BR-112019004968-B1 - CONFIGURABLE MIXER

BR112019004968B1BR 112019004968 B1BR112019004968 B1BR 112019004968B1BR-112019004968-B1

Abstract

A method and apparatus are disclosed for a configurable mixer capable of operating in a linear, a legacy, and a low-power mode. In linear mode, the configurable mixer is configured to operate as a double-balance mixer to multiply a first differential signal by a second differential signal. In legacy mode, the configurable mixer is configured as a double-balance mixer to multiply a differential signal by a single-ended signal. In low-power mode, the configurable mixer is configured to operate as a single-balance mixer to multiply a differential signal by a single-ended signal. The operating mode of the configurable mixer may be based, at least in part, on a mode control signal. In some embodiments, the configurable mixer may be included in an analog front-end of a wireless communication device.

Inventors

Kiyong Choi
Yi Zeng
HONG SUN KIM
Sasha Vujcic
CHIRAG DIPAK PATEL
ALEKSANDAR MIODRAG TASIC
TIMOTHY DONALD GATHMAN
Wu-Hsin Chen
Klaas Van Zalinge

Assignees

QUALCOMM INCORPORATED

Dates

Publication Date: 20260317
Application Date: 20170814
Priority Date: 20160921

Claims (15)

1. Configurable mixer (600), characterized by comprising: a first pair of transistors (620) configured to multiply a first signal by a first differential signal; a second pair of transistors (622) configured to multiply a second signal by the first differential signal; and a second set of switches (626) configured to selectively couple respective gate terminals of the second pair of transistors to a ground potential based, at least in part, on a configurable mixer operating mode.
2. Configurable mixer, according to claim 1, characterized by further comprising: a first set of switches (624) configured to selectively provide the first differential signal to the gate terminals of the second pair of transistors based, at least in part, on the operating mode of the configurable mixer.
3. Configurable mixer, according to claim 2, characterized by further comprising: a switch (618) configured to selectively couple at least one of a drain terminal, or a source terminal, or a combination thereof, of each transistor in the second pair of transistors, to ground potential; and wherein a computer operation is based, at least in part, on the operating mode of the configurable mixer.
4. Configurable mixer, according to claim 2, characterized by further comprising: a switch (619) configured to selectively couple at least one of a drain terminal, or a source terminal, or a combination thereof, of each transistor in the second pair of transistors, to the second signal; wherein the configurable mixer operates as a double-balance mixer and the second signal is isolated from the configurable mixer.
5. Configurable mixer, according to claim 2, characterized in that the configurable mixer operates as a single balance mixer when configured in a first operating mode, and operates as a double balance mixer when configured in a second operating mode.
6. Configurable mixer, according to claim 5, characterized in that the second set of switches is closed and the first set of switches is open when configured in the first operating mode, and the second set of switches is open and the first set of switches is closed when configured in the second operating mode.
7. Configurable mixer, according to claim 1, characterized in that the first differential signal is a differential local oscillator signal, LO.
8. Configurable mixer, according to claim 1, characterized in that the configurable mixer is included in an analog front-end (200).
9. Configurable mixer, according to claim 8, characterized in that the analog front-end comprises a low-noise amplifier, LNA, and a transconductance amplifier configured to receive an LNA output signal from the LNA, wherein the first signal comprises a first signal from the transconductance amplifier and the second signal comprises a second signal from the transconductance amplifier.
10. Configurable mixer, according to claim 8, characterized in that the analog front-end additionally comprises a controller for generating a mode control signal according to the operating mode; wherein the first set of switches operates in response to the mode control signal.
11. Method (900) for operating an analog front-end (200) comprising a configurable mixer (600), the method characterized by comprising: selecting (902) an operating mode of the analog front-end; multiplying, by a first pair of transistors (620), a first signal by a differential first signal; and selectively activating a second set of switches (626) coupled to gate terminals of a second pair of transistors based, at least in part, on the selected operating mode.
12. Method according to claim 11, characterized by the selective activation of the second set of switches comprising: closing the second set of switches to couple the gate terminals of the second pair of transistors to a ground potential when a first operating mode is selected; and wherein the selective activation of the second set of switches comprises: operating the second set of switches to decouple the gate terminals of the second pair of transistors from the ground potential when a second operating mode is selected.
13. Method according to claim 11, characterized by further comprising: selectively activating a first set of switches (624) coupled to the gate terminals of the second pair of transistors based, at least in part, on the selected operating mode; and wherein the selective activation of the first set of switches comprises: opening the first set of switches to isolate the first differential signal from the gate terminals of the second pair of transistors when a first operating mode is selected; and wherein the selective activation of the first set of switches comprises: closing the first set of switches to provide the first differential signal to the gate terminals of the second pair of transistors when a second operating mode is selected.
14. Method according to claim 11, characterized by further comprising: multiplying, by the second pair of transistors, a second signal by the first differential signal.
15. Method according to claim 11, characterized by further comprising: coupling at least one of a drain terminal, or a source terminal, or a combination thereof, of each transistor in the second pair of transistors, to a ground potential based, at least in part, on the mode of operation.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD [001] The example modalities generally refer to communication devices and specifically to configurable mixers. BACKGROUND OF THE RELATED TECHNIQUE [002] Communication devices can transmit and receive communication signals through a communication medium. In one example, the communication medium can be a wireless medium in which communication signals are transmitted and received according to a wireless communication protocol. Examples of wireless communication protocols may include IEEE 802.11 protocols and Bluetooth protocols according to the Bluetooth Special Interest Group. In another example, the communication medium can be a wired medium in which communication signals are transmitted and received according to a wire-based communication protocol. Some examples of wire-based protocols may include an Ethernet® protocol and/or a Powerline Communications protocol described by the HomePlug 2.0 specification. In yet another example, the communication medium can be a hybrid combination of wired and wireless communication media. [003] Analog signals in communication devices may be subjected to a “mixing” operation to, for example, modulate a baseband signal for transmission and/or demodulate a received signal to recover the baseband signal. For example, a communication device may include a mixer to “mix” (e.g., multiply) a baseband signal together with a local oscillator (LO) signal to generate a radio frequency (RF) signal for amplification and transmission by the communication device. [004] When a communication device, such as a wireless communication device, operates in the presence of signal interferers or other disruptors, the received signal may not be correctly demodulated by the mixer. For example, if the mixing operation is not relatively linear, then all or part of the signal interferer or other disruptor may be included in, or otherwise affect, the demodulated signal. However, a mixer with relatively high linearity may consume more power than other mixers (e.g., mixers with lower linearity), and therefore may not be desirable for use in mobile devices (e.g., battery-powered). [005] Thus, there is a need to control the operation of communication devices to reduce energy consumption and improve signal processing performance, especially in the presence of interferers or other signal disruptors. SUMMARY [006] This Summary is provided to introduce in a simplified form a selection of concepts which are further described below in the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to identify major features or essential characteristics of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter. [007] A configurable mixer and method of operation are disclosed that can provide a configurable amount of linearity and/or provide a reduction in energy consumption based, at least in part, on a mode of operation. [008] In one example, the configurable mixer may include a first pair of transistors to multiply a first signal by a first differential signal, a second pair of transistors to multiply a second signal by the first differential signal, and a first set of switches to selectively couple respective gate terminals of the second pair of transistors to a ground potential, based at least in part on a mode of operation of the configurable mixer. [009] In another example, an analog front-end is revealed. The analog front-end may include a low-noise amplifier, a transconductance amplifier to receive an output signal from the low-noise amplifier, and a configurable mixer. The configurable mixer may include a first pair of transistors to multiply a first signal by a first differential signal, a second pair of transistors to multiply a second signal by the first differential signal, and a first set of switches to selectively couple respective gate terminals of the second pair of transistors to a ground potential, based at least in part on a mode of operation of the configurable mixer. [0010] In another example, a method of operating an analog front-end comprising a configurable mixer is disclosed. The method may include selecting an operating mode of the analog front-end, multiplying, by a first pair of transistors, a first signal by a differential first signal, and selectively activating a first set of switches coupled to gate terminals of the second pair of transistors based, at least in part, on the selected operating mode. [0011] In another example, a configurable mixer is revealed. The configurable mixer may comprise a means for multiplying a first signal by a first differential signal through a first pair of transistors, and a means for multiplying a second signal by the first differential signal through a second pair of transistors, wherein the means for multiplying the second signal must selectively activate a first set of switches to couple gate terminals of the second pair of transistors to a ground potential based, at least in part, on a mode of operati