Multi-Channel RF Receiver Architecture for Wide Dynamic Range
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Solution Overview
Problem
Radio-frequency receivers face limitations in dynamic range due to electronic components, particularly analogue/digital converters, leading to compromised signal quality and complexity in automatic gain control, and existing solutions either require additional channels or reduce signal strength.
Innovation Solution
A multichannel radio-frequency receiver design that splits the signal into elements downstream from the radio-frequency section, allowing for optimized signal processing and evaluation in each channel with adjustable gains and signal limiters, enabling better signal strength utilization and minimizing noise and distortion.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If automatic gain control (AGC) with variable amplification is used to increase dynamic range, then the dynamic range is improved, but the signal quality deteriorates due to gain setting inaccuracies and system complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The receiver is divided into multiple parallel channels (first channel with first amplifier, second channel with second amplifier) that process the same RF signal simultaneously but with different gain settings. This segmentation allows the system to handle a wider dynamic range by selecting the appropriate channel based on signal strength, avoiding the complexity of continuous variable gain control while maintaining signal quality.
2Reliability
If signal splitting into multiple channels is performed, then the dynamic range is increased, but the signal strength on each channel is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple channels with different gain settings are merged into a single evaluation circuit that processes the signal from the channel with the appropriate gain. The system combines the advantages of different gain settings without permanently reducing signal strength, as each channel maintains its full signal strength for its intended purpose.
3Reliability
If a multiplexer is used to switch between amplified and unamplified channels, then the dynamic range is improved, but the signal quality deteriorates due to switching corruption
Solution Approach 1:
An evaluation circuit acts as an intermediary between the parallel channels and the final output, selecting which channel's signal to pass through based on signal strength measurements. This intermediary approach avoids direct switching between channels, eliminating switching-induced signal corruption while maintaining the ability to handle different signal strengths.
4Reliability
If additional channels are added to handle different signal strengths, then the dynamic range is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple channels serve the universal function of signal processing but with different gain characteristics optimized for different signal strength ranges. This multi-functionality allows a single receiver architecture to handle both weak and strong signals effectively without requiring separate specialized systems, balancing complexity with capability.
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to a multichannel radio-frequency receiver for electromagnetic waves, having a radio-frequency analogue section, which has an input for an electrical signal from a reception device, and having a lower-frequency section, which is connected downstream of the radiofrequency analogue section and has a plurality of parallel channels (6b, 6c; 7b, 7c) for in each case different signal levels and an evaluation circuit, in which, in the radiofrequency analogue section in order to split the signal in accordance with a predeterminable division ratio into signal elements which can be supplied to radio-frequency analogue channels (6a, 7a), downstream from which the channels (6b, 6c; 7b, 7c) of the lower-frequency section are respectively connected, and the channels (6b, 6c; 7b, 7c) of the lower-frequency section each have an evaluation circuit for detection of the phase and amplitude of the respective signal element.