Shared Local Oscillators for Lower-Complexity Phased Arrays
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Solution Overview
Problem
Phased array antennas face challenges in achieving increased bandwidth while maintaining a high main lobe to side lobe power ratio, and they require reduced weight, size, and manufacturing costs, along with lower power requirements, while also needing to efficiently share local oscillator signals for improved signal quality and beamforming capabilities.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a method and apparatus for sharing local oscillator signals in a phased array antenna system using a reference clock and beamformer chip, which outputs and receives LO signals, enabling efficient digital beamforming and reducing the number of electrical components, thereby achieving cost, space, and power savings.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If multiple separate LO signals are used for different beamforming configurations, then signal quality and beamforming capability are improved, but device complexity and power consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The LO signal IO port is designed to serve multiple functions: it can output LO signals in a first beamforming configuration and receive additional LO signals in a second beamforming configuration. This multi-functional design allows a single port to replace what would traditionally require separate dedicated ports for each configuration, thereby reducing device complexity while maintaining the capability to support multiple beamforming modes with appropriate signal quality
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines the functionality of multiple separate LO signal paths into a single shared LO signal IO port. By merging the output and reception functions for different beamforming configurations into one port, the system reduces the total number of electrical components needed while still maintaining the necessary signal quality for different operational modes through proper signal sharing and switching
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple separate LO signals are used for different beamforming configurations, then beamforming capability is improved, but power consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The shared LO signal IO port is designed to handle multiple beamforming configurations through its multi-functional capability. It can dynamically switch between outputting LO signals for one configuration and receiving additional LO signals for another configuration, thereby maintaining versatile beamforming capability while using a single power-consuming component instead of multiple separate ones
Solution Approach 2:
By merging multiple LO signal handling functions into a single shared port, the system consolidates power consumption into one component rather than distributing it across multiple separate components. This reduction in the number of active electrical components directly lowers overall power consumption while the port's ability to handle different configurations maintains full beamforming versatility
3Reliability
If more electrical components are used to maintain high main lobe to side lobe power ratio, then signal quality is improved, but manufacturing cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The shared LO signal IO port provides multi-functional operation that maintains high main lobe to side lobe power ratio through proper signal management in different beamforming configurations. By using a single port instead of multiple separate components, the system achieves the required signal quality performance while significantly reducing manufacturing complexity and cost
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and techniques for distributing reference signals are disclosed. For example, a method includes generating, by a first phase-locked loop (PLL) included in a first beamformer (BF) chip, a first local oscillator (LO) signal; generating, by a second PLL included in a second BF chip, a second LO signal; and in a first BF configuration, transmitting radio frequency (RF) signals by a plurality of antenna elements based on the first LO signal. A first subset of the plurality of the antenna elements is associated with the first BF chip and a second subset of the plurality of antenna elements is associated with the second BF chip. The method includes, in a second BF configuration, receiving RF signals by the first subset of the plurality of antenna elements and the second subset of the plurality of antenna elements based on the second LO signal.