to add the outputs of the two first-stage adders, and expand the output result by 1 bit.

[0064] 5. The output of the last adder is amplitude controlled through the gain control module. The amplitude control is firstly a logical left shift, and secondly, the data after the left shift is saturated to make the data saturated to be consistent with the input data bit width. The number of left shift bits includes 0 / 1 / 2, which can be configured through the processor. When 0 bits are selected for left shift, the amplitude is reduced to 1 / 4 output, when 1 bits are selected for left shift, the amplitude is reduced to 1 / 2 output, and when 2 bits are selected for left shift, the output is as it is.

[0065] The aforementioned data selector, adder and gain control module are all implemented using digital logic circuits.

[0066] Let me first explain the frequency band mode. The xN frequency band mode means that the output interface (the output end of the DAC) outputs the result of combining N frequency band signals; x1 is the single frequency band mode, which means that the output interface outputs a single frequency band signal.

[0067] Through the fully interconnected input-to-output data path, any mapping of the input data interface to the output interface can be supported. For the same frequency band output mode, this embodiment can support the combined output of any frequency band. Taking the x2 frequency band mode as an example, the combination of s00 and s01, the combination of s02 and s03, the combination of s00 and s02, and the combination of s01 and s03 can be realized through configuration. In fact, the combination of any two frequency bands can be realized, and the output end can also be arbitrarily specified.

[0068] Each output interface can flexibly support any of the multi-band output modes (x2-band mode, x3-band mode, x4-band mode).

[0069] Traditional multi-band combining circuits are based on Figure 5 For example, in the x4 frequency band mode, the output interface only supports DAC0 to output the real part, DAC1 to output the imaginary part, and DAC2 and DAC3 have no output, while the output interface can be arbitrarily specified in this embodiment. In the x2 frequency band mode, only the combination of s00 and s01 can be realized, and the output interfaces are DAC0 (real part) and DAC1 (imaginary part); the combination of s02 and s03, and the output interfaces are DAC2 (real part) and DAC3 (imaginary part); while the present embodiment can realize the combination of any two frequency bands, and the output end can also be arbitrarily specified.

[0070] In the x1 frequency band mode, the input interface corresponds to the output interface one by one, that is, in the real number mode, the s00 data interface corresponds to the DAC0 output; in the complex number mode, s00 corresponds to the real part of the DAC0 output and the imaginary part of the DAC1 output; and in this embodiment, the output interface can be arbitrarily specified.

[0071] It can flexibly support multi-channel transmission without adding additional circuits. For example, in x1 frequency band mode, by configuring Figure 3 It is easy to realize the 4T (4-transmitter) function. X4 frequency band mode, by configuring Figure 3 The 2T (dual-transmit) function can be easily realized, but Figure 5 The circuit shown can only realize the dual-transmission function by adding a power divider, and at the same time the amplitude of the output signal is reduced by the power divider.

[0072] This embodiment can also enable the customer to flexibly control the amplitude of the output signal according to the input data by configuring the number of left shift bits of the gain control module.

[0073] This embodiment improves the flexibility of multi-band signal combining through fully interconnected data paths and configurable output amplitudes, supports more routing paths, and improves the fault tolerance and ease of use of the design.

[0074] In one embodiment of the present invention, a chip includes the digital circuit 10 for realizing multi-band signal combination as described in any of the above embodiments.

[0075] One embodiment of the present invention, as Figure 4 As shown, a transmitter includes the digital circuit 10 for realizing multi-band signal combining as described in any of the above embodiments.

[0076] It should be noted that the above embodiments can be freely combined as needed. The above is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention. It should be pointed out that for ordinary technicians in this technical field, several improvements and modifications can be made without departing from the principle of the present invention, and these improvements and modifications should also be considered as the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A digital circuit for realizing multi-band signal combining, characterized in that: It comprises N input modules and N data processing channels, N>=2, each data processing channel is connected to all the input modules, and each data processing channel comprises a data processing module and a digital-to-analog conversion module DAC connected to the data processing module; the input module is used to provide the data processing channel with an I component and / or Q component of a digital intermediate frequency signal or a digital radio frequency signal of a frequency band; The data processing module comprises: N data selectors, each of which is not only connected to the output terminals of all input modules, but also has an input terminal fixed at 0, and is used to select a signal output from the signals of all input terminals of the data selector according to the configuration of the processor; An adding module is connected to the output ends of the N data selectors and is used to add the output signals of the N data selectors.

2. The digital circuit for realizing multi-band signal combining according to claim 1, characterized in that: The data processing module also includes: The gain control module is connected to the adding module and is used to left-shift the input signal and then perform saturation processing to make the bit width of the output data consistent with the bit width of the input signal of the adding module.

3. The digital circuit for realizing multi-band signal combining according to claim 2, characterized in that: The number of left shifts is configurable.

4. The digital circuit for realizing multi-band signal combining according to claim 1, characterized in that: The input module includes an input data interface and a digital mixer connected thereto for realizing an up-conversion function, wherein the input data interface is used to introduce a baseband IQ signal of a frequency band.

5. The digital circuit for realizing multi-band signal combining according to claim 1, characterized in that: N is 4; The data processing module comprises: 4 data selectors; The addition module includes a two-stage adder, the output ends of the four data selectors are respectively connected to the input ends of two first-stage adders, and the first-stage adders perform one-bit expansion on their output results; the output ends of the two first-stage adders are respectively connected to the input ends of the second-stage adder, and the second-stage adder performs one-bit expansion on its output results.

6. The digital circuit for realizing multi-band signal combination according to claim 5, characterized in that: The data processing module also includes: The gain control module is connected to the adding module and is used to left-shift the input signal and then perform saturation processing to make the bit width of the output data consistent with the bit width of the input signal of the adding module.

7. The digital circuit for realizing multi-band signal combination according to claim 6, characterized in that: The left shift numbers include 0, 1, and 2.

8. The digital circuit for realizing multi-band signal combination according to claim 5, characterized in that: The input module includes an input data interface and a digital mixer connected thereto for realizing an up-conversion function, wherein the input data interface is used to introduce a baseband IQ signal of a frequency band.

9. A chip, characterized in that: A digital circuit for realizing multi-band signal combining as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 8.

10. A transmitter, characterized in that: A digital circuit for realizing multi-band signal combining as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 8.

Images