Mirror Circuit Reduces Capacitor Charge Time
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Solution Overview
Problem
The increasing complexity of antenna systems in portable wireless devices due to multiple frequency bands leads to challenges in impedance matching, particularly in reducing charge and discharge times of capacitive elements, which affects performance.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a closed loop system with a mirror circuit and adjustable voltage supplies to directly sense voltage across capacitive loads, allowing for faster charge and discharge times without affecting the original capacitive and bias network, and using DC/DC converters to generate higher or lower voltage supplies for improved performance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of time
If traditional charging circuits are used to charge capacitive elements in tunable matching networks, then the circuit structure is simple, but the charge and discharge times are long, affecting antenna performance
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a mirror circuit as an intermediary component that creates a parallel path for charging and discharging capacitive elements. The mirror circuit includes mirror switches and mirror capacitors that replicate the behavior of the original capacitive network, allowing charge/discharge operations to occur in the mirror path without affecting the original RF performance, thus reducing charge/discharge time while maintaining circuit simplicity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the charging and discharging functions by creating separate paths: the original capacitive network for RF operation and the mirror capacitive network for charge/discharge operations. This segmentation allows the charge/discharge function to be optimized independently without compromising the RF performance of the original network
2Speed
If higher voltage supplies are used to reduce charge and discharge times, then charging speed improves, but power consumption and risk of overvoltage damage increase
Solution Approach 1:
The mirror circuit acts as an intermediary that isolates the high voltage charging/discharging operations from the original RF capacitive network. The mirror switches and capacitors handle the high voltage stress, while the original network remains protected at its normal operating voltage, thus enabling fast charging without overvoltage damage risk
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a copy (mirror) of the original capacitive network that replicates its electrical behavior. This mirror network is specifically designed to handle the charge/discharge operations at higher voltages, while the original network maintains its designed voltage levels, thus achieving fast charging speed without exposing the original components to overvoltage damage
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach significantly reduces charge and discharge times of capacitive elements, enhancing the performance of tunable matching networks and impedance matching in communication devices, while maintaining the original RF performance.
Implementation Method 1
charge and discharge times of the capacitive elements can be directly related to performance of the tunable components
Implementation Method 2
using DC/DC converters to generate higher or lower voltage supplies for improved performance
Data Source
AI summary
A system that incorporates teachings of the subject disclosure may include, for example, emulating a behavior of an RF capacitive device utilizing a mirror circuit; and providing feedback signals to an input of an operational amplifier via a feedback node coupled with the mirror circuit. Other embodiments are disclosed.