The invention relates to a wireless apparatus having a digital baseband section and a high frequency circuit.
In a wireless apparatus, in particular, an amplifier for amplifying a high frequency signal undergoes great performance variation for reasons of variations in semiconductor manufacturing processes or temperature variations that occur during actual operation. For instance, if a decrease in an amount of electric current flowing through transistors that make up an amplifier is induced by process variations, the maximum oscillation frequency fmax will become smaller, thereby deteriorating a frequency characteristic. Moreover, a temperature increase also induces a longer operation delay on the transistors, so that the frequency characteristic is deteriorated.
A supply voltage regulator for regulating a supply voltage of circuitry has been proposed to solve the problem of performance deterioration attributable to the process variations or temperature variations (see Patent Literature 1).
The oscillator 22 is made up of a ring oscillator.
Patent Literature 1: International Publication No. WO 2007-034540
In the ring oscillator of the oscillator 22, the operation delay time of the inverters changes depending on process variations. For instance, when a threshold voltage Vth of transistors decrease for reasons of process variations, the operation delay time of the inverters becomes shorter, and an oscillation frequency of the ring oscillator increases. To the contrary, as the threshold voltage Vth of the transistors increase for reasons of the process variations, the operation delay time of the inverters becomes longer, and the oscillation frequency of the ring oscillator becomes lower.
The operation delay time of the inverters also changes for reasons of temperature variations. For instance, when a temperature decreases, the operation delay time of the inverters becomes shorter, and the oscillation frequency of the ring oscillator becomes higher. Conversely, when the temperature increases, the operation delay time of the inverters becomes longer, and the oscillation frequency of the ring oscillator becomes lower.
The supply voltage regulator shown in
However, separately implementing on an integrated circuit an oscillator for detecting the process variations and the temperature variations adds to a chip area, which raises another problem of cost increase.
The invention has been conceived in light of the circumstance and aims at providing a wireless apparatus capable of optimizing performance even when process or temperature variations occur without addition of circuitry, such as an oscillator for detection purposes.
According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a wireless apparatus comprising:
a PLL circuit that has a voltage controlled oscillator configured to oscillate a signal having a frequency commensurate with a control voltage;
a variable output regulator configured to change an output voltage in accordance with the control voltage; and
a high frequency circuit that is supplied with, as a supply voltage, the output voltage of the variable output regulator.
By means of the configuration, a control voltage of the voltage controlled oscillator changes along with temperature or process variations, and the supply voltage of the high frequency circuit can be controlled in accordance with a control voltage. Hence, performance deterioration, which would otherwise occur when the temperature or process variations occur, can be compensated for.
The invention enables optimization of performance even when process or temperature variations occur without addition of separate circuitry, such as an oscillator for detection purposes.
A configuration and operation of a common wireless apparatus are now described in advance of explanations about embodiments of the invention.
The digital baseband section 1 operates in response to a clock signal that has a predetermined frequency and is output from the PLL circuit 10 and generates a transmission baseband signal from transmission data. The modulator 2 modulates the baseband signal output from the digital baseband section 1 to thereby generate a high frequency modulated signal. The amplifier 3 is an amplifier for amplifying a high frequency signal and amplifies the high frequency modulated signal output from the modulator 2, outputting a transmission output signal. The regulator 12 receives as an input a voltage output from the battery 4 and generates a predetermined voltage, supplying the voltage to a power terminal of the amplifier 3.
The amplifier 3 exhibits great performance variations for reasons of process variations in semiconductor manufacturing processes or temperature variations which occur during actual operation of the amplifier. For instance, when an electric current flowing into the transistor which makes up the amplifier decreases for reasons of process variations, the maximum oscillation frequency fmax decreases, thereby deteriorating a frequency characteristic. Further, when a temperature increase occurs, operation delay of the transistor increases, thereby deteriorating the frequency characteristic. Since an increase in the supply voltage of the amplifier leads to an increase in the drain-supply voltage VDS, performance of the transistor can be enhanced.
In order to solve a problem of performance deterioration of circuitry of a wireless apparatus, such as an amplifier, due to process variations or temperature variations, the embodiment adopts a configuration that supplies a supply voltage to target circuitry while changing the same.
The wireless apparatus includes a digital baseband section (a mapping section) 1-1, a modulator 2, an amplifier 3, a battery 4, a variable output regulator 5, and a PLL circuit 10. The digital baseband section 1-1, the modulator 2, the amplifier 3, the variable output regulator 5, and the PLL circuit 10 are fabricated in an integrated circuit 11. In particular, at least the amplifier 3 and the PLL circuit 10 are fabricated on the same chip.
The digital baseband section 1-1 operates in response to a clock signal having a predetermined frequency output from the PLL circuit 10, produces as transmission baseband signals an I signal and a Q signal, which are quadrature signals, from transmission data, and outputs the thus-produced transmission baseband signals. In short, the digital baseband section 1-1 maps transmission data at a signal point on an I-Q plane.
The modulator 2 modulates the I signal and the Q signal output from the digital baseband section 1-1, generating a high frequency modulated signal. The amplifier 3 amplifies the high frequency modulated signal output from the modulator 2, outputting a transmission output signal.
The variable output regulator 5 varies a supply voltage of the amplifier 3 according to a VCO control voltage output from the PLL circuit 10. The battery 4 is connected to an input terminal of the variable output regulator 5 by way of an external power terminal, and the input terminal of the variable output regulator 5 is supplied with a voltage output from the battery 4. A power terminal of the amplifier 3 is connected to an output terminal of the variable output regulator 5, and the amplifier 3 is supplied with a variable supply voltage commensurate with the VCO control voltage.
A gate terminal of the transistor Q2 is connected to an output terminal of the operational amplifier 62, and the voltage output from the battery 4 is supplied to an external power terminal to which a drain terminal of the transistor Q2 is connected. A source terminal of the transistor Q2 is connected to the output terminal, and a voltage output from the variable output regulator 5 is supplied to the power terminal of the amplifier 3 from the output terminal. Further, the source terminal of the transistor Q2 is grounded by way of series-connected resistors R1 and R2, and a node between the resistors R1 and R2 is connected to a positive input terminal of the operational amplifier 62. The voltage output from the variable output regulator 5 is divided into voltages by way of the resistors R1 and R2, and the thus-divided voltages are fed back to the operational amplifier 62.
The PLL circuit 10 includes a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) 6, a counter 7 for counting an output frequency of the VCO 6, a phase comparator 8 that compares a reference signal with the phase of a signal output from the counter 7 and that outputs an error signal, and a filter 9 that removes an a.c. component of the error signal output from the phase comparator 8. An output of the filter 9 is fed back to the VCO 6 as a VCO control voltage for controlling the output frequency of the VCO 6. Further, the VCO control voltage is input also to the output control voltage terminal of the variable output regulator 5.
The VCO 6 is made up of a ring oscillator.
During operation of the wireless apparatus, the PLL circuit 10 is locked, and the output frequency of the VCO 6 is locked to a predetermined frequency fck. As can be seen in
In the supply voltage regulator of Patent Literature 1, temperature or process variations are detected by observation of an output frequency of the ring oscillator. However, a ring oscillator for detection purpose must be additionally provided.
The embodiment, however, employs a configuration in which the ring oscillator of the PLL circuit 10 that generates a clock signal of the digital baseband section 1-1 is diverted for detection and in which another ring oscillator to serve as a detection circuit is not newly provided. The PLL circuit 10 is locked during operation of the wireless apparatus, and the output frequency is locked. It is, for this reason, difficult to detect temperature or process variations by observation of an output frequency used in the supply voltage regulator described in connection with Patent Literature 1. Accordingly, in the embodiment, the temperature or process variations in the integrated circuit 11 are equivalently detected by observation of the VCO control voltage.
In the embodiment, the VCO control voltage is input to the variable output regulator 5, to thereby change the output voltage of the variable output regulator 5 in accordance with a change in the VCO control voltage. When temperature or process variations occur in the integrated circuit 11, the supply voltage of the amplifier 3 can be controlled in accordance with the temperature or process variations.
As mentioned previously, the frequency characteristic of the amplifier is deteriorated as the temperature rises. However, the supply voltage of the amplifier also increases as shown in
Moreover, the frequency characteristic of the amplifier is deteriorated as the threshold voltage Vth of the transistor increases for reasons of process variations. However, the supply voltage of the amplifier also increases as shown in
As above, there can be provided a wireless apparatus capable of optimizing performance even when temperature variations or process variations occur by controlling the supply voltage of the amplifier in accordance with the VCO control voltage of the clock generation PLL circuit in the digital baseband section without addition of separate circuitry specifically designed to detect variations, like a ring oscillator.
In particular, since a frequency of a signal used in a wireless apparatus that performs wireless communication by use of a millimeter wave band is high, a greater effect can be yielded. For instance, in a wireless apparatus using a 60-GHz millimeter wave band, a maximum oscillation frequency fmax of a high frequency circuit is of the order of 100 GHz and close to a frequency of the high frequency signal, and hence the maximum oscillation frequency fmax greatly affects circuit performance. Accordingly, performance deterioration due to temperature or process variations can be appropriately compensated for by means of controlling the supply voltage of the high frequency circuit in accordance with the VCO control voltage.
The first embodiment adopts a configuration in which the supply voltage of the amplifier is varied by the variable regulator. A target whose performance deterioration is compensated for by controlling a supply voltage in accordance with a VCO control voltage is not limited to an amplifier. Moreover, although the first embodiment shows the example of the configuration of the transmission circuit, the invention is not limited to the transmission circuit.
The output terminal of the variable output regulator 5 is connected to the power terminal of the amplifier 3 and to a power terminal of the modulator 2. In other respects, the wireless apparatus is analogous in configuration to its counterpart of the first embodiment shown in
A high frequency circuit section 56 including the quadrature modulator 51 and the oscillator 52 is supplied with, as a supply voltage, an output voltage of the variable output regulator 5.
In the second embodiment, the output voltage of the variable output regulator 5 is varied in accordance with a change in VCO control voltage of the PLL circuit 10, and the output voltage is supplied as a supply voltage to the amplifier 3 and the modulator 2 as in the case of the first embodiment. The VCO control voltage changes in accordance with temperature variations or process variations in the integrated circuit 11, so that the supply voltage of the modulator 2 can be varied in accordance with the VCO control voltage.
As above, there can be provided a wireless apparatus capable of optimizing performance of the modulator even when temperature variations or process variations occur by controlling the supply voltage of the modulator in accordance with the VCO control voltage of the clock generation PLL circuit in the digital baseband section without addition of another circuitry specifically designed to detect variations, such as a ring oscillator. In particular, a frequency of a signal employed in a wireless apparatus that performs wireless communication by use of a millimeter wave band is high, and hence a greater effect can be yielded.
The wireless apparatus includes a digital baseband section (a demapping section) 1-2, a demodulator 18, an amplifier 19, the battery 4, the variable output regulator 5, and the PLL circuit 10. The digital baseband section 1-2, the demodulator 18, the amplifier 19, the variable output regulator 5, and the PLL circuit 10 are fabricated on the integrated circuit 11. In particular, at least the amplifier 19 and the PLL circuit 10 are fabricated on the same chip.
The amplifier 19 is an amplifier for amplifying a high frequency signal and amplifies a received input signal that is a high frequency modulated signal and outputs the thus-amplified signal to the demodulator 18. The demodulator 18 demodulates the received input signal amplified by the amplifier 19 and outputs an I signal and a Q signal, which are quadrature signals, as received baseband signals.
The digital baseband section 1-2 operates in response to a clock signal that is output from the PLL circuit 10 and that has a predetermined frequency, and acquires received data from the I signal and the Q signal that have been demodulated by the demodulator 18. Specifically, the digital baseband section 1-2 demaps the received data at a signal point mapped on the I-Q plane.
The output terminal of the variable output regulator 5 is connected to a power terminal of the amplifier 19. The PLL circuit 10, the variable output regulator 5, and others, are analogous in configuration to their counterparts described in connection with the first embodiment, and hence their repeated explanations are omitted here for brevity.
In the third embodiment, the output voltage of the variable output regulator 5 is changed in accordance with a change in the VCO control voltage of the PLL circuit 10, and the output voltage is supplied as a supply voltage to the amplifier 19 of the receiving circuit in the same way as in the first embodiment. The VCO control voltage changes in accordance with temperature or process variations in the integrated circuit 11, and the supply voltage of the amplifier 19 is varied in accordance with the VCO control voltage.
As above, there can be provided a wireless apparatus capable of optimizing performance even when temperature variations or process variations occur by controlling the supply voltage of the amplifier of the receiving circuit in accordance with the VCO control voltage of the clock generation PLL circuit in the digital baseband section without addition of separate circuitry specifically designed to detect variations, like a ring oscillator. In particular, since a frequency of a signal used in a wireless apparatus that performs wireless communication by use of a millimeter wave band is high, a greater effect can be yielded.
As in the case of the second embodiment, performance deterioration due to temperature or process variations can be compensated for by means of supplying the output voltage of the variable output regulator 5 even to the high frequency circuit section, or the like, of the demodulator.
Various changes and applications of the present invention may be made by those skilled in the art on the basis of the description of this specification and known techniques without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention, and these are also included in the range of the request for protection. In addition, the respective components in the embodiments described above may be arbitrarily combined without departing from the scope of the invention.
This application is based on Japanese Patent Application (Japanese Patent Application No. 2011-051894) filed on Mar. 9, 2011, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
The invention yields an advantage of the ability to optimize performance even when temperature variations or process variations occur without addition of separate circuitry for detecting variations, like an oscillator for detection purpose, and is useful as a wireless apparatus equipped with a digital baseband section and a high frequency circuit.
1 DIGITAL BASEBAND SECTION
1-1 DIGITAL BASEBAND SECTION (MAPPING SECTION)
1-2 DIGITAL BASEBAND SECTION (DEMAPPING SECTION)
2 MODULATOR
3 AMPLIFIER
4 BATTERY
5 VARIABLE OUTPUT REGULATOR
6 VOLTAGE CONTROLLED OSCILLATOR (VCO)
7, 53 COUNTER
8, 54 PHASE COMPARATOR
9, 55 FILTER
10 PLL
11 INTEGRATED CIRCUIT
12 REGULATOR
18 DEMODULATOR
19 AMPLIFIER
51 QUADRATURE MODULATOR
52 OSCILLATOR
61 VOLTAGE CONVERSION CIRCUIT
62 OPERATIONAL AMPLIFIER
Q1, Q2 TRANSISTOR
L1 LOAD
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
2011051894 | Mar 2011 | JP | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
---|---|---|---|---|
PCT/JP2012/000791 | 2/6/2012 | WO | 00 | 2/8/2013 |