Six-tone signal generation circuitry

Abstract

The application discloses a six-tone signal generation circuit system, and relates to the technical field of circuit design, comprising: a quadrature frequency mixing module, a local oscillator driving module, a frequency mixing module, a signal synthesis module and a power amplification module; the quadrature frequency mixing module is used for frequency conversion of input first and second differential quadrature signals to first and sixth output signal frequencies; the signal output by the quadrature frequency mixing module, containing the first and sixth output signal frequencies, is used as the input of the signal synthesis module and the local oscillator signal of the frequency mixing module; the local oscillator driving module is used for amplifying the signal containing the first and sixth output signal frequencies as the local oscillator of the frequency mixing module; the frequency mixing module is used for frequency conversion of input differential signals to second, third, fourth and fifth output signal frequencies; the signal synthesis module is used for synthesizing the above six-tone signals; and the power amplification module is used for wideband amplification of the output six-tone signals and improvement of output power. The circuit system effectively solves the technical problem of multi-tone signal generation in a quantum conditioning circuit.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of circuit design technology, specifically a six-tone signal generation circuit system. Background Technology

[0002] With the rapid development of quantum technology, the application scenarios of quantum sensing systems are becoming increasingly complex. For example, quantum magnetometers used for magnetic field detection are exhibiting a trend towards higher sensitivity and wider measurement ranges. High sensitivity means that the sensing element is extremely sensitive to spurious signals during conditioning. Therefore, to ensure that the quantum sensing system can accurately detect magnetic fields, the signal generation circuit used to condition the sensing element needs to have high spurious suppression characteristics. Wide measurement range means that the signal generation circuit needs to be able to generate and process broadband signals from low to high frequencies, thus requiring broadband characteristics. Broadband, high spurious suppression signal generation circuits are indispensable in quantum sensing systems. They not only improve measurement accuracy and efficiency but also meet the needs of complex application scenarios, serving as a key supporting technology for the application of quantum technology. Summary of the Invention

[0003] To address the shortcomings mentioned in the background art, the present invention aims to provide a six-tone signal generation circuit system.

[0004] Firstly, the objective of this invention can be achieved through the following technical solution: a six-tone signal generation circuit system, comprising:

[0005] Quadrature mixer module, local oscillator drive module, mixer module, signal synthesis module, and power amplifier module;

[0006] The quadrature mixing module is used to convert the input first and second differential quadrature signals to the frequencies of the first and sixth output signals, and send the signals at the frequencies of the first and sixth output signals to the mixing module and the signal synthesis module.

[0007] The local oscillator driving module is used to drive and amplify a portion of the frequency of the first and sixth output signals to obtain amplified signals of the frequency of the first and sixth output signals, which are used as the local oscillator signals of the mixing module.

[0008] The mixing module is used to convert the input differential signal and the amplified first and sixth output signal frequencies to obtain the second, third, fourth and fifth output signal frequencies, and send the second, third, fourth and fifth output signal frequencies to the signal synthesis module.

[0009] The signal synthesis module is used to synthesize the signals of the first and sixth output signal frequencies and the signals of the second, third, fourth and fifth output signal frequencies to obtain a six-tone signal; the six-tone signal is then sent to the power amplification module.

[0010] The power amplifier module is used to amplify the six-tone signal in a wideband.

[0011] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the method further includes: the quadrature mixing module includes: a local oscillator input single-ended signal to differential signal circuit, a quadrature signal generation circuit, a sideband switching circuit, an I-channel mixer and a Q-channel mixer, and a local oscillator leakage calibration circuit, wherein the I-channel mixer and the Q-channel mixer have the same circuit structure and circuit parameters;

[0012] The externally input local oscillator signal is connected to a single-ended to differential circuit and a quadrature signal generation circuit. The quadrature signal generation circuit is connected to a sideband switching circuit to generate quadrature local oscillator signals. The sideband switching circuit is used to switch the output sideband, thereby configurably changing the frequencies of the first and sixth output signals. The output of the sideband switching circuit is connected to the local oscillator ports of the I-channel mixer and the Q-channel mixer. The input differential quadrature signals of the I-channel mixer and the Q-channel mixer are externally supplied. When the six-tone signal is output, the frequencies of the first local oscillator signal and the second local oscillator signal are different and can be swept and input separately. The quadrature mixing architecture is used to suppress image signals. A local oscillator leakage calibration circuit is added, and the output calibration current is used to improve local oscillator leakage.

[0013] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the method further includes: the input signals of the I-channel mixer and the Q-channel mixer are respectively A BB cos(ω BB t) and A BB sin(ω BB t), the local oscillator signals of the I and Q paths are A and A, respectively. LO cos(ω LO t) and A LO sin(ω LO t), the output signal V can be obtained. out The expression for (t) is:

[0014]

[0015] Among them, the quadrature mixer outputs a signal with a frequency of (ω) LO +ω BB ) / (ω LO -ω BB The output signal of ) is relative to the local oscillator signal ω. LO Image frequency (ω) LO -ω BB ) / (ω LO +ω BB There is no signal output.

[0016] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the method further includes: when the I-channel mixer and the Q-channel mixer are implemented based on field-effect transistors, the introduced calibration current is I. cal g m For transconductance stage transistors, R L For the load resistance, A BB V is the amplitude of the input signal. OS ω is the transistor mismatch voltage. BB and ω LO Let the input signal frequency and the local oscillator frequency be respectively. Then, the expression for the output signal of the mixer after introducing the calibration current is:

[0017]

[0018] As shown in the above formula, The leakage of the local oscillator signal caused by the transistor mismatch voltage at the output, when g is satisfied. m V OS -I cal When = 0, the signal leaked at the output terminal by the local oscillator frequency is completely canceled out.

[0019] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the method further includes: the local oscillator driving module includes: a two-stage cascaded amplifier and a low-pass filter. The two-stage cascaded amplifier is used to amplify the input signal containing the frequencies of the first and sixth output signals, and the low-pass filter is used to filter out stray signals.

[0020] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the method further includes: the mixing module includes two mixing circuits for converting the input differential signal with signals containing the frequencies of the first and sixth output signals respectively, to obtain output signals containing the frequencies of the second, third, fourth, and fifth output signals respectively.

[0021] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the method further includes: the input signal of the mixer circuit is A BB cos(ω BB t), the local oscillator signals are A LO cos(ω LO t), the output signal V can be obtained. out The expression for (t) is:

[0022]

[0023] As shown in the above equation, the signal output by the mixer circuit has a frequency of ω. LO +ω BB The output signal has a frequency of ω. LO -ω BB The output signal.

[0024] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the method further includes: the power amplification module broadband amplifies the six-tone signal to obtain a broadband, high spurious suppression six-tone signal output with sufficient power.

[0025] The beneficial effects of this invention are:

[0026] This invention, through the design of its circuit system architecture and scheme, presents a six-tone signal generation circuit system with advantages such as wide bandwidth and high spurious suppression, effectively solving the technical problem of multi-tone signal generation in quantum sensing conditioning circuits. Furthermore, by multiplexing existing signal frequency resources in the circuit, six-tone signals can be output without an additional local oscillator signal, effectively utilizing frequency resources and saving chip area and power consumption. Attached Figure Description

[0027] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention or the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, for those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0028] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the six-tone signal generation circuit system of the present invention;

[0029] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the quadrature mixer module circuit structure;

[0030] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the local oscillator drive module circuit structure;

[0031] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the mixer module circuit structure;

[0032] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the frequency distribution of the six-tone signal generation circuit system.

[0033] Figure 6 This is a diagram showing the actual output effect of the six-tone signal based on this six-tone signal generation circuit system. Detailed Implementation

[0034] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0035] Example 1:

[0036] like Figure 1 As shown, a six-tone signal generation circuit system includes:

[0037] Quadrature mixer module, local oscillator drive module, mixer module, signal synthesis module, and power amplifier module;

[0038] The quadrature mixing module is used to convert the input first and second differential quadrature signals to the frequencies of the first and sixth output signals, and send the signals at the frequencies of the first and sixth output signals to the mixing module and the signal synthesis module.

[0039] like Figure 2 As shown, the first local oscillator signal is converted into a differential signal by a single-ended signal to a differential signal circuit, and then passed through a quadrature signal generation circuit to obtain quadrature differential local oscillator signals. These signals are then input to a sideband switching circuit. The output of the sideband switching circuit is connected to the local oscillator ports of the I-channel and Q-channel mixers. The first differential quadrature input signal is frequency-converted by the mixer and the local oscillator signal. The output of the quadrature mixer circuit combines the I-channel and Q-channel signals to obtain the generated first output signal. The generated sixth output signal follows the same principle; by frequency-converting the second local oscillator signal and the second differential quadrature input signal, the generated sixth output signal can be obtained.

[0040] Quadrature mixers possess high spurious suppression characteristics. In quadrature mixers, spurious signals mainly originate from image signals and local oscillator leakage signals. Ideally, the I and Q input signals, as well as the local oscillator signal, have no amplitude or phase errors, giving this architecture a natural wideband image suppression feature. Assume the I and Q input signals are A... BB cos(ω BB t) and A BB sin(ω BB t), the local oscillator signals of the I and Q paths are A and A, respectively. LO cos(ω LO t) and A LO sin(ω LO t), the output signal V can be obtained. out The expression for (t) is:

[0041]

[0042] As shown in the above equation, the output signal of the quadrature mixer only has a frequency of (ω) LO +ω BB ) / (ω LO -ω BB The output signal of ) is relative to the local oscillator signal ω. LO Image frequency (ω) LO -ω BB ) / (ω LO +ω BBThere is no signal output, meaning the quadrature mixer module outputs only a single-sideband signal, and the mirror signal is completely suppressed.

[0043] Another significant source of spurious signals in quadrature mixer modules is leakage of the local oscillator signal. Due to non-ideal factors in actual circuits, such as transistor mismatch, the local oscillator signal does not have ideal isolation to the RF port, resulting in a signal at the local oscillator frequency at the output. To address this, a local oscillator leakage calibration technique is introduced, injecting a calibration current into the mixer to compensate for differential DC current errors caused by transistor mismatch. Figure 2 Taking the I-channel as an example, assuming that the I-channel and Q-channel mixers are implemented based on field-effect transistors, the introduced calibration current is I. cal g m For transconductance stage transistors, R L For the load resistance, A BB V is the amplitude of the input signal. OS ω is the transistor mismatch voltage. BB and ω LO Let the input signal frequency and the local oscillator frequency be respectively. Then, the expression for the output signal of the mixer after introducing the calibration current is:

[0044]

[0045] As shown in the above formula, the second term is the leakage of the local oscillator signal caused by the transistor mismatch voltage at the output. Ideally, when g is satisfied... m V OS -I cal When the signal is equal to 0, the signal leaking at the output terminal from the local oscillator frequency is completely canceled out. Based on the above quadrature mixer architecture and local oscillator leakage calibration circuit, high spurious suppression performance of the quadrature mixer module can be achieved.

[0046] The output signal obtained through the quadrature mixer module, containing the frequencies of the first and sixth output signals, is directly connected to both the input of the signal synthesis module and the output of the signal synthesis module. Figure 3 The input of the local oscillator drive module is connected.

[0047] The local oscillator drive module is used to drive and amplify a portion of the frequency of the first and sixth output signals to obtain amplified signals of the frequency of the first and sixth output signals, which are used as the local oscillator signals of the mixer module.

[0048] like Figure 3 As shown, the signal containing the frequencies of the first and sixth output signals, which is used as the local oscillator signal of the mixer module, is amplified by a two-stage cascaded amplifier of the local oscillator driver module and then connected to a low-pass filter. The output of the low-pass filter is connected to the local oscillator signal input of the mixer module, driving the mixer module's mixing circuit to work normally.

[0049] The mixing module is used to convert the input differential signal and the amplified first and sixth output signal frequencies to obtain the second, third, fourth and fifth output signal frequencies, and send the second, third, fourth and fifth output signal frequencies to the signal synthesis module.

[0050] like Figure 4 As shown, the mixer module consists of two mixer circuits. The differential input signal's positive and negative terminals are simultaneously connected to the signal input terminals of both mixers. After frequency conversion by the mixer module, signals containing the frequencies of the second, third, fourth, and fifth output signals are obtained. The local oscillator port of the mixer module is connected to the output signal of the local oscillator driver module, serving as the local oscillator signal of the mixer module. The output ports of the mixer module are connected to the input of the signal synthesis module. Assume the input signal of the mixer circuit is A. BB cos(ω BB t), the local oscillator signals are A LO cos(ω LO t), the output signal V can be obtained. out The expression for (t) is:

[0051]

[0052] As shown in the above equation, the signal output by the mixer circuit has a frequency of ω. LO +ω BB The output signal has a frequency of ω. LO -ω BB The output signal. Therefore, the mixer module can convert the externally input differential signal and the first and sixth output signals to output signals containing the frequencies of the second, third, fourth and fifth output signals respectively, thus obtaining the generated six-tone signal.

[0053] The signal synthesis module is used to synthesize the signals of the first and sixth output signal frequencies and the signals of the second, third, fourth and fifth output signal frequencies to obtain a six-tone signal; the six-tone signal is then sent to the power amplification module.

[0054] The generated six-tone signal is processed by a signal synthesis module to synthesize the aforementioned six-tone signal. The output signal at this point contains the generated six-tone signal with high spurious suppression characteristics. The six-tone signal output by the signal synthesis module is connected to the input of a power amplifier module to amplify the six-tone signal output by the signal synthesis module, thereby achieving a wideband, high spurious suppression six-tone signal output with sufficient power.

[0055] The power amplifier module is used to amplify the six-tone signal in a wideband.

[0056] The frequency distribution diagram of the six-tone signal generation circuit system of the present invention is shown below. Figure 5As shown, it should be noted that the scale and frequency interval shown in the figure are not actual scales, but are only used to illustrate the working process of the six-tone signal generation circuit system of the present invention from the perspective of frequency distribution.

[0057] like Figure 5 As shown, the horizontal axis represents frequency, and the vertical axis represents amplitude. The first and second differential quadrature input signals are mixed with the first and second local oscillator signals, respectively, to obtain the first and sixth output signals. The first and sixth output signals are then used as local oscillator signals for mixing with the differential input signals, yielding the second, third, fourth, and fifth output signals, respectively. In practical applications, the first and sixth output signals can be switched between upper and lower sidebands using a sideband switching circuit. Figure 5 The first output signal uses the lower sideband as an example, and the sixth output signal uses the upper sideband as an example. The frequency interval between the first local oscillator signal and the first output signal is the frequency of the first differential quadrature input signal; the frequency interval between the second local oscillator signal and the sixth output signal is the frequency of the second differential quadrature input signal; the frequency interval between the first output signal and the second and third output signals is the frequency of the differential input signal; and the frequency interval between the sixth output signal and the fourth and fifth output signals is the frequency of the differential input signal. By scanning the frequency of the first local oscillator signal, a comprehensive frequency sweep output of the first, second, and third output signals can be achieved. By scanning the frequency of the second local oscillator signal, a comprehensive frequency sweep output of the fourth, fifth, and sixth output signals can be achieved, exhibiting broadband characteristics. Through the design of the circuit system architecture and scheme, the generated power of the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth output signals is significantly higher than the spurious signal power, exhibiting high spurious suppression characteristics.

[0058] This invention reuses a signal containing the frequencies of the first and sixth output signals as the local oscillator signal of the mixing module, eliminating the need for an additional local oscillator signal to output a six-tone signal. This effectively utilizes frequency resources and saves chip area and power consumption. The six-tone signal generation circuit system also boasts advantages such as wide bandwidth and high spurious suppression, effectively solving the technical problem of multi-tone signal generation in the conditioning circuit of quantum sensing systems.

[0059] The actual effect of the six-tone signal output based on the aforementioned six-tone signal generation circuit system is as follows: Figure 6As shown in the actual verification case, the input signals were a first and a second differential quadrature signal with a power of -10dBm and a frequency of 300MHz, and a differential signal with a power of -10dBm and a frequency of 350MHz. The first local oscillator signal had a frequency of 2.4GHz, and the second local oscillator signal had a frequency of 3.4GHz. The output sideband of the first local oscillator signal was set as the lower sideband, and the output sideband of the second local oscillator signal was set as the upper sideband. This resulted in output signals with frequencies of 1.75GHz, 2.1GHz, 2.45GHz, 3.35GHz, 3.7GHz, and 4.05GHz, respectively, representing the second, first, third, fourth, sixth, and fifth output signals. All output powers exceeded 10dBm. The output spectrum also contained various spurious signals. Figure 6 The diagram illustrates the dominant 2.4GHz and 3.4GHz local oscillator leakage signals and intermodulation spurious signals. The spurious signal power is below -20dBm, and the spurious suppression exceeds 30dBc. This demonstrates that the six-tone signal generation circuit system possesses wide bandwidth and high spurious suppression characteristics.

[0060] Based on the same inventive concept, this invention also provides a discrete circuit system, which includes one or more discrete circuit modules and components for performing the functions of the aforementioned six-tone signal generation circuit system. The discrete circuit modules include, but are not limited to, discrete mixers, power synthesizers, power amplifiers, single-ended to differential signal circuits, and quadrature signal generation circuits. The discrete components include, but are not limited to, discrete resistors, inductors, and capacitors. These are key circuit modules and components of the six-tone signal generation circuit system, and the aforementioned method is achieved through any suitable combination thereof.

[0061] In the description of this specification, references to terms such as "an embodiment," "example," "specific example," etc., indicate that a specific feature, structure, material, or characteristic described in connection with that embodiment or example is included in at least one embodiment or example of this disclosure. In this specification, the illustrative expressions of the above terms do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Furthermore, the specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics described may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments or examples.

[0062] The foregoing has shown and described the basic principles, main features, and advantages of this disclosure. Those skilled in the art should understand that this disclosure is not limited to the above embodiments. The embodiments and descriptions in the specification are merely illustrative of the principles of this disclosure. Various changes and modifications can be made to this disclosure without departing from its spirit and scope, and all such changes and modifications fall within the scope of this disclosure as claimed.

Claims

1. A six-tone signal generation circuit system, characterized in that, include: Quadrature mixer module, local oscillator drive module, mixer module, signal synthesis module, and power amplifier module; The quadrature mixing module is used to convert the input first and second differential quadrature signals to the frequencies of the first and sixth output signals, and send the signals at the frequencies of the first and sixth output signals to the mixing module and the signal synthesis module. The local oscillator driving module is used to drive and amplify a portion of the frequency of the first and sixth output signals to obtain amplified signals of the frequency of the first and sixth output signals, which are used as the local oscillator signals of the mixing module. The mixing module is used to convert the input differential signal and the amplified first and sixth output signal frequencies to obtain the second, third, fourth and fifth output signal frequencies, and send the second, third, fourth and fifth output signal frequencies to the signal synthesis module. The signal synthesis module is used to synthesize the signals of the first and sixth output signal frequencies and the signals of the second, third, fourth and fifth output signal frequencies to obtain a six-tone signal; the six-tone signal is then sent to the power amplification module. The power amplifier module is used to amplify the six-tone signal in a wideband.

2. The six-tone signal generation circuit system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The quadrature mixing module includes: a local oscillator input single-ended signal to differential signal circuit, a quadrature signal generation circuit, a sideband switching circuit, an I-channel mixer and a Q-channel mixer, and a local oscillator leakage calibration circuit, wherein the I-channel mixer and the Q-channel mixer have the same circuit structure and circuit parameters. The externally input local oscillator signal is connected to a single-ended to differential circuit and a quadrature signal generation circuit. The quadrature signal generation circuit is connected to a sideband switching circuit to generate quadrature local oscillator signals. The sideband switching circuit is used to switch the output sideband, thereby configurably changing the frequencies of the first and sixth output signals. The output of the sideband switching circuit is connected to the local oscillator ports of the I-channel mixer and the Q-channel mixer. The input differential quadrature signals of the I-channel mixer and the Q-channel mixer are externally supplied. When the six-tone signal is output, the frequencies of the first local oscillator signal and the second local oscillator signal are different and can be swept and input separately. The quadrature mixing architecture is used to suppress image signals. A local oscillator leakage calibration circuit is added, and the output calibration current is used to improve local oscillator leakage.

3. The six-tone signal generation circuit system according to claim 2, characterized in that, The input signals of the I-channel mixer and the Q-channel mixer are A and Q, respectively. BB cos(ω BB t) and A BB sin(ω BB t), the local oscillator signals of the I and Q paths are A and A, respectively. LO cos(ω LO t) and A LO sin(ω LO t), the output signal V can be obtained. out The expression for (t) is: Among them, the quadrature mixer outputs a signal with a frequency of (ω) LO +ω BB ) / (ω LO -ω BB The output signal of ) is relative to the local oscillator signal ω. LO Image frequency (ω) LO -ω BB ) / (ω LO +ω BB There is no signal output.

4. The six-tone signal generation circuit system according to claim 3, characterized in that, When the I-channel mixer and Q-channel mixer are implemented based on field-effect transistors, the calibration current introduced is I. cal g m For transconductance stage transistors, R L For the load resistance, A BB V is the amplitude of the input signal. OS ω is the transistor mismatch voltage. BB and ω LO Let the input signal frequency and the local oscillator frequency be respectively. Then, the expression for the output signal of the mixer after introducing the calibration current is: As shown in the above formula, The leakage of the local oscillator signal caused by the transistor mismatch voltage at the output, when g is satisfied. m V OS -I cal When = 0, the signal leaked at the output terminal by the local oscillator frequency is completely canceled out.

5. The six-tone signal generation circuit system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The local oscillator drive module includes: a two-stage cascaded amplifier and a low-pass filter; the two-stage cascaded amplifier is used to amplify the input signal containing the frequencies of the first and sixth output signals, and the low-pass filter is used to filter out stray signals.

6. The six-tone signal generation circuit system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The mixing module includes two mixing circuits, which are used to convert the input differential signal with signals containing the frequencies of the first and sixth output signals respectively, so as to obtain output signals containing the frequencies of the second, third, fourth and fifth output signals respectively.

7. The six-tone signal generation circuit system according to claim 6, characterized in that, The input signal of the mixer circuit is A BB cos(ω BB t), the local oscillator signals are A LO cos(ω LO t), the output signal V can be obtained. out The expression for (t) is: As shown in the above equation, the signal output by the mixer circuit has a frequency of ω. LO +ω BB The output signal has a frequency of ω. LO -ω BB The output signal.

8. The six-tone signal generation circuit system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The power amplification module broadband amplifies the six-tone signal to obtain a broadband, high spurious suppression six-tone signal output with sufficient power.

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