CN114900248A - Power detector, method and radio frequency module - Google Patents

Power detector, method and radio frequency module Download PDF

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Publication number
CN114900248A
CN114900248A CN202210441931.XA CN202210441931A CN114900248A CN 114900248 A CN114900248 A CN 114900248A CN 202210441931 A CN202210441931 A CN 202210441931A CN 114900248 A CN114900248 A CN 114900248A
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signals
signal
power
radio frequency
rectified
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Inventor
张益诚
晋石磊
石秋明
邱仁鍊
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Nanjing Puneng Communication Technology Co ltd
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Nanjing Puneng Communication Technology Co ltd
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    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04B—TRANSMISSION
    • H04B17/00—Monitoring; Testing
    • H04B17/0082—Monitoring; Testing using service channels; using auxiliary channels
    • H04B17/0085—Monitoring; Testing using service channels; using auxiliary channels using test signal generators
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04B—TRANSMISSION
    • H04B17/00—Monitoring; Testing
    • H04B17/10—Monitoring; Testing of transmitters
    • H04B17/101—Monitoring; Testing of transmitters for measurement of specific parameters of the transmitter or components thereof
    • H04B17/102—Power radiated at antenna
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04B—TRANSMISSION
    • H04B17/00—Monitoring; Testing
    • H04B17/10—Monitoring; Testing of transmitters
    • H04B17/11—Monitoring; Testing of transmitters for calibration
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04B—TRANSMISSION
    • H04B17/00—Monitoring; Testing
    • H04B17/20—Monitoring; Testing of receivers
    • H04B17/21—Monitoring; Testing of receivers for calibration; for correcting measurements
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
    • Y02D—CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES IN INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES [ICT], I.E. INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES AIMING AT THE REDUCTION OF THEIR OWN ENERGY USE
    • Y02D30/00—Reducing energy consumption in communication networks
    • Y02D30/70—Reducing energy consumption in communication networks in wireless communication networks

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  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Electromagnetism (AREA)
  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Computer Networks & Wireless Communication (AREA)
  • Signal Processing (AREA)
  • Amplifiers (AREA)

Abstract

The application discloses a power detector, a method and a radio frequency module. The power detector includes: the rectification module is used for converting the received radio frequency signal into a rectification signal; the power amplification module is used for amplifying the rectified signals to obtain a plurality of first signals with sequentially increased power; the power attenuation module is used for obtaining a plurality of second signals with sequentially increased power according to the rectified signals; and the summation module is used for summing the plurality of first signals and the plurality of second signals to obtain output signals, and the output signals linearly represent the power of the radio-frequency signals, wherein the voltage values of the plurality of first signals and the plurality of second signals do not exceed the upper limit voltage, and at least one second signal is obtained by attenuating the rectified signals. The power detector can improve the linearity between the output signal and the radio frequency signal and increase the detectable power range of the radio frequency signal.

Description

Power detector, method and radio frequency module
Technical Field
The present invention relates to the field of electronic circuit technology, and more particularly, to a power detector, a method and a radio frequency module.
Background
Radio Frequency (RF) represents an electromagnetic Frequency that can be radiated to space, and the Frequency range is approximately 300KHz to 30GHz, and is widely applied to the fields of communication, medicine, plasma detection, and the like. In order to detect the power of the radio frequency in real time, a power detector is usually required to be added to facilitate the control of the transmission power, gain, power consumption and efficiency of the radio frequency front-end link. The power detector may generate a voltage signal indicative of the power of the radio frequency signal.
Most prior art power detectors are only suitable for low power radio frequency signal power detection. For wireless local area network devices, radio frequency signal transmitting base stations and other scenarios with high power radio frequency signals, the existing power detectors cannot linearize the radio frequency signals in the high power range to meet the system requirements. It is therefore desirable to provide a further improved power detector to increase the range of detected radio frequency signal power.
Disclosure of Invention
In view of the foregoing, it is an object of the present invention to provide a power detector, a method and a radio frequency module, which can improve the linearity between the output signal and the radio frequency signal and increase the detectable power range of the radio frequency signal.
According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a power detector including: the rectification module is used for converting the received radio frequency signal into a rectification signal; the power amplification module is used for amplifying the rectified signals to obtain a plurality of first signals with sequentially increased power; the power attenuation module is used for obtaining a plurality of second signals with sequentially increased power according to the rectification signals; and a summation module, for summing the plurality of first signals and the plurality of second signals to obtain output signals, wherein the output signals linearly represent the power of the radio frequency signal, the voltage values of the plurality of first signals and the plurality of second signals do not exceed an upper limit voltage, and at least one second signal is attenuated by the rectified signal.
Optionally, the voltage values of the plurality of first signals are all greater than the voltage value of the rectified signal, each first signal has a logarithmic amplification trend, the voltage values of the plurality of second signals are all less than the voltage value of the rectified signal, and each second signal has a logarithmic amplification trend.
Optionally, the power attenuation module includes: at least one attenuator, configured to perform attenuation processing on the rectified signal to obtain the second signal attenuated by the rectified signal; and the amplifiers are sequentially connected in series after the attenuator and are used for amplifying the second signals obtained by attenuating the rectified signals so as to obtain a plurality of second signals with sequentially increased power.
Optionally, the attenuation rate of the second signal obtained by the at least one attenuator is not less than a predetermined attenuation rate, so that the voltage values of the plurality of second signals generated by the respective amplifiers are all less than the voltage value of the rectified signal.
Optionally, the summing module includes: the weighting module is used for determining the weight of each first signal and each second signal and respectively carrying out weighting processing on the plurality of first signals and the plurality of second signals based on the weight; and the addition module is used for adding the weighted first signals and the weighted second signals to obtain the output signal.
Optionally, the rectifier module includes: the receiving circuit is used for receiving the radio frequency signal and converting the radio frequency signal into a low-frequency signal; and an emitter follower for converting the low frequency signal into the rectified signal.
Optionally, the rectifier module further includes: and the calibration unit is used for providing a calibration voltage for the rectified signal so as to adjust the voltage value of the output signal, so that when the radio frequency signal is zero, the output signal is also zero.
Optionally, the power amplifying module includes: and the amplifiers are sequentially connected in series and used for amplifying the rectified signals to obtain a plurality of first signals with sequentially increased power.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a power detection method comprising: converting the received radio frequency signal into a rectified signal; amplifying the rectified signals to obtain a plurality of first signals with sequentially increased power; obtaining a plurality of second signals with sequentially increased power according to the rectified signals; and summing the plurality of first signals and the plurality of second signals to obtain output signals, wherein the output signals linearly represent the power of the radio frequency signal, the voltage values of the plurality of first signals and the plurality of second signals do not exceed an upper limit voltage, and at least one second signal is obtained by attenuating the rectified signal.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a radio frequency module comprising: a radio frequency signal generator generating a radio frequency signal; and a power detector as described above, obtaining an output signal from the radio frequency signal, the output signal linearly characterizing the power of the radio frequency signal.
According to the power detector, the method and the radio frequency module provided by the invention, the power amplification module and the power attenuation module are arranged to obtain the plurality of first signals with sequentially increased power and the plurality of second signals with sequentially increased power, at least one second signal is obtained by attenuation of the rectified signal, and then the summation module is used for carrying out weighted summation on the first group of signals and the second group of signals, so that the output signals in a linear range of linear relation with the input radio frequency signals can be obtained, and the radio frequency signals in high power and low power ranges can be accurately detected.
Drawings
The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description of the embodiments of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of a power detector according to an embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 2 shows a circuit diagram of a rectification module according to an embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 3 illustrates waveforms of various first signals as a function of RF signals in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 4 illustrates waveforms of various second signals with RF signals according to an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 5 is a waveform diagram illustrating variation of an output signal with a radio frequency signal according to an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 6 illustrates a waveform of a measured output signal as a function of a radio frequency signal according to an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 7 illustrates a waveform of output variations of first signals as a function of RF signal present at each stage, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 8 is a waveform diagram illustrating the variation of the measured output signal in the frequency domain with the gain of the RF signals at each stage according to an embodiment of the present invention;
fig. 9 shows a flow chart of a power detection method according to an embodiment of the invention.
Detailed Description
The invention will be described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Like elements in the various figures are denoted by like reference numerals. For purposes of clarity, the components in the drawings are not necessarily to scale. Moreover, certain well-known elements may not be shown in the figures.
In the following description, numerous specific details of the invention, such as structure, materials, dimensions, processing techniques and techniques of the devices are described in order to provide a more thorough understanding of the invention. However, as will be understood by those skilled in the art, the present invention may be practiced without these specific details.
It should be understood that, in the embodiments of the present application, a and B are connected/coupled, which means that a and B may be connected in series or in parallel, or a and B may pass through other devices, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this.
The power detector provided by the application can be applied to radio frequency modules of transmitting ends in various communication systems, such as radar equipment, communication equipment, navigation equipment, satellite ground stations, electronic countermeasure equipment and the like. The communication system is, for example but not limited to: a global system for mobile communications (GSM) system, a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) system, a Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) system, a General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), a long term evolution (long term evolution) system, an LTE Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) system, an LTE Time Division Duplex (TDD) system, a universal mobile telecommunications system (universal mobile telecommunications system, UMTS), a Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) communication system, a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), a fifth-generation communication system, and the like.
The main function of the power detector is to convert an incoming radio frequency signal into an output signal that is indicative of the power of the radio frequency signal. A conventional power detector performs rectification filtering by using a diode to perform power detection, and converts a radio frequency signal into an output signal, however, an output characteristic curve of the power detector is an exponential mathematical function, a linear output characteristic curve cannot be generated, and a range of use of the power detector is very small, a slope of the output characteristic curve is very small when the power of the radio frequency signal is small, and only when the power of the radio frequency signal changes very much, the output signal changes very little, so that the power detector is not suitable for low-power radio frequency signal power detection.
In another conventional power detector, a logarithmic amplifier is provided to perform logarithmic amplification processing on a radio frequency signal in order to improve an output characteristic curve. The power detector can obtain an output signal on a logarithmic scale that is approximately linear with respect to the power of the radio frequency signal. When used to detect radio frequency signals, the power detector is typically implemented in two ways: 1) a rectifier is connected to the rear end of each amplifier in the logarithmic amplifier, and the method is suitable for low-power radio frequency signal power detection; 2) a rectifier filter is connected to the front end of the logarithmic amplifier, and the method is suitable for high-power radio frequency signal power detection.
The power detector provided by the embodiment of the invention obtains a plurality of first signals with sequentially increased power and a plurality of second signals with sequentially increased power by arranging the power amplification module and the power attenuation module, at least one second signal is obtained by attenuating a rectified signal, and then the first group of signals and the second group of signals are subjected to weighted summation by using the summation module, so that output signals in a linear range of linear relation with input radio frequency signals can be obtained, and the power detector can accurately detect the radio frequency signals in high power and low power ranges.
Embodiments of the power detector provided in the present application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of a power detector according to an embodiment of the invention; fig. 2 shows a circuit diagram of a rectifier module according to an embodiment of the invention.
As shown in fig. 1, the power detector 100 includes a rectification module 110, a power amplification module 120, a power attenuation module 130, and a summation module 140, and the power detector 100 may provide an output signal Vdet linearly characterizing the power of the radio frequency signal RFin.
The rectifying module 110 is connected to the rf signal RFin, and converts the received rf signal RFin into a rectified signal Vo.
As one example, as shown in fig. 2, the rectification module 110 includes a receiving circuit 111 and an emitter follower 112, wherein the receiving circuit 111 receives the radio frequency signal RFin and converts the radio frequency signal RFin into a low frequency signal; the emitter follower 112 is connected to the receiving circuit 111 for converting the low frequency signal into a rectified signal Vo.
In this example, the receiving circuit 111 includes a receiving capacitor Cac and a receiving resistor Rac, one end of the receiving capacitor Cac receives the radio frequency signal RFin, and the other end is connected to a first end of the receiving resistor Rac; the emitter follower 112 includes a first transistor Q1, a first resistor R1, a first capacitor C1 and a first base resistor Rb1, a first bias voltage source VDC1, and a first low pass filter LPF1, the base of the first transistor Q1 is connected to the second end of the receiving resistor Rac and is also connected to the first bias voltage source VDC1 via the first base resistor Rb1 to receive the dc bias voltage, the collector of the first transistor Q1 is connected to the power supply Vcc, the emitter of the first transistor Q1 is connected to the ground GND via a first resistor R1 and a first capacitor C1, respectively, and the emitter provides the rectified signal Vo via the first low pass filter LPF 1.
In some embodiments, the rectification module 110 further includes a calibration unit 113, in which the calibration unit 113 is the same as the circuit structure of the emitter follower 112, and in the circuit layout design, the calibration unit 113 and the emitter follower 112 may be arranged to be mirror-symmetrical. For example, the calibration unit 113 includes a second transistor Q2, a second resistor R2, a second capacitor C2 and a second base resistor Rb2, a second bias voltage source VDC2, and a second low pass filter LPF2, the base of the second transistor Q2 is connected to the calibration power source VDC, the collector of the second transistor Q2 is connected to the power source Vcc, the emitter of the second transistor Q2 is connected to the ground GND via the second resistor R2 and the second capacitor C2, respectively, and the emitter supplies the calibration voltage via the second low pass filter LPF 2. In this embodiment, the rectified signal Vo provided by the rectifying module 110 is a voltage difference between the first low pass filter LPF1 and the second low pass filter LPF 2.
In this embodiment, the calibration unit 113 may provide a calibration voltage to the rectified signal Vo to adjust the voltage value of the output signal Vdet such that when the radio frequency signal RFin is zero, the output signal Vdet is also zero.
The power amplifying module 120 is connected to the rectifying module 110 to receive the rectified signal Vo and amplify the rectified signal Vo to obtain a first group of signals, wherein the first group of signals includes a plurality of first signals VL1-VLM with sequentially increasing power. Optionally, the voltage value of each of the first signals VL1-VLM in the first group of signals is greater than the voltage value of the rectified signal Vo, and each of the first signals VL1-VLM has a logarithmic amplification trend. The power amplification module 120 is mainly used for detecting low-power rf signals.
As an example, the power amplifying module 120 includes a plurality of amplifiers AmpL1-AmpLM connected in series in sequence for amplifying the rectified signal Vo to obtain a plurality of first signals VL1-VLM with sequentially increasing power. In this example, the first-stage amplifier AmpL1 performs amplification processing on the rectified signal Vo to obtain a first signal VL1, and the amplifier of each subsequent stage performs amplification processing on a signal supplied from the amplifier of the preceding stage and supplies the first signal of the stage.
The power attenuation module 130 is connected to the rectifying module 110 to receive the rectified signal Vo and obtain a second set of signals according to the rectified signal Vo. For example, the rectified signal Vo is subjected to an attenuation process to obtain a second set of signals, the second set of signals comprising a plurality of second signals VH1-VHN of successively increasing power, and the second set of signals comprising at least one second signal VH1 attenuated by the rectified signal Vo. Optionally, the voltage value of each of the second signals VH1-VHN in the second set of signals is smaller than the voltage value of the rectified signal Vo, and each of the second signals VH1-VHN is logarithmically amplified. The power attenuation module 130 is mainly used for detecting high-power radio frequency signals. In this embodiment, the attenuation rate of the second signal obtained via the at least one attenuator is not less than the predetermined attenuation rate, so that the voltage values of the plurality of second signals generated by the respective amplifiers are each less than the voltage value of the rectified signal.
As an example, the power attenuation module 130 includes at least one stage of attenuator AttnH and a plurality of amplifiers AmpL1-AmpLN sequentially connected in series after the attenuator, where the attenuator AttnH is configured to perform attenuation processing on the rectified signal Vo to obtain a second signal VH1 attenuated by the rectified signal Vo; the plurality of amplifiers AmpL1-AmpLN connected in series in this order after the attenuator are used to amplify the second signal VH1 attenuated by the rectified signal Vo to obtain a plurality of second signals VH2-VHN whose power is increased in this order. In this example, the attenuator AttnH performs attenuation processing on the rectified signal Vo to obtain a second signal VH1, and the amplifier of each subsequent stage performs amplification processing on the signal supplied from the attenuator/amplifier of the preceding stage and supplies the second signal of the stage.
In some embodiments, each of the amplifiers in the power amplification module 120 and the power attenuation module 130 is a cut-off Amplifier (Limiting Amplifier), and the gain of each cut-off Amplifier is the same and greater than 1, the cut-off Amplifier being provided with an upper limit voltage such that the voltage values of the plurality of first signals VL1-VLM and the plurality of second signals VH1-VHN do not exceed the upper limit voltage. When the voltage value of the radio frequency signal RFin is the threshold voltage, the voltage value of the output signal Vdet reaches the upper limit voltage, and when the voltage value of the radio frequency signal RFin is smaller than the threshold voltage, the voltage value of the output signal Vdet and the voltage value of the radio frequency signal RFin are within the linear range of the linear relation.
The summing module 140 has inputs respectively connected to the power amplifying module 120 and the power attenuating module 130, and the summing module 140 may determine weights of the first signals VL1-VLM and the second signals VH1-VHN, and sum the first signals VL1-VLM and the second signals VH1-VHN based on the weights to obtain an output signal Vdet, which linearly represents the power of the rf signal RFin.
As an example, the summing module 140 includes: a plurality of weighting modules 141 and a plurality of adding modules 142, wherein the plurality of weighting modules 114 respectively correspond to the plurality of first signals VL1-VLM and the plurality of second signals VH1-VHN in a one-to-one manner, so as to respectively weight the plurality of first signals VL1-VLM and the plurality of second signals VH 1-VHN; the addition module 142 adds the weighted first signals VL1-VLM and the second signals VH1-VHN to obtain the output signal Vdet. In this example, the plurality of weighting modules 141 provide the weights J to the plurality of first signals VL1-VLM and the plurality of second signals VH1-VHN, respectively 1 -J M And K 1 -K N . The formula for the summation module 140 to calculate the output signal is shown as follows:
V det ＝K 1 *V H1 +K 2 *V H2 +…+K N *V HN +J 1 *V L1 +J 2 *V L2 +…+J M *V LM ，
wherein, V det To output the voltage value of the signal, J 1 -J M And K 1 -K N Weights, V, corresponding to the respective first signals VL1-VLM and the respective second signals VH1-VHN L1 -V LM And V H1 -V HN The voltage values of the respective first signals VL1-VLM and the respective second signals VH 1-VHN.
In this embodiment, the weighting module 141 can perform compensation correction on the output signals deviating from linearity by adjusting the weights of the respective first signals and the respective second signals; further, since the rf signal may have a time difference when traveling through different paths, when there is a time difference between the respective signals generated by the power amplifying module 120 and the power attenuating module 130, the weighting module 141 may perform compensation correction on the time difference between the respective first signals and the respective second signals.
In the embodiment of the invention, the radio frequency signal in the low power range is detected by obtaining the increased first group of signals, the radio frequency signal in the high power range is detected by obtaining the attenuated second group of signals, and the first group of signals and the second group of signals are subjected to weighted summation, so that the output signal which is basically linear with the radio frequency signal can be obtained, and the power detection range and the power detection accuracy of the power detector are increased.
The embodiment of the present invention further provides a radio frequency module, which at least comprises a radio frequency signal generator and a power detector 400. It should be appreciated that the rf signal generator and power detector 400 may be combined in any manner to achieve the purpose of rf signal power detection.
Some examples of the power detector 100 of the embodiment of the present invention are described above, however, the embodiment of the present invention is not limited thereto, and there may be other extensions and variations.
For example, it should be understood that the ground potential in the foregoing embodiments may be replaced in alternative embodiments with other non-zero reference potentials (having positive or negative voltage magnitudes) or controlled varying reference signals.
For another example, the inductors and the capacitors provided in the embodiments of the present application may be lumped-parameter capacitor elements and inductor elements, or may be other equivalent elements having functions similar to those of the capacitors and the inductors, where the equivalent structures described herein, such as, but not limited to, microstrip lines, varactors, conductor structures with a certain pattern, and the like, can provide inductive impedance and/or capacitive impedance.
For another example, the power detector 100 may be a discrete device or a circuit unit. In other implementations, the rf module may be packaged in a device, and the power detector 100 may be implemented as a load line structure around the device.
Also, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that the various example structures and methods described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented with various configurations or adjustments, with reasonable variations on each structure or structure, but such implementations should not be considered as beyond the scope of the present application. Furthermore, it should be understood that the connection relationship between the components of the amplifier in the foregoing figures in this application embodiment is an illustrative example, and does not set any limit to this application embodiment.
Based on an exemplary configuration, fig. 3 shows a waveform diagram of various first signals along with a radio frequency signal according to an embodiment of the invention; FIG. 4 illustrates waveforms of various second signals with RF signals according to an embodiment of the present invention; fig. 5 shows a waveform diagram of an output signal according to an embodiment of the present invention.
As shown in fig. 3, the first group of signals includes a plurality of first signals, each of the first signals is obtained by amplifying the rectified signal through an amplifier, and the gain of the amplifier is greater than 1, so that the slope of each of the first signals is greater than 1. The amplifier is provided with an upper limit voltage Vlim, and after the first signal is amplified to the upper limit voltage Vlim, even if the radio frequency signal continues to increase, the amplifier does not continue to amplify, so that the first signal is maintained at the upper limit voltage Vlim. In this embodiment, the gain of each amplifier is the same, and assuming that the gain of the amplifier is a, the upper limit voltage of the first-stage first signal is a × E1 1 The upper limit voltage of the second stage first signal is A 2 *E1 2 And by analogy, the upper limit voltage of the Nth stage first signal is A N *E1 N And the respective upper limit voltages are equal.
As shown in FIG. 4, the second group of signals includes a plurality of second signals, the first stage second signal is obtained by attenuating the rectified signal through an attenuator, and the second signal of the subsequent stage is obtained by amplifying the first stage second signal through an amplifierThe gain of the attenuator is smaller than 1, the gain of the amplifier is larger than 1, and the slopes of the second signals are smaller than 1 by setting the gains of the attenuator and the amplifier. An upper limit voltage Vlim is set in each of the attenuator and the amplifier, and when the second signal reaches the upper limit voltage Vlim, the attenuator and the amplifier maintain the second signal at the upper limit voltage Vlim. Similar to the first signal, the gain of each amplifier is the same, assuming that the gain of the amplifier is A and A is greater than 1, and assuming that the gain of the attenuator is B and B is less than 1, the upper limit voltage of the first-stage second signal is A × B × E2 1 The upper limit voltage of the second signal of the second stage is A 2 *B*E2 2 And by analogy, the upper limit voltage of the Nth stage first signal is A N *B*E2 N And the respective upper limit voltages are equal. It is to be understood that the number of attenuators may be multiple to obtain a first stage second signal with sufficient attenuation ratio such that subsequent second signals, even if amplified, are smaller than the rectified signal.
In conventional power detectors, the slope of the first-stage first signal defines the effective range of the overall composite curve, since once the input rf signal exceeds E1 1 The output is defined as a constant value and is no longer linear. In the power detector of the embodiment of the application, the slope of the first-stage second signal limits the effective range of the whole synthesis curve, and compared with the traditional power detector, the power detector greatly improves the range of power detection and can be compatible with high-power and low-power radio frequency signal power detection.
As shown by the solid line in fig. 5, after the summing module performs weighted summing processing on each of the first signal and the second signal, an output signal Vdet substantially linearly related to the input signal Pin in the interval from m1 to m2 is obtained, so that the power detector of the embodiment of the present application can accurately detect the rf signal in the high power and low power ranges; as shown by the dotted line in fig. 5, in the conventional power detector, the output signal VPD and the input signal Pin have an exponential relationship, and especially in the case of a high-power input signal, the deviation of the output signal VPD is larger, and the detection result is very inaccurate.
Fig. 6 shows a waveform of a measured output signal with a variation of an rf signal according to an embodiment of the invention. As shown in fig. 6, based on an exemplary configuration, a waveform diagram of the output signal with the change of the rf signal is obtained, a solid line is a waveform diagram of the output signal with the change of the rf signal that is ideally calculated, a dotted line is a waveform diagram of the output signal with the change of the rf signal that is actually measured, an abscissa is the power of the rf signal, and an ordinate is the voltage value of the output signal. Although the measured output signal is not completely linear with the variation of the rf signal and the threshold voltage is shifted, the output signal can substantially linearly characterize the power of the rf signal within the threshold range of the rf signal.
FIG. 7 illustrates a waveform of output variations of first signals as a function of RF signal present at each stage, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; fig. 8 is a waveform diagram illustrating the variation of the measured output signal in the frequency domain with the gain of the rf signals of each stage according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 7 and 8, each amplifier in the power detector according to the embodiment of the present invention works well in the case of the dc input voltage and the ac input voltage, according to the waveform diagrams shown in fig. 3 and 4. Therefore, the power detector provided by the embodiment of the application can provide the output voltage with good linearity in the threshold voltage range, and can accurately detect radio frequency signals with various powers.
Fig. 9 shows a flow chart of a power detection method according to an embodiment of the invention. As shown in fig. 9, the power detection method includes steps S1 to S4.
In step S1, the received radio frequency signal is converted into a rectified signal. In this step, for example, a radio frequency signal is received by a receiving circuit and converted into a low frequency signal; is connected to the receiving circuit with an emitter follower for converting the low frequency signal into a rectified signal.
Optionally, in this step, a calibration voltage is provided to the rectified signal to adjust the voltage value of the output signal so that when the radio frequency signal is zero, the output signal is also zero.
In step S2, the rectified signal is subjected to an amplification process to obtain a first group of signals, which includes a plurality of first signals having sequentially increasing power. Optionally, the voltage value of each of the plurality of first signals in the first group of signals is greater than the voltage value of the rectified signal, and each of the plurality of first signals has a logarithmic amplification trend. This step is mainly used to detect low power radio frequency signals.
As an example, the rectified signal is subjected to an amplification process using a plurality of amplifiers connected in series in order to obtain a plurality of first signals whose power increases in order. In this example, the first-stage amplifier performs an amplification process on the rectified signal to obtain a first signal, and the amplifier of each subsequent stage performs an amplification process on a signal provided from the amplifier of the preceding stage and provides the first signal of the stage.
In step S3, a second set of signals is obtained from the rectified signal. For example, the rectified signal is subjected to an attenuation process to obtain a second set of signals, the second set of signals comprising a plurality of second signals having successively increasing power, and the second set of signals comprising at least one second signal attenuated by the rectified signal. Optionally, the voltage value of each of the plurality of second signals in the second group of signals is smaller than the voltage value of the rectified signal, and each of the plurality of second signals has a logarithmic amplification trend. This step is mainly used for detecting high power radio frequency signals.
As an example, a plurality of second signals are obtained by at least one stage of attenuator and a plurality of amplifiers sequentially connected in series after the attenuator, wherein the attenuator is used for performing attenuation processing on the rectified signal to obtain a second signal obtained by attenuating the rectified signal; the plurality of amplifiers are sequentially connected in series after the attenuator and are used for amplifying the second signals obtained by attenuating the rectified signals so as to obtain a plurality of second signals with sequentially increased power. In this example, the attenuator performs attenuation processing on the rectified signal to obtain a second signal, and the amplifier of each subsequent stage performs amplification processing on the signal supplied from the attenuator/amplifier of the preceding stage and supplies the second signal of the stage.
In some embodiments, during the operations of step S2 and step S3, the upper limit voltages are respectively set such that the voltage values of the plurality of first signals and the plurality of second signals do not exceed the upper limit voltages. When the voltage value of the radio frequency signal is the threshold voltage, the voltage value of the output signal reaches the upper limit voltage, and when the voltage value of the radio frequency signal is smaller than the threshold voltage, the voltage value of the output signal and the voltage value of the radio frequency signal are in the linear range of the linear relation.
In step S4, weights of the first signals and the second signals are determined, and the first signals and the second signals are summed based on the weights to obtain an output signal, wherein the output signal linearly represents the power of the rf signal.
As an example, step S4 is implemented by, for example, a plurality of weighting modules and an adding module, wherein the plurality of weighting modules correspond to the plurality of first signals and the plurality of second signals one-to-one, respectively, so as to perform weighting processing on the plurality of first signals and the plurality of second signals, respectively; the addition module adds the weighted first signals and the weighted second signals to obtain output signals. In this example, the plurality of weighting modules provide weights J to the plurality of first signals and the plurality of second signals, respectively 1 -J M And K 1 -K N . For example, the formula for calculating the output signal is shown below:
V det ＝K 1 *V H1 +K 2 *V H2 +…+K N *V HN +J 1 *V L1 +J 2 *V L2 +…+J M *V LM ，
wherein, V det To output the voltage value of the signal, J 1 -J M And K 1 -K N Respectively, a weight, V, corresponding to each of the first signals VL1-VLM and each of the second signals VH1-VHN L1 -V LM And V H1 -V HN The voltage values of the first signals VL1-VLM and the second signals VH1-VHN, respectively.
In the embodiment, the radio frequency signal in the low power range is detected by obtaining the increased first group of signals, the radio frequency signal in the high power range is detected by obtaining the attenuated second group of signals, and the first group of signals and the second group of signals are subjected to weighted summation, so that an output signal which is basically linear with the radio frequency signal can be obtained, and the power detection range and the power detection accuracy of the power detection method are increased.
It is noted that, herein, relational terms such as first and second, and the like may be used solely to distinguish one entity or action from another entity or action without necessarily requiring or implying any actual such relationship or order between such entities or actions. Also, the terms "comprises," "comprising," or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements does not include only those elements but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. Without further limitation, an element defined by the phrase "comprising an … …" does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises the element.
While embodiments in accordance with the invention have been described above, these embodiments are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise embodiments described. Obviously, many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and the practical application, to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the invention and various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. The invention is limited only by the claims and their full scope and equivalents.

Claims (10)

1. A power detector, comprising:
the rectification module is used for converting the received radio frequency signal into a rectification signal;
the power amplification module is used for amplifying the rectified signals to obtain a plurality of first signals with sequentially increased power;
the power attenuation module is used for obtaining a plurality of second signals with sequentially increased power according to the rectification signals; and
a summing module that sums the plurality of first signals and the plurality of second signals to obtain an output signal that linearly characterizes a power of the radio frequency signal,
wherein the voltage values of the plurality of first signals and the plurality of second signals do not exceed an upper limit voltage, and at least one second signal is attenuated by the rectified signal.
2. The power detector of claim 1, wherein the plurality of first signals each have a voltage value greater than a voltage value of the rectified signal, each of the first signals having a logarithmic amplification trend,
the voltage values of the plurality of second signals are all smaller than the voltage value of the rectified signal, and each second signal is in a logarithmic amplification trend.
3. The power detector of claim 1 or 2, wherein the power attenuation module comprises:
at least one attenuator, configured to perform attenuation processing on the rectified signal to obtain the second signal attenuated by the rectified signal;
and the amplifiers are sequentially connected in series after the attenuator and used for amplifying the second signals obtained by attenuating the rectified signals to obtain a plurality of second signals with sequentially increased power, and the gains of the amplifiers are the same.
4. The power detector of claim 3, wherein the at least one attenuator obtains an attenuation rate of the second signal that is not less than a predetermined attenuation rate such that the voltage values of the plurality of second signals generated by the respective amplifiers are each less than the voltage value of the rectified signal.
5. The power detector of claim 1, wherein the summing module comprises:
the weighting module is used for determining the weight of each first signal and each second signal and respectively carrying out weighting processing on the plurality of first signals and the plurality of second signals based on the weight; and
and the addition module is used for adding the weighted first signals and the weighted second signals to obtain the output signal.
6. The power detector of claim 1, wherein the rectification module comprises:
the receiving circuit is used for receiving the radio frequency signal and converting the radio frequency signal into a low-frequency signal; and
an emitter follower for converting the low frequency signal to the rectified signal.
7. The power detector of claim 6, wherein the rectification module further comprises:
and the calibration unit is used for providing a calibration voltage for the rectified signal so as to adjust the voltage value of the output signal, so that when the radio frequency signal is zero, the output signal is also zero.
8. The power detector of claim 1, wherein the power amplification module comprises:
and the amplifiers are sequentially connected in series and used for amplifying the rectified signals to obtain a plurality of first signals with sequentially increased power, and the gains of the amplifiers are the same.
9. A method of power detection, comprising:
converting the received radio frequency signal into a rectified signal;
amplifying the rectified signals to obtain a plurality of first signals with sequentially increased power;
obtaining a plurality of second signals with sequentially increased power according to the rectified signals; and
summing the plurality of first signals and the plurality of second signals to obtain an output signal, the output signal linearly characterizing the power of the radio frequency signal,
wherein the voltage values of the plurality of first signals and the plurality of second signals do not exceed an upper limit voltage, and at least one second signal is attenuated by the rectified signal.
10. A radio frequency module, comprising:
a radio frequency signal generator generating a radio frequency signal; and
a power detector as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 10, obtaining an output signal from the radio frequency signal, the output signal linearly characterizing the power of the radio frequency signal.
CN202210441931.XA 2022-04-25 2022-04-25 Power detector, method and radio frequency module Withdrawn CN114900248A (en)

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