KR-20260066068-A - Shared Phase Locked Loop (PLL) circuit for multiple transmission chains

Abstract

The embodiments described herein include devices and methods for sharing a phase-locked loop (PLL) output between multiple communication chains in a wireless communication device. In one embodiment, the device includes a PLL circuit having a shared phase-locked loop (PLL) output, a radar signal generation circuit, a first transmission chain coupled to the shared PLL output and the radar signal generation circuit, and a second transmission chain coupled to the shared PLL output and the radar signal generation circuit.

Inventors

• 케스킨 무스타파
• 리미니 로베르토
• 장 단루
• 라마사미 발라

Assignees

• 퀄컴 인코포레이티드

Dates

Publication Date

20260512

Application Date

20240823

Priority Date

20230920

Claims (20)

1. As a device, PLL circuit section having a shared phase-locked loop (PLL) output; Radar signal generation circuit section; A first transmission chain coupled to the above shared PLL output and the above radar signal generation circuit; and A device comprising the above-mentioned shared PLL output and a second transmission chain coupled to the above-mentioned radar signal generation circuit.
2. A device according to claim 1, wherein the shared PLL output is coupled to the mixer of the first transmission chain through a local oscillator (LO) circuit.
3. A device according to paragraph 2, wherein the shared PLL output is coupled to the mixer of the second transmission chain through the LO circuit and the first frequency divider circuit.
4. In paragraph 3, A device further comprising a second frequency divider circuit separate from the first frequency divider circuit and a third transmission chain coupled to the shared PLL output through the LO circuit.
5. In claim 1, the first transmission chain and the second transmission chain include the shared PLL output; The above PLL circuit is configured to generate a shared transmission signal using a frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW) modulation input; The transmitting circuit of the second transmitting chain is coupled to the shared PLL output through a frequency divider circuit; and A device in which the transmitting circuit of the first transmitting chain is coupled to the shared PLL output.
6. In paragraph 3, A device further comprising a third transmission chain coupled to the shared PLL output through a second frequency divider circuit separate from the first frequency divider circuit.
7. In paragraph 5, the transmitting circuit of the first transmitting chain is configured to output a first radar transmission at a shared frequency with the shared transmitting signal; and A device configured such that the transmitting circuit of the second transmitting chain is configured to output a second radar transmission at a second frequency shifted from the shared frequency by the frequency divider circuit.
8. In claim 1, the first transmission chain and the second transmission chain include a shared mixer; The above shared PLL output is coupled to the LO input of the above shared mixer; and A device in which the transmission circuit of the second transmission chain is coupled to the output of the shared mixer through a frequency divider circuit.
9. In claim 8, the transmitting circuit of the first transmitting chain is separate from the transmitting circuit of the second transmitting chain and is coupled to the output of the shared mixer without interposing a frequency divider circuit.
10. In claim 8, the device comprises a radar signal generation circuit that includes a shared frequency modulated continuous wave-intermediate frequency (FMCW-IF) signal generation circuit coupled to the signal input of the shared mixer.
11. In paragraph 3, the device comprises a first frequency divider circuit including a programmable divider.
12. In claim 1, the first transmission chain and the second transmission chain share a frequency modulated continuous wave-intermediate frequency (FMCW-IF) circuit section and an IQ generation circuit section coupled to the FMCW-IF circuit section; The first output of the above IQ generation circuit is coupled to the transmission circuit of the first transmission chain through the first mixer of the first transmission chain; A device in which the second output of the IQ generation circuit is coupled to the transmission circuit of the second transmission chain through the second mixer of the second transmission chain.
13. In claim 1, the device is configured to simultaneously transmit multiple radar signals at different individual frequencies through the first transmission chain and the second transmission chain.
14. A device according to claim 1, wherein the first transmission chain and the second transmission share a frequency modulated continuous wave-intermediate frequency (FMCW-IF) circuit section.
15. In paragraph 14, the first output of the FMCW-IF circuit is coupled to the transmission circuit of the first transmission chain through the first mixer of the first transmission chain; A device in which the second or split output of the above FMCW-IF circuit is coupled to the transmission circuit of the second transmission chain through the second mixer of the second transmission chain.
16. A device according to claim 15, wherein the second or split output of the FMCW-IF circuit is coupled to the second mixer through a frequency adjustment circuit.
17. In paragraph 16, the above frequency adjustment circuit includes an interference reduction circuit.
18. In paragraph 16, the above frequency adjustment circuit includes a frequency offset circuit.
19. A device according to claim 1, wherein the first transmission chain generates a first signal and the second transmission chain generates a second signal orthogonal to the first signal.
20. A device according to claim 19, wherein the first signal is a first pseudo-random (PN) shaped signal and the second signal is a second PN shaped signal orthogonal to the first PN shaped signal.

Description

Shared Phase Locked Loop (PLL) circuit for multiple transmission chains The present disclosure generally relates to electronic devices and wireless communications. For example, aspects of the present disclosure relate to a transmission chain circuit having multiple transmission chains. Some aspects are particularly used to generate multiple orthogonal millimeter-wave radar transmissions. Wireless communication devices and technologies are becoming increasingly common. Wireless communication devices generally transmit and receive communication signals. Radio Frequency Front-End (RFFE) modules are wireless communication devices that power wireless transmission signals and can also manage the reception of wireless signals from antennas. As the adoption of wireless communication technologies increases, communication system throughputs grow, and the complexity of power management for wireless devices increases, RFFE modules are becoming a larger component of wireless devices. Limiting power usage and managing power efficiency are critical design goals, particularly for mobile devices. Additionally, some of these systems can incorporate millimeter-wave technology that can be used in communications and/or radar applications. Within the scope of the appended claims, various implementations of systems, methods, and devices each have several aspects, and no single aspect of such aspects alone possesses the desirable attributes described herein. Without limiting the scope of the appended claims, some key features are described herein. In some embodiments, a method is provided. The method includes the steps of generating a first radar signal using a first transmission chain and a radar signal generating circuit coupled to a shared PLL circuit, and generating a second radar signal using a second transmission chain and a radar signal generating circuit coupled to a shared PLL circuit. In another embodiment, a device for wireless communication is provided. The device includes means for generating a first radar signal using a radar signal generating circuit and a first transmission chain coupled to a shared PLL circuit, and means for generating a second radar signal using a radar signal generating circuit and a second transmission chain coupled to a shared PLL circuit. In another embodiment, a wireless communication device is provided. The device includes a PLL circuit portion having a shared phase-locked loop (PLL) output, a radar signal generation circuit portion, a first transmission chain coupled to the shared PLL output and the radar signal generation circuit portion, and a second transmission chain coupled to the shared PLL output and the radar signal generation circuit portion. In some of these embodiments, the shared PLL output is configured to be coupled to a mixer of the first transmission chain through a local oscillator (LO) circuit. In some of these embodiments, the shared PLL output is configured to be coupled to a mixer of the second transmission chain through an LO circuit and a first frequency divider circuit. Some of these embodiments consist of a third transmission chain coupled to a shared PLL output through a second frequency divider circuit and an LO circuit, which are separate from the first frequency divider circuit. In some of these embodiments, a first transmission chain and a second transmission chain include a shared PLL output, and the PLL circuit is configured to generate a shared transmission signal using a frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW) modulation input, and the transmission circuit of the second transmission chain is coupled to the shared PLL output through a frequency divider circuit, and the transmission circuit of the first transmission chain is configured to be coupled to the shared PLL output. Some of these embodiments consist of a third transmission chain coupled to a shared PLL output through a second frequency divider circuit separate from the first frequency divider circuit. In some of these embodiments, the transmission circuit of the first transmission chain is configured to output a first radar transmission at a frequency shared with the shared transmission signal, and the transmission circuit of the second transmission chain is configured to output a second radar transmission at a second frequency shifted from the shared frequency by the frequency divider circuit. In some of these embodiments, the first transmission chain and the second transmission chain include a shared mixer, the shared PLL output is coupled to the LO input of the shared mixer, and the transmission circuit of the second transmission chain is configured to be coupled to the output of the shared mixer through a frequency divider circuit. In some of these embodiments, the transmission circuit of the first transmission chain is separate from the transmission circuit of the second transmission chain and is configured to be coupled to the output of the shared mixer without interposing a frequency divid