Threshold-Based Receiver Calibration for Fast Gain Settling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing wireless receiver technologies face challenges in achieving fast gain control settling without requiring auxiliary calibration circuits or large circuit overhead, particularly in applications with high dynamic ranges and limited time for gain control settling.
Innovation Solution
A receiver circuit utilizing multiple sub-receivers that compare input-signalling with different threshold values, allowing for fast feedforward gain calibration by identifying the most significant threshold value and configuring the circuit accordingly, without needing additional auxiliary paths or programmable gain amplifiers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If auxiliary calibration circuits or programmable gain amplifiers are used to achieve fast gain control settling, then gain control settling speed is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The receiver circuit performs self-calibration by utilizing its own sub-receiver components to detect calibration signalling and automatically identify the appropriate effective threshold value. The controller within the receiver circuit autonomously processes digital sub-receiver-output-signals to determine the most significant triggered sub-receiver and configures the circuit accordingly, eliminating the need for external auxiliary calibration circuits while achieving fast gain control settling
Solution Approach 2:
The sub-receivers serve dual purposes: they function as signal processing components during normal operation and as calibration detection components during gain control settling. Each sub-receiver compares input-signalling with a different effective threshold value, and during calibration, these same components detect calibration-signalling to determine the appropriate gain setting, eliminating the need for separate programmable gain amplifiers or dedicated calibration hardware
2Speed
If multiple sub-receivers with different threshold values are used for fast feedforward calibration, then gain control settling speed is improved, but circuit complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The receiver circuit is segmented into multiple sub-receivers, each comparing input-signalling with a different effective threshold value that has weighted values in a sequence between least significant and most significant. This segmentation allows parallel calibration detection across multiple threshold levels, enabling fast feedforward calibration by identifying the most significant triggered sub-receiver without requiring complex sequential adjustment mechanisms
Solution Approach 2:
The calibration detection function is merged with the existing sub-receiver signal processing function. The same sub-receivers that process input signals during normal operation are used to detect calibration-signalling and determine gain settings. The controller merges the calibration detection results with normal signal processing by configuring the receiver circuit to provide the sub-receiver-output-signal from the identified preceding-sub-receiver to the receiver-output-terminal for subsequent signal processing
Data Source
AI summary
A receiver circuit, comprising: an receiver-input-terminal configured to receive input-signalling; an receiver-output-terminal configured to provide output-signalling; a plurality of sub-receivers, each configured to compare the received input-signalling with a different effective threshold value in order to provide a digital sub-receiver-output-signal, wherein the different effective threshold values have weighted values in a sequence between a least significant value and a most significant value; a controller configured to, in response to detecting calibration-signalling at the receiver-input-terminal: process the digital sub-receiver-output-signals in order to identify the sub-receiver with the most significant effective threshold value that is triggered by the calibration-signalling as a triggered-sub-receiver; identify a preceding-sub-receiver as the sub-receiver that has an effective threshold value that is before that of the triggered-sub-receiver in the sequence of weighted effective threshold values; and configure the receiver circuit such that, for subsequent signal processing, the sub-receiver-output-signal from the preceding-sub-receiver is provided to the receiver-output-terminal.