Attenuator

Abstract

The embodiment of the utility model discloses an attenuator, which is used for solving the problems of relatively high insertion loss and relatively narrow bandwidth in a large attenuation range. According to the embodiment of the invention, the antenna comprises six attenuation units, wherein the attenuation amounts of the six attenuation units are 0.5 dB, 1dB, 2dB, 4dB, 8dB and 16dB respectively; the six attenuation units are in cascade connection, the attenuation unit with the attenuation amount of 8dB is arranged at the first cascade stage, the attenuation unit with the attenuation amount of 4dB is arranged at the second cascade stage, and the attenuation unit with the attenuation amount of 16dB is arranged at the sixth cascade stage. The attenuation unit with the attenuation amount of 0.5 dB, the attenuation unit with the attenuation amount of 1 dB and the attenuation unit with the attenuation amount of 2 dB are randomly arranged on the third cascade stage, the fourth cascade stage and the fifth cascade stage.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The embodiments of the present application relate to the field of circuits, and in particular, to an attenuator, which is used to solve the problems of high insertion loss and narrow bandwidth under a large attenuation range. Background Art

[0002] With the continuous development of society, the level of science and technology is also constantly developing. Among them, an attenuator, an electronic component that provides attenuation, is widely used in all walks of life. The attenuator can control the amplitude of the beam of the phased array system, realize the side lobe suppression function and adjust the imbalance of the gains of each array element. In order to achieve better side lobe suppression performance, the attenuation range of the attenuator can be made larger.

[0003] In the existing solutions, a larger attenuation range of the attenuator will result in higher insertion loss and narrower bandwidth, which causes certain inconvenience to users. Utility Model Content

[0004] The embodiments of the present application provide an attenuator, which is used to solve the problems of high insertion loss and narrow bandwidth under a large attenuation range.

[0005] The first aspect of the embodiments of the present application provides an attenuator, including: six attenuation units, and the attenuation amounts of the six attenuation units are 0.5 dB, 1 dB, 2 dB, 4 dB, 8 dB, and 16 dB respectively;

[0006] The six attenuation units are connected in cascade. The attenuation unit with an attenuation amount of 8 dB is arranged at the first stage of the cascade, the attenuation unit with an attenuation amount of 4 dB is arranged at the second stage of the cascade, the attenuation unit with an attenuation amount of 16 dB is arranged at the sixth stage of the cascade, and the attenuation unit with an attenuation amount of 0.5 dB, the attenuation unit with an attenuation amount of 1 dB, and the attenuation unit with an attenuation amount of 2 dB are randomly arranged at the third stage, the fourth stage, and the fifth stage of the cascade.

[0007] Optionally, the attenuation unit with an attenuation amount of 0.5 dB is arranged at the third stage of the cascade, the attenuation unit with an attenuation amount of 2 dB is arranged at the fourth stage of the cascade, and the attenuation unit with an attenuation amount of 1 dB is arranged at the fifth stage of the cascade;

[0008] Or, the attenuation unit with an attenuation amount of 0.5 dB is arranged at the third stage of the cascade, the attenuation unit with an attenuation amount of 1 dB is arranged at the fourth stage of the cascade, and the attenuation unit with an attenuation amount of 2 dB is arranged at the fifth stage of the cascade;

[0009] Or, the attenuation unit with an attenuation amount of 2 dB is arranged at the third stage of the cascade, the attenuation unit with an attenuation amount of 0.5 dB is arranged at the fourth stage of the cascade, and the attenuation unit with an attenuation amount of 1 dB is arranged at the fifth stage of the cascade;

[0010] Alternatively, an attenuation unit with an attenuation of 2 dB is disposed in the third stage of the cascade, an attenuation unit with an attenuation of 1 dB is disposed in the fourth stage of the cascade, and an attenuation unit with an attenuation of 0.5 dB is disposed in the fifth stage of the cascade;

[0011] Alternatively, an attenuation unit with an attenuation of 1 dB is disposed in the third stage of the cascade, an attenuation unit with an attenuation of 0.5 dB is disposed in the fourth stage of the cascade, and an attenuation unit with an attenuation of 2 dB is disposed in the fifth stage of the cascade;

[0012] Alternatively, an attenuation unit with an attenuation of 1 dB is disposed in the third stage of the cascade, an attenuation unit with an attenuation of 2 dB is disposed in the fourth stage of the cascade, and an attenuation unit with an attenuation of 0.5 dB is disposed in the fifth stage of the cascade.

[0013] Optionally, the attenuation unit with an attenuation of 0.5 dB includes: a seventh switching transistor and a ninth resistor;

[0014] The gate of the seventh switching transistor is connected to an external power supply, the drain of the seventh switching transistor is connected to other attenuation units, and the source of the seventh switching transistor is grounded through the ninth resistor.

[0015] Optionally, the attenuation unit with an attenuation of 1 dB includes: a tenth switching transistor and a fourteenth resistor;

[0016] The gate of the tenth switching transistor is connected to an external power supply, the drain of the tenth switching transistor is connected to other attenuation units, and the source of the tenth switching transistor is grounded through the fourteenth resistor.

[0017] Optionally, the attenuation unit with an attenuation of 2 dB includes: an eighth switching transistor, a ninth switching transistor, a tenth resistor, an eleventh resistor, a twelfth resistor, a thirteenth resistor, and a fourth capacitor;

[0018] The gate of the eighth switching transistor is connected to an external power supply, the source of the eighth switching transistor is respectively connected to one other attenuation unit and one end of the eleventh resistor, the other end of the eleventh resistor is respectively connected to one end of the twelfth resistor and the drain of the ninth switching transistor, the drain of the tenth switching transistor is respectively connected to another other attenuation unit and the other end of the twelfth resistor, the gate of the ninth switching transistor is connected to an external power supply, the source of the ninth switching transistor is grounded through the thirteenth resistor, and the fourth capacitor is connected in parallel across the two ends of the thirteenth resistor;

[0019] The tenth resistor is connected in parallel between the source and the drain of the eighth switching transistor.

[0020] Optionally, the attenuation unit with an attenuation of 4 dB includes: a fourth switching transistor, a fifth switching transistor, a fourth resistor, a fifth resistor, a sixth resistor, a seventh resistor, and a third capacitor;

[0021] The gate of the fourth switching transistor is connected to an external power supply. The source of the fourth switching transistor is respectively connected to an attenuation unit with an attenuation of 8 dB and one end of a fifth resistor. The other end of the fifth resistor is respectively connected to one end of the sixth resistor and the drain of the fifth switching transistor. The drain of the fourth switching transistor is respectively connected to other attenuation units and the other end of the sixth resistor. The gate of the fifth switching transistor is connected to an external power supply. The source of the fifth switching transistor is grounded through the seventh resistor. The third capacitor is connected in parallel across both ends of the seventh resistor;

[0022] The fourth resistor is connected in parallel between the source and the drain of the fourth switching transistor.

[0023] Optionally, the attenuation unit with an attenuation of 8 dB includes: a first switching transistor, a second switching transistor, a third switching transistor, a first resistor, a second resistor, a third resistor, a first capacitor, and a second capacitor;

[0024] The gate of the first switching transistor is connected to an external power supply. The source of the first switching transistor is respectively connected to the outside and the drain of the second switching transistor. The gate of the second switching transistor is connected to an external power supply. The source of the second switching transistor is grounded through the second resistor. The first capacitor is connected in parallel across both ends of the second resistor. The drain of the first switching transistor is respectively connected to an attenuation unit with an attenuation of 4 dB and the drain of the third switching transistor. The gate of the third switching transistor is connected to an external power supply. The source of the third switching transistor is grounded through the third resistor. The second capacitor is connected in parallel across both ends of the third resistor. The first resistor is connected in parallel between the source and the drain of the first switching transistor.

[0025] Optionally, the attenuation unit with an attenuation of 16 dB includes: two attenuation sub-units with an attenuation of 8 dB;

[0026] The two attenuation sub-units with an attenuation of 8 dB are connected in cascade. One of the attenuation sub-units is connected to other attenuation units, and the other attenuation sub-unit is connected to the outside. Among them, one attenuation sub-unit generates a positive additional phase shift error, and the other attenuation sub-unit generates a negative additional phase shift error. The positive additional phase shift error cancels out the negative additional phase shift error;

[0027] Among them, one attenuation sub-unit with an attenuation of 8 dB includes: an eleventh switching transistor, a twelfth switching transistor, a thirteenth switching transistor, a fifteenth resistor, a sixteenth resistor, a seventeenth resistor, a fifth capacitor, and a sixth capacitor. The other attenuation sub-unit with an attenuation of 8 dB includes: a fourteenth switching transistor, a fifteenth switching transistor, a sixteenth switching transistor, an eighteenth resistor, a nineteenth resistor, a twentieth resistor, a seventh capacitor, and an eighth capacitor;

[0028] The gate of the eleventh switching tube is connected to an external power supply. The source of the eleventh switching tube is respectively connected to other attenuation units and the drain of the twelfth switching tube. The gate of the twelfth switching tube is connected to an external power supply. The source of the twelfth switching tube is grounded through the sixteenth resistor. The fifth capacitor is connected in parallel across both ends of the sixteenth resistor. The drain of the eleventh switching tube is respectively connected to the source of the fourteenth switching tube, the drain of the fifteenth switching tube, and the drain of the thirteenth switching tube. The gate of the thirteenth switching tube is connected to an external power supply. The source of the thirteenth switching tube is grounded through the seventeenth resistor. The sixth capacitor is connected in parallel across both ends of the seventeenth resistor. The fifteenth resistor is connected in parallel between the source and the drain of the eleventh switching tube;

[0029] Another attenuation sub-unit with an attenuation of 8 dB includes: a fourteenth switching tube, a fifteenth switching tube, a sixteenth switching tube, an eighteenth resistor, a nineteenth resistor, a twentieth resistor, a seventh capacitor, and an eighth capacitor;

[0030] The gate of the fourteenth switching tube is connected to an external power supply. The gate of the fifteenth switching tube is connected to an external power supply. The source of the fifteenth switching tube is grounded through the nineteenth resistor. The seventh capacitor is connected in parallel across both ends of the nineteenth resistor. The drain of the fourteenth switching tube is respectively connected to the outside and the drain of the sixteenth switching tube. The gate of the sixteenth switching tube is connected to an external power supply. The source of the sixteenth switching tube is grounded through the twentieth resistor. The eighth capacitor is connected in parallel across both ends of the twentieth resistor. The eighteenth resistor is connected in parallel between the source and the drain of the fourteenth switching tube.

[0031] Optionally, at least one series-connected inductive device is provided on at least one side line of each of the attenuation units. The attenuation unit with an attenuation of 8 dB is connected to the outside through the inductive device, and the attenuation unit with an attenuation of 16 dB is connected to the outside through the inductive device.

[0032] Optionally, the inductive device is an inductor or a microstrip line.

[0033] It can be seen from the above technical solutions that the embodiments of the present application have the following advantages:

[0034] The attenuator of the present application is a six-bit digital control attenuator, which is provided with six attenuation units. Among them, the first cascaded stage is an attenuation unit with an attenuation of 8 dB, the second cascaded stage is an attenuation unit with an attenuation of 4 dB, the sixth cascaded stage is an attenuation unit with an attenuation of 16 dB, and the third, fourth, and fifth cascaded stages are randomly set by attenuation units with attenuations of 0.5 dB, 1 dB, and 2 dB according to actual requirements. Through the above specific cascading method, a relatively wide broadband range and low insertion loss can be obtained on the premise of a large attenuation range, which brings convenience to the use of users. Brief Description of the Drawings

[0035] Figure 1 Schematic diagram of an embodiment of an attenuator disclosed in the present application;

[0036] Figure 2 Schematic diagram of another embodiment of an attenuator disclosed in the present application;

[0037] Figure 3 Schematic diagram of the structure of an attenuation unit with an attenuation of 16 dB disclosed in the present application;

[0038] Figure 4 Schematic diagram of low insertion loss of the attenuator disclosed in the present application;

[0039] Figure 5 Schematic diagram of the additional phase shift error of the attenuation unit with an attenuation of 16 dB disclosed in the present application;

[0040] Figure 6 Schematic diagram of the attenuation accuracy of the attenuator disclosed in the present application. Detailed Description of the Embodiments

[0041] The following further describes the present application in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0042] The embodiment of the present application provides an attenuator, which is used to solve the problems of high insertion loss and narrow bandwidth in a large attenuation range.

[0043] As a type of modulator, the attenuator is provided with a large attenuation range to achieve sidelobe suppression performance. However, this will result in a narrow bandwidth and high insertion loss. In addition, when the attenuator modulates the amplitude, it inevitably changes the signal phase, which introduces additional phase shift error. To solve the above problems, the present application provides an attenuator that can connect attenuation units with a specified attenuation amount in a specific cascading manner to achieve a wider broadband range and low insertion loss on the premise of a large attenuation range, and by setting capacitors in the attenuation unit with an attenuation of 16 dB to cancel the additional phase shift error of the attenuation unit, so that the overall additional phase shift error is small, which brings convenience to the user.

[0044] In order to enable those skilled in the art to better understand the solution of the present invention, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present invention, rather than all the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without creative efforts shall fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

[0045] In the description, claims and the above-mentioned drawings of the present invention, terms such as "first", "second", "third", "fourth", etc. are used to distinguish similar objects, and do not necessarily describe a specific order or sequence. It should be understood that the data used in this way can be interchanged under appropriate circumstances, so that the embodiments described herein can be implemented in an order other than that illustrated or described herein. In addition, the terms "comprising" and "having" and any variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion.

[0046] A description of an attenuator of the present application will be given below. Please refer to Figure 1 , an embodiment of an attenuator of the present application includes: six attenuation units, and the attenuation amounts of the six attenuation units are 0.5dB, 1dB, 2dB, 4dB, 8dB, and 16dB respectively;

[0047] The six attenuation units are connected in cascade. The attenuation unit with an attenuation amount of 8dB is arranged at the first stage of the cascade, the attenuation unit with an attenuation amount of 4dB is arranged at the second stage of the cascade, the attenuation unit with an attenuation amount of 16dB is arranged at the sixth stage of the cascade, and the attenuation units with attenuation amounts of 0.5dB, 1dB, and 2dB are randomly arranged at the third stage, the fourth stage, and the fifth stage of the cascade.

[0048] In the embodiment of the present application, the attenuator is a six-bit numerically controlled attenuator, which is provided with six attenuation units. Among them, the first stage of the cascade is the attenuation unit with an attenuation amount of 8dB, the second stage of the cascade is the attenuation unit with an attenuation amount of 4dB, the sixth stage of the cascade is the attenuation unit with an attenuation amount of 16dB, and the third stage, the fourth stage, and the fifth stage of the cascade are randomly set by the attenuation units with attenuation amounts of 0.5dB, 1dB, and 2dB according to actual needs. Through the above specific cascade method, a relatively wide broadband range and low insertion loss can be obtained on the premise of a large attenuation range, which brings convenience to the user.

[0049] Please refer to Figure 2 , another embodiment of an attenuator of the present application includes: six attenuation units, and the attenuation amounts of the six attenuation units are 0.5dB, 1dB, 2dB, 4dB, 8dB, and 16dB respectively;

[0050] The six attenuation units are connected in cascade. The attenuation unit with an attenuation amount of 8dB is arranged at the first stage of the cascade, the attenuation unit with an attenuation amount of 4dB is arranged at the second stage of the cascade, the attenuation unit with an attenuation amount of 16dB is arranged at the sixth stage of the cascade, and the attenuation units with attenuation amounts of 0.5dB, 1dB, and 2dB are randomly arranged at the third stage, the fourth stage, and the fifth stage of the cascade.

[0051] Specifically, there are six cases for the cascaded third stage, cascaded fourth stage, and cascaded fifth stage: 1. The attenuation unit with an attenuation of 0.5 dB is set in the cascaded third stage, the attenuation unit with an attenuation of 2 dB is set in the cascaded fourth stage, and the attenuation unit with an attenuation of 1 dB is set in the cascaded fifth stage; 2. The attenuation unit with an attenuation of 0.5 dB is set in the cascaded third stage, the attenuation unit with an attenuation of 1 dB is set in the cascaded fourth stage, and the attenuation unit with an attenuation of 2 dB is set in the cascaded fifth stage; 3. The attenuation unit with an attenuation of 2 dB is set in the cascaded third stage, the attenuation unit with an attenuation of 0.5 dB is set in the cascaded fourth stage, and the attenuation unit with an attenuation of 1 dB is set in the cascaded fifth stage; 4. The attenuation unit with an attenuation of 2 dB is set in the cascaded third stage, the attenuation unit with an attenuation of 1 dB is set in the cascaded fourth stage, and the attenuation unit with an attenuation of 0.5 dB is set in the cascaded fifth stage; 5. The attenuation unit with an attenuation of 1 dB is set in the cascaded third stage, the attenuation unit with an attenuation of 0.5 dB is set in the cascaded fourth stage, and the attenuation unit with an attenuation of 2 dB is set in the cascaded fifth stage; 6. The attenuation unit with an attenuation of 1 dB is set in the cascaded third stage, the attenuation unit with an attenuation of 2 dB is set in the cascaded fourth stage, and the attenuation unit with an attenuation of 0.5 dB is set in the cascaded fifth stage. In this embodiment, the attenuation units with attenuations of 0.5 dB, 2 dB, and 1 dB are respectively set in the cascaded third stage, fourth stage, and fifth stage (that is, the attenuation units with attenuations of 8 dB, 4 dB, 0.5 dB, 2 dB, 1 dB, and 16 dB are cascaded in sequence) for the convenience of description.

[0052] The circuit types of the attenuation units with attenuations of 0.5 dB and 1 dB are simple T-types. Among them, the attenuation unit with an attenuation of 0.5 dB includes: the seventh switching transistor M7 and the ninth resistor R9;

[0053] The gate of the seventh switching transistor M7 is connected to an external power supply, the drain of the seventh switching transistor M7 is connected to other attenuation units, and the source of the seventh switching transistor M7 is grounded through the ninth resistor R9. Specifically, the drain of the seventh switching transistor M7 is respectively connected to the attenuation units with attenuations of 4 dB and 2 dB.

[0054] The attenuation unit with an attenuation of 1 dB includes: the tenth switching transistor M10 and the fourteenth resistor R14;

[0055] The gate of the tenth switching transistor M10 is connected to an external power supply, the drain of the tenth switching transistor M10 is connected to other attenuation units, and the source of the tenth switching transistor M10 is grounded through the fourteenth resistor R14. Specifically, the drain of the tenth switching transistor M10 is respectively connected to the attenuation units with attenuations of 2 dB and 16 dB.

[0056] The circuit types of the attenuation units with attenuations of 2 dB and 4 dB can be T-types or bridge T-types. Specifically, no limitation is made here, and the T-type and bridge T-type will be described below.

[0057] When the attenuation unit with an attenuation of 2 dB is of the T type, it includes: the eighth switching transistor M8, the ninth switching transistor M9, the eleventh resistor R11, the twelfth resistor R12, the thirteenth resistor R13, and the fourth capacitor C4;

[0058] The gate of the eighth switching transistor M8 is connected to an external power supply. The source of the eighth switching transistor M8 is respectively connected to another attenuation unit and one end of the eleventh resistor R11. The other end of the eleventh resistor R11 is respectively connected to one end of the twelfth resistor R12 and the drain of the ninth switching transistor M9. The drain of the tenth switching transistor M10 is respectively connected to another attenuation unit and the other end of the twelfth resistor R12. The gate of the ninth switching transistor M9 is connected to an external power supply. The source of the ninth switching transistor M9 is grounded through the thirteenth resistor R13. The fourth capacitor C4 is connected in parallel across both ends of the thirteenth resistor R13. Specifically, the source of the eighth switching transistor M8 is connected to the attenuation unit with an attenuation of 0.5 dB, and the drain of the eighth switching transistor M8 is connected to the attenuation unit with an attenuation of 1 dB.

[0059] In order to make the chip area of the attenuator smaller, the attenuation unit with an attenuation of 2 dB can adopt a bridge T type. Based on the above T type, the attenuation unit with an attenuation of 2 dB further includes: the tenth resistor R10;

[0060] The tenth resistor R10 is connected in parallel between the source and the drain of the eighth switching transistor M8.

[0061] This embodiment takes the circuit type of the attenuation unit with an attenuation of 2 dB as the bridge T type as an example for illustration.

[0062] When the attenuation unit with an attenuation of 4 dB is of the T type, it includes: the fourth switching transistor M4, the fifth switching transistor M5, the fifth resistor R5, the sixth resistor R6, the seventh resistor R7, and the third capacitor C3;

[0063] The gate of the fourth switching transistor M4 is connected to an external power supply. The source of the fourth switching transistor M4 is respectively connected to the attenuation unit with an attenuation of 8 dB and one end of the fifth resistor R5. The other end of the fifth resistor R5 is respectively connected to one end of the sixth resistor R6 and the drain of the fifth switching transistor M5. The drain of the fourth switching transistor M4 is respectively connected to other attenuation units and the other end of the sixth resistor R6. The gate of the fifth switching transistor M5 is connected to an external power supply. The source of the fifth switching transistor M5 is grounded through the seventh resistor R7. The third capacitor C3 is connected in parallel across both ends of the seventh resistor R7. Specifically, the source of the fourth switching transistor M4 is connected to the attenuation unit with an attenuation of 8 dB, and the drain of the fourth switching transistor M4 is connected to the attenuation unit with an attenuation of 0.5 dB.

[0064] In order to make the chip area of the attenuator smaller, the attenuation unit with an attenuation of 4 dB can adopt a bridge-T type. On the basis of the above T type, the attenuation unit with an attenuation of 4 dB further includes: a fourth resistor R4;

[0065] The fourth resistor R4 is connected in parallel between the source and the drain of the fourth switching transistor M4.

[0066] In this embodiment, the circuit type of the attenuation unit with an attenuation of 4 dB is taken as an example of a bridge-T type for illustration.

[0067] The circuit type of the attenuation unit with an attenuation of 8 dB can be type, or it can be formed by cascading two attenuation units with an attenuation of 4 dB. Specifically, it is not limited here, and the following two types will be described.

[0068] When the attenuation unit with an attenuation of 8 dB is type, it includes: a first switching transistor M1, a second switching transistor M2, a third switching transistor M3, a first resistor R1, a second resistor R2, a third resistor R3, a first capacitor C1, and a second capacitor C2;

[0069] The gate of the first switching transistor M1 is connected to an external power supply. The source of the first switching transistor M1 is respectively connected to the outside and the drain of the second switching transistor M2. The gate of the second switching transistor M2 is connected to the external power supply. The source of the second switching transistor M2 is grounded through the second resistor R2. The first capacitor C1 is connected in parallel across the two ends of the second resistor R2. The drain of the first switching transistor M1 is respectively connected to the attenuation unit with an attenuation of 4 dB and the drain of the third switching transistor M3. The gate of the third switching transistor M3 is connected to the external power supply. The source of the third switching transistor M3 is grounded through the third resistor R3. The second capacitor C2 is connected in parallel across the two ends of the third resistor R3. The first resistor R1 is connected in parallel between the source and the drain of the first switching transistor M1. Specifically, the source of the first switching transistor M1 is connected to an external port, and the drain of the first switching transistor M1 is connected to the attenuation unit with an attenuation of 4 dB.

[0070] Alternatively, the attenuation unit with an attenuation of 8 dB includes: two attenuation sub-units with an attenuation of 4 dB;

[0071] The two attenuation sub-units with an attenuation of 4 dB are connected in cascade, and the attenuation sub-unit with an attenuation of 4 dB is a bridge-T type circuit or a T type circuit.

[0072] In this embodiment, the circuit type of the attenuation unit with an attenuation of 8 dB is taken as an example of type for illustration.

[0073] Among them, the attenuation unit with an attenuation of 16 dB includes: two attenuation sub-units with an attenuation of 8 dB;

[0074] Two attenuation sub-units with an attenuation of 8 dB are cascaded. One attenuation sub-unit is connected to other attenuation units, and the other attenuation sub-unit is connected to the outside. Among them, one attenuation sub-unit generates a positive additional phase shift error, and the other attenuation sub-unit generates a negative additional phase shift error. The positive additional phase shift error and the negative additional phase shift error cancel each other out. Specifically, one attenuation sub-unit is connected to an attenuation unit with an attenuation of 1 dB, and the other attenuation sub-unit is connected to an external port. Additionally, Figure 2 For the leftmost and rightmost external ports, the left side can be the input end and the right side can be the output end, or the left side can be the output end and the right side can be the input end. Specifically, it is not limited here.

[0075] The attenuation sub-unit can be type, or it can be composed of two cascaded attenuation modules with an attenuation of 4 dB. Specifically, it is not limited here. For type is described. An attenuation sub-unit with an attenuation of 8 dB includes: the eleventh switching transistor M11, the twelfth switching transistor M12, the thirteenth switching transistor M13, the fifteenth resistor R15, the sixteenth resistor R16, the seventeenth resistor R17, the fifth capacitor C5, and the sixth capacitor C6. Another attenuation sub-unit with an attenuation of 8 dB includes: the fourteenth switching transistor M14, the fifteenth switching transistor M15, the sixteenth switching transistor M16, the eighteenth resistor R18, the nineteenth resistor R19, the twentieth resistor R20, the seventh capacitor C7, and the eighth capacitor C8;

[0076] The gate of the eleventh switching transistor M11 is connected to an external power supply. The source of the eleventh switching transistor M11 is respectively connected to other attenuation units and the drain of the twelfth switching transistor M12. The gate of the twelfth switching transistor is connected to an external power supply. The source of the twelfth switching transistor M12 is grounded through the sixteenth resistor R16. The fifth capacitor C5 is connected in parallel across the two ends of the sixteenth resistor R16. The drain of the eleventh switching transistor M11 is respectively connected to the source of the fourteenth switching transistor M14, the drain of the fifteenth switching transistor M15, and the drain of the thirteenth switching transistor M13. The gate of the thirteenth switching transistor M13 is connected to an external power supply. The source of the thirteenth switching transistor M13 is grounded through the seventeenth resistor R17. The sixth capacitor C6 is connected in parallel across the two ends of the seventeenth resistor R17. The fifteenth resistor R15 is connected in parallel between the source and the drain of the eleventh switching transistor M11;

[0077] Another attenuation sub-unit with an attenuation of 8 dB includes: the fourteenth switching transistor M14, the fifteenth switching transistor M15, the sixteenth switching transistor M16, the eighteenth resistor R18, the nineteenth resistor R19, the twentieth resistor R20, the seventh capacitor C7, and the eighth capacitor C8;

[0078] The gate of the fourteenth switching transistor M14 is connected to an external power supply. The gate of the fifteenth switching transistor M15 is connected to an external power supply. The source of the fifteenth switching transistor M15 is grounded through the nineteenth resistor R19. The seventh capacitor C7 is connected in parallel across both ends of the nineteenth resistor R19. The drain of the fourteenth switching transistor M14 is connected to both the external and the drain of the sixteenth switching transistor M16. The gate of the sixteenth switching transistor M16 is connected to an external power supply. The source of the sixteenth switching transistor M16 is grounded through the twentieth resistor R20. The eighth capacitor C8 is connected in parallel across both ends of the twentieth resistor R20. The eighteenth resistor R18 is connected in parallel between the source and the drain of the fourteenth switching transistor M14. Specifically, the drain of the eleventh switching transistor M11 is connected to the source of the fourteenth switching transistor M14.

[0079] In addition, the attenuation unit adopts a capacitive structure, and its input and output impedances are capacitive, so the impedance matching performance at high frequencies will deteriorate. The matching performance at high frequencies can be improved by adding inductive elements. Specifically, at least one series-connected inductive device is provided on at least one side of each attenuation unit. The attenuation unit with an attenuation of 8 dB is connected to the external through the inductive device, and the attenuation unit with an attenuation of 16 dB is connected to the external through the inductive device. Among them, the inductive device is an inductor or a microstrip line, or others, and specific details are not limited here.

[0080] Now, the working principle of this embodiment will be described. The six-bit digitally controlled attenuator of this embodiment is composed of six attenuation units connected in cascade, and the attenuation amounts are 8 dB, 4 dB, 0.5 dB, 2 dB, 1 dB, and 16 dB in sequence. Since the input impedance of the attenuation unit with an attenuation of 8 dB changes little and the standing wave is good when switching between the attenuation state and the reference state, it is placed in the first stage. Placing the attenuation unit with an attenuation of 4 dB in the second stage is also beneficial for broadband. When the attenuation unit with an attenuation of 16 dB switches between the attenuation state and the reference state, the output impedance changes little and the standing wave is good, so it is placed in the sixth stage. Among them, the simple T-type circuit has a small insertion loss, but the standing wave is poor when used to achieve a large attenuation amount, so it is only suitable for small attenuation amount units. Therefore, in this embodiment, the circuit types of the attenuation units with attenuation amounts of 0.5 dB and 1 dB are simple T-type. The bridge T-type circuit has a slightly larger insertion loss, but because an additional series resistor is introduced, better impedance matching performance and better standing wave can be achieved, which is suitable for achieving medium attenuation amounts. Therefore, in this embodiment, the circuit types of the attenuation units with attenuation amounts of 2 dB and 4 dB are bridge T-type. The circuit with the [type] has the largest insertion loss, but the standing wave effect is good when achieving a large attenuation amount. Therefore, in this embodiment, the circuit type of the attenuation unit with an attenuation of 8 dB is [type], and the attenuation unit with an attenuation of 16 dB is composed of two [type] 8 dB attenuation sub-units connected in cascade. See Figure 3, under the premise of a large attenuation range, the additional phase shift error of the attenuator mainly comes from the attenuation unit with an attenuation of 16 dB. By setting the capacitance values of the phase shift compensation capacitor structures Ccomp1 and Ccomp2, the additional phase shift error of one attenuation sub-unit is set to a positive value, and the other is set to a negative value. When the two attenuation sub-units are cascaded, the additional phase shift errors will cancel each other out, greatly reducing the additional phase shift error of the overall attenuator. See Figure 4 , in this embodiment, by selecting the circuit types of the six attenuation units, the insertion loss of the attenuator at 18 GHz is only 3.35 dB. See Figure 5 , the maximum additional phase shift error within the bandwidth of the attenuation unit with an attenuation of 16 dB in this embodiment is only 0.67 deg. After cascading this attenuation unit with an attenuation of 16 dB with other attenuation units, the additional phase shift error of the entire attenuator within the bandwidth of 1 GHz to 18 GHz is -0.7 deg to 2.2 deg. See Figure 6 , the RMS attenuation accuracy of this attenuator is less than 0.13.

[0081] In this embodiment, the attenuator is a six-bit numerically controlled attenuator, with six attenuation units provided. Among them, the first stage of the cascade is an attenuation unit with an attenuation of 8 dB, the second stage of the cascade is an attenuation unit with an attenuation of 4 dB, and the sixth stage of the cascade is an attenuation unit with an attenuation of 16 dB. The third, fourth, and fifth stages of the cascade are randomly set by attenuation units with attenuations of 0.5 dB, 1 dB, and 2 dB according to actual needs. Through the above specific cascade method, a relatively wide broadband range can be obtained under the premise of a large attenuation range, which brings convenience to the user.

[0082] In several embodiments provided by the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, devices, and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are merely illustrative. For example, the division of units is only a logical function division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods. For example, multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. Another point, the displayed or discussed coupling or direct coupling or communication connection between each other can be through some interfaces, and the indirect coupling or communication connection of devices or units can be in an electrical, mechanical, or other form.

[0083] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separated, and the components displayed as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they can be located in one place, or they can be distributed to multiple network units. Some or all of the units can be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution of this embodiment.

[0084] In addition, in each embodiment of the present invention, each functional unit may be integrated into a processing unit, may exist physically alone for each unit, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit.

[0085] The above are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present application and are not intended to limit them; although the present application has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those of ordinary skill in the art should understand that they can still modify the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments, or perform equivalent replacements on some of the technical features; and these modifications or replacements do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of each embodiment of the present invention.

Claims

1. An attenuator, characterized in that, Including: Six attenuation units, with the attenuation amounts of the six attenuation units being 0.5 dB, 1 dB, 2 dB, 4 dB, 8 dB, and 16 dB respectively; The six attenuation units are cascaded. The attenuation unit with an attenuation amount of 8 dB is set at the first stage of the cascade, the attenuation unit with an attenuation amount of 4 dB is set at the second stage of the cascade, the attenuation unit with an attenuation amount of 16 dB is set at the sixth stage of the cascade, and the attenuation unit with an attenuation amount of 0.5 dB, the attenuation unit with an attenuation amount of 1 dB, and the attenuation unit with an attenuation amount of 2 dB are randomly set at the third stage, the fourth stage, and the fifth stage of the cascade.

2. The attenuator according to claim 1, wherein The attenuation unit with an attenuation amount of 0.5 dB is set at the third stage of the cascade, the attenuation unit with an attenuation amount of 2 dB is set at the fourth stage of the cascade, and the attenuation unit with an attenuation amount of 1 dB is set at the fifth stage of the cascade; Or, the attenuation unit with an attenuation amount of 0.5 dB is set at the third stage of the cascade, the attenuation unit with an attenuation amount of 1 dB is set at the fourth stage of the cascade, and the attenuation unit with an attenuation amount of 2 dB is set at the fifth stage of the cascade; Or, the attenuation unit with an attenuation amount of 2 dB is set at the third stage of the cascade, the attenuation unit with an attenuation amount of 0.5 dB is set at the fourth stage of the cascade, and the attenuation unit with an attenuation amount of 1 dB is set at the fifth stage of the cascade; Or, the attenuation unit with an attenuation amount of 2 dB is set at the third stage of the cascade, the attenuation unit with an attenuation amount of 1 dB is set at the fourth stage of the cascade, and the attenuation unit with an attenuation amount of 0.5 dB is set at the fifth stage of the cascade; Or, the attenuation unit with an attenuation amount of 1 dB is set at the third stage of the cascade, the attenuation unit with an attenuation amount of 0.5 dB is set at the fourth stage of the cascade, and the attenuation unit with an attenuation amount of 2 dB is set at the fifth stage of the cascade; Or, the attenuation unit with an attenuation amount of 1 dB is set at the third stage of the cascade, the attenuation unit with an attenuation amount of 2 dB is set at the fourth stage of the cascade, and the attenuation unit with an attenuation amount of 0.5 dB is set at the fifth stage of the cascade.

3. The attenuator according to claim 1, characterized in that, The attenuation unit with an attenuation amount of 0.5 dB includes: a seventh switching tube and a ninth resistor; The gate of the seventh switching tube is connected to an external power supply, the drain of the seventh switching tube is connected to other attenuation units, and the source of the seventh switching tube is grounded through the ninth resistor.

4. The attenuator according to claim 1, wherein The attenuation unit with an attenuation amount of 1 dB includes: a tenth switching tube and a fourteenth resistor; The gate of the tenth switching tube is connected to an external power supply, the drain of the tenth switching tube is connected to other attenuation units, and the source of the tenth switching tube is grounded through the fourteenth resistor.

5. The attenuator according to claim 1, wherein The attenuation unit with an attenuation amount of 2 dB includes: an eighth switching tube, a ninth switching tube, a tenth resistor, an eleventh resistor, a twelfth resistor, a thirteenth resistor, and a fourth capacitor; The gate of the eighth switching tube is connected to an external power supply, the source of the eighth switching tube is respectively connected to one other attenuation unit and one end of the eleventh resistor, the other end of the eleventh resistor is respectively connected to one end of the twelfth resistor and the drain of the ninth switching tube, the drain of the tenth switching tube is respectively connected to another other attenuation unit and the other end of the twelfth resistor, the gate of the ninth switching tube is connected to an external power supply, the source of the ninth switching tube is grounded through the thirteenth resistor, and the fourth capacitor is connected in parallel across both ends of the thirteenth resistor; The tenth resistor is connected in parallel between the source and the drain of the eighth switching transistor.

6. The attenuator according to claim 1, wherein The attenuation unit with an attenuation of 4 dB includes: a fourth switching transistor, a fifth switching transistor, a fourth resistor, a fifth resistor, a sixth resistor, a seventh resistor, and a third capacitor; The gate of the fourth switching transistor is connected to an external power supply. The source of the fourth switching transistor is respectively connected to the attenuation unit with an attenuation of 8 dB and one end of the fifth resistor. The other end of the fifth resistor is respectively connected to one end of the sixth resistor and the drain of the fifth switching transistor. The drain of the fourth switching transistor is respectively connected to other attenuation units and the other end of the sixth resistor. The gate of the fifth switching transistor is connected to an external power supply. The source of the fifth switching transistor is grounded through the seventh resistor. The third capacitor is connected in parallel across both ends of the seventh resistor; The fourth resistor is connected in parallel between the source and the drain of the fourth switching transistor.

7. The attenuator according to claim 1, wherein The attenuation unit with an attenuation of 8 dB includes: a first switching transistor, a second switching transistor, a third switching transistor, a first resistor, a second resistor, a third resistor, a first capacitor, and a second capacitor; The gate of the first switching transistor is connected to an external power supply. The source of the first switching transistor is respectively connected to the outside and the drain of the second switching transistor. The gate of the second switching transistor is connected to an external power supply. The source of the second switching transistor is grounded through the second resistor. The first capacitor is connected in parallel across both ends of the second resistor. The drain of the first switching transistor is respectively connected to the attenuation unit with an attenuation of 4 dB and the drain of the third switching transistor. The gate of the third switching transistor is connected to an external power supply. The source of the third switching transistor is grounded through the third resistor. The second capacitor is connected in parallel across both ends of the third resistor. The first resistor is connected in parallel between the source and the drain of the first switching transistor.

8. The attenuator according to claim 1, characterized in that, The attenuation unit with an attenuation of 16 dB includes: two attenuation sub-units with an attenuation of 8 dB; The two attenuation sub-units with an attenuation of 8 dB are connected in cascade. One of the attenuation sub-units is connected to other attenuation units, and the other attenuation sub-unit is connected to the outside. Among them, one attenuation sub-unit generates a positive additional phase shift error, and the other attenuation sub-unit generates a negative additional phase shift error. The positive additional phase shift error and the negative additional phase shift error cancel each other out; Among them, one attenuation sub-unit with an attenuation of 8 dB includes: an eleventh switching transistor, a twelfth switching transistor, a thirteenth switching transistor, a fifteenth resistor, a sixteenth resistor, a seventeenth resistor, a fifth capacitor, and a sixth capacitor. The other attenuation sub-unit with an attenuation of 8 dB includes: a fourteenth switching transistor, a fifteenth switching transistor, a sixteenth switching transistor, an eighteenth resistor, a nineteenth resistor, a twentieth resistor, a seventh capacitor, and an eighth capacitor; The gate of the eleventh switching tube is connected to an external power supply. The source of the eleventh switching tube is respectively connected to other attenuation units and the drain of the twelfth switching tube. The gate of the twelfth switching tube is connected to an external power supply. The source of the twelfth switching tube is grounded through the sixteenth resistor. The fifth capacitor is connected in parallel across both ends of the sixteenth resistor. The drain of the eleventh switching tube is respectively connected to the source of the fourteenth switching tube, the drain of the fifteenth switching tube, and the drain of the thirteenth switching tube. The gate of the thirteenth switching tube is connected to an external power supply. The source of the thirteenth switching tube is grounded through the seventeenth resistor. The sixth capacitor is connected in parallel across both ends of the seventeenth resistor. The fifteenth resistor is connected in parallel between the source and the drain of the eleventh switching tube; Another attenuation sub-unit with an attenuation of 8 dB includes: a fourteenth switching tube, a fifteenth switching tube, a sixteenth switching tube, an eighteenth resistor, a nineteenth resistor, a twentieth resistor, a seventh capacitor, and an eighth capacitor; The gate of the fourteenth switching tube is connected to an external power supply. The gate of the fifteenth switching tube is connected to an external power supply. The source of the fifteenth switching tube is grounded through the nineteenth resistor. The seventh capacitor is connected in parallel across both ends of the nineteenth resistor. The drain of the fourteenth switching tube is respectively connected to the outside and the drain of the sixteenth switching tube. The gate of the sixteenth switching tube is connected to an external power supply. The source of the sixteenth switching tube is grounded through the twentieth resistor. The eighth capacitor is connected in parallel across both ends of the twentieth resistor. The eighteenth resistor is connected in parallel between the source and the drain of the fourteenth switching tube.

9. The attenuator according to claim 1, characterized in that, At least one series-connected inductive device is provided on at least one side of the line of each of the attenuation units. The attenuation unit with an attenuation of 8 dB is connected to the outside through the inductive device, and the attenuation unit with an attenuation of 16 dB is connected to the outside through the inductive device.

10. The attenuator according to claim 9, characterized in that, The inductive device is an inductor or a microstrip line.

Images