JP2010273283A - Transmitting/receiving apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a transmitting/receiving apparatus which can reduce, as far as possible, the loss of a local oscillation wave and an RF (Radio Frequency) signal. <P>SOLUTION: The transmitting/receiving apparatus includes: a reference signal generator 5 for outputting a reference signal of a low frequency band; a modulation signal generator 6 for outputting a desired modulation signal; at least one transmitting MMIC1 including a phase lock oscillator 11 of a high frequency band for generating a local oscillation wave in response to the reference signal and a transmission frequency converter 13 for performing frequency conversion of the modulation signal using the local oscillation wave to output a transmission signal; and at least one receiving MMIC2 including a phase lock oscillator 21 of a high frequency band for generating a local oscillation wave in response to the reference signal and a reception frequency converter 22 for performing frequency conversion of a reception signal using the local oscillation wave to output the reception signal. The phase lock oscillator 11 of the transmitting MMIC1 and the phase lock oscillator 21 of the receiving MMIC2 establish synchronism on the basis of the reference signal, and the transmitting MMIC1 and the receiving MMIC2 are disposed in the vicinity of input/output terminals of a transmitting antenna 3 and a receiving antenna 4. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a transmission / reception apparatus that radiates a transmission signal in a microwave band or a millimeter wave band via a transmission antenna and receives the transmission signal as a reception signal via a reception antenna.

  A conventional transmission / reception device distributes a local oscillation wave generated by one local oscillation source (high frequency oscillator) and supplies the local oscillation wave to a transmission unit and a reception unit that are made into an MMIC (Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuit). The synchronization of the transmission unit and the reception unit is established using a high-frequency oscillator whose oscillation frequency locks to the frequency of the local oscillation wave due to the injection locking phenomenon (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2000-111636 A

However, the prior art has the following problems.
In conventional transmission / reception devices, local oscillation waves are distributed and supplied to the transmitter and receiver. Therefore, the loss of high frequency due to the physical length from the local oscillator source to the transmitter or receiver is large, and it is necessary to distribute it. Therefore, it is necessary to increase the output power of the local oscillation wave. Here, when the output power of the local oscillation wave is increased, there is a problem that interference due to radiation occurs.

  In recent years, a transmission / reception module or the like in which a transmission / reception system is configured by a single chip using a silicon IC or the like has been developed. When this transmission / reception module is connected to a plurality of antennas, There is also a problem that a large loss of a high frequency signal (RF signal) occurs particularly in the millimeter wave band.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a transmission / reception apparatus that can minimize the loss of a local oscillation wave and an RF signal.

  A transmission / reception device according to the present invention is a transmission / reception device that radiates a transmission signal via a transmission antenna and receives the transmission signal as a reception signal via a reception antenna, and outputs a reference signal in a low frequency band Generating means, modulation signal generating means for outputting a desired modulation signal, a phase-locked oscillator in a high frequency band that generates a local oscillation wave in accordance with a reference signal, and a high frequency by converting the frequency of the desired modulation signal by the local oscillation wave A frequency converter that outputs at least one transmission MMIC including a frequency converter, a phase-locked oscillator in a high frequency band that generates a local oscillation wave according to a reference signal, and a frequency conversion of the received signal using the local oscillation wave At least one receiving MMIC including a frequency converter, the phase-locked oscillator of the transmitting MMIC and the phase-locked oscillation of the receiving MMIC Vessel establishes synchronization based on the reference signal, transmitted MMIC and receive MMIC are those located in the vicinity of the input and output terminals of the transmitting and receiving antennas.

According to the transmission / reception apparatus of the present invention, the phase-locked oscillator of the transmission MMIC and the phase-locked oscillator of the reception MMIC establish synchronization based on the low-frequency band reference signal from the reference signal generation means. The transmission MMIC and the reception MMIC are arranged in the vicinity of the input / output terminals of the transmission antenna and the reception antenna, respectively.
Thereby, attenuation of a local oscillation wave and RF signal can be suppressed, and the transmission / reception apparatus which can make the loss of a local oscillation wave and RF signal as small as possible can be obtained.

It is a block block diagram which shows the transmission / reception apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a block block diagram which shows the transmission / reception apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a block block diagram which shows the transmission / reception apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 3 of this invention. It is a block block diagram which shows the transmission / reception apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 4 of this invention.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of a transmitting and receiving apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, the same or corresponding parts will be described with the same reference numerals.
The transmission / reception apparatus of the present invention is used as a radar apparatus or a communication apparatus.

Embodiment 1 FIG.
FIG. 1 is a block configuration diagram showing a transmitting / receiving apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.
In FIG. 1, the transmission / reception apparatus includes a plurality of transmission MMICs 1, a plurality of reception MMICs 2, a transmission antenna 3 connected to each of the transmission MMICs 1, a reception antenna 4 connected to each of the reception MMICs 2, and a reference signal generation. A device 5 (reference signal generation means), a modulation signal generation device 6 (modulation signal generation means), and a signal processing device 7 are provided. Here, each transmission MMIC 1 and each reception MMIC 2 are arranged very close to the input / output terminals of the transmission antenna 3 and the reception antenna 4, respectively.

  The transmission MMIC 1 includes a high-frequency band phase-locked oscillator 11, an IF (Intermediate Frequency) amplifier 12, a transmission frequency converter 13, and an RF (Radio Frequency) amplifier 14. The reception MMIC 2 includes a high-frequency band phase-locked oscillator 21, a reception frequency converter 22, and an IF amplifier 23. The phase-locked oscillator 11 and the phase-locked oscillator 21, and the IF amplifier 12 and the IF amplifier 23 are the same devices.

Hereinafter, functions of the transmission system of the transmission / reception apparatus will be described.
The reference signal generation device 5 generates a reference signal in a low frequency band and outputs it to each transmission MMIC 1 and each reception MMIC 2. The modulation signal generation device 6 generates a desired modulation signal as an IF signal and outputs the IF signal to the transmission MMIC 1.

  The phase-locked oscillator 11 generates a local oscillation wave according to the reference signal from the reference signal generation device 5 and outputs it to the transmission frequency converter 13. At this time, the phase-locked oscillator 11 of each transmission MMIC 1 establishes synchronization based on the reference signal. The IF amplifier 12 amplifies the modulation signal from the modulation signal generator 6 and outputs the amplified signal to the transmission frequency converter 13.

  The transmission frequency converter 13 frequency-converts the modulation signal from the IF amplifier 12 using the local oscillation wave from the phase-locked oscillator 11 and outputs a transmission signal that is an RF signal to the RF amplifier 14. The RF amplifier 14 amplifies the transmission signal from the transmission frequency converter 13 and outputs the amplified signal to the transmission antenna 3. The transmission signal output to the transmission antenna 3 is radiated as an electromagnetic wave.

  The internal configuration of the transmission MMIC 1 is merely an example, and an amplifier according to a required power level, a multiplier according to a frequency relationship, or the like is added or deleted, or a frequency using a harmonic is used. A converter or an oscillator that extracts harmonics may be used.

  Here, since the transmission MMIC 1 is arranged very close to the input terminal of the transmission antenna 3, attenuation of the RF signal can be suppressed. Even when a plurality of transmission antennas 3 are provided, the same effect can be obtained by connecting the transmission MMIC 1 to each transmission antenna 3. That is, when the transmission / reception system is composed of one chip, an effect that cannot be realized can be obtained. Also, any transmission MMIC 1 can establish synchronization with the same low frequency reference signal. The low frequency band reference signal may be a digital signal.

Next, the function of the reception system of the transmission / reception device will be described.
The phase-locked oscillator 21 generates a local oscillation wave according to the reference signal from the reference signal generation device 5 and outputs the local oscillation wave to the reception frequency converter 22. At this time, the phase-locked oscillator 21 of each receiving MMIC 2 establishes synchronization based on the reference signal. The phase-locked oscillator 21 is also synchronized with the phase-locked oscillator 11.

  The reception antenna 4 receives the transmission signal radiated from the transmission antenna 3 as a reception signal and outputs it to the reception frequency converter 22. The receiving frequency converter 22 converts the frequency of the received signal from the receiving antenna 4 by the local oscillation wave from the phase-locked oscillator 21 and outputs a demodulated signal, which is an IF signal, to the IF amplifier 23.

  The IF amplifier 23 amplifies the demodulated signal from the reception frequency converter 22 and outputs the amplified signal to the signal processing device 7. The signal processing device 7 performs desired signal processing on the demodulated signal from the IF amplifier 23.

  Note that the internal configuration of the reception MMIC 2 is merely an example, and an amplifier according to a required power level, a multiplier according to a frequency relationship, or the like is added or deleted, or a frequency using a harmonic is used. A converter or an oscillator that extracts harmonics may be used.

  Here, since the reception MMIC 2 is disposed very close to the output terminal of the reception antenna 4, attenuation of the RF signal can be suppressed. Even when a plurality of receiving antennas 4 are provided, the same effect can be obtained by connecting the receiving MMIC 2 to each receiving antenna 4. That is, when the transmission / reception system is composed of one chip, an effect that cannot be realized can be obtained. Also, any receiving MMIC 2 can establish synchronization with the same low frequency reference signal. The low frequency band reference signal may be a digital signal.

As described above, according to the first embodiment, the phase-locked oscillator of the transmitting MMIC and the phase-locked oscillator of the receiving MMIC establish synchronization based on the low-frequency band reference signal from the reference signal generating unit. The transmission MMIC and the reception MMIC are arranged in the vicinity of the input / output terminals of the transmission antenna and the reception antenna, respectively.
As a result, it is possible to obtain a transmission / reception device that can suppress the attenuation of the local oscillation wave and the RF signal and can minimize the loss of the local oscillation wave and the RF signal with the phase synchronization of each MMIC established. it can.

In addition, transmission / reception isolation performance can be improved, and communication and radar performance can be improved.
Also, when transmission and reception are separate antennas, or when the distance between individual antennas is wide, the physical distance between chips becomes long. According to the first embodiment, an RF signal or local oscillation is used. There is no wave attenuation.

Embodiment 2. FIG.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a transmitting / receiving apparatus according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention.
In FIG. 2, the transmission / reception apparatus includes a plurality of transmission MMICs 1A, a plurality of reception MMICs 2A, a transmission antenna 3 connected to each of the transmission MMICs 1A, a reception antenna 4 connected to each of the reception MMICs 2A, and a reference signal generation. A device 5, a modulation signal control device 8 (modulation signal generating means), and a signal processing device 7 are provided. Here, each transmission MMIC 1A and each reception MMIC 2A are arranged very close to the input / output terminals of the transmission antenna 3 and the reception antenna 4, respectively.

  The transmission MMIC 1 </ b> A includes a high-frequency band phase-locked oscillator 15 having a frequency conversion function, and an RF amplifier 14. Here, the phase-locked oscillator 15 is a device configured by integrating the phase-locked oscillator 11 and the transmission frequency converter 13 shown in FIG. The reception MMIC 2 </ b> A includes a high-frequency band phase-locked oscillator 24 having a frequency conversion function, a reception frequency converter 22, and an IF amplifier 23. The phase-locked oscillator 15 and the phase-locked oscillator 24 are the same device.

Hereinafter, functions of the transmission system of the transmission / reception apparatus will be described. Note that description of functions similar to those of the first embodiment is omitted.
The modulation signal control device 8 generates a control signal including a desired modulation signal and outputs the control signal to the transmission MMIC 1A. Based on the reference signal from the reference signal generation device 5 and the control signal from the modulation signal control device 8, the phase-locked oscillator 15 synchronizes with the reference signal and converts the frequency-converted transmission signal according to the control signal to an RF amplifier. 14 for output.

Note that the internal configuration of the transmission MMIC 1A is merely an example, and an amplifier according to a required power level, a multiplier according to a frequency relationship, or the like is added or deleted, or a frequency using harmonics. A converter or an oscillator that extracts harmonics may be used.
Here, since transmission MMIC 1A is arranged very close to the input terminal of transmission antenna 3, attenuation of the RF signal can be suppressed, and the same effect as in the first embodiment can be obtained.

Next, the function of the reception system of the transmission / reception device will be described. Note that description of functions similar to those of the first embodiment is omitted.
The phase-locked oscillator 24 generates a local oscillation wave according to the reference signal from the reference signal generation device 5 and outputs the local oscillation wave to the reception frequency converter 22. At this time, the local oscillation wave can be modulated by connecting the modulation signal control device 8 to the phase-locked oscillator 24 as necessary.

Note that the internal configuration of the reception MMIC 2A is merely an example, and an amplifier according to a required power level, a multiplier according to a frequency relationship, or the like is added or deleted, or a frequency using a harmonic is used. A converter or an oscillator that extracts harmonics may be used.
Here, since reception MMIC 2A is arranged very close to the output terminal of reception antenna 4, attenuation of the RF signal can be suppressed, and the same effect as in the first embodiment can be obtained.

As described above, according to the second embodiment, the phase-synchronized oscillator of the transmitting MMIC and the phase-synchronized oscillator of the receiving MMIC establish synchronization based on the low-frequency band reference signal from the reference signal generating unit. The transmission MMIC and the reception MMIC are arranged in the vicinity of the input / output terminals of the transmission antenna and the reception antenna, respectively.
Thereby, the same effect as the first embodiment can be obtained.

Embodiment 3 FIG.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a transmitting / receiving apparatus according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention.
In FIG. 3, the transmitting / receiving apparatus includes a plurality of transmission MMICs 1B, a plurality of reception MMICs 2B, a transmission antenna 3 connected to each of the transmission MMICs 1B, a reception antenna 4 connected to each of the reception MMICs 2B, and a reference signal generation. A device 5, a modulation signal generation device 6, a signal processing device 7, and a frequency / phase setting data generation device 9 (frequency / phase setting data generation means) are provided. Here, each transmission MMIC 1B and each reception MMIC 2B are arranged very close to the input / output terminals of the transmission antenna 3 and the reception antenna 4, respectively. The transmitting antenna 3 and the receiving antenna 4 are each arranged in an array.

  The transmission MMIC 1B has a phase-locked oscillator 16 using a DDS (Direct Digital Synthesizer) or DDS instead of the phase-locked oscillator 11 shown in FIG. The reception MMIC 2B includes a phase-locked oscillator 25 using DDS or DDS instead of the phase-locked oscillator 21 shown in FIG. The phase-locked oscillator 16 and the phase-locked oscillator 25 are the same device. Other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment described above, and thus description thereof is omitted.

Hereinafter, functions of the transmission system of the transmission / reception apparatus will be described. Note that description of functions similar to those of the first embodiment is omitted.
The frequency / phase setting data generation device 9 generates a setting data signal for setting a desired frequency and phase, and outputs the setting data signal to the transmission MMIC 1B. The phase-locked oscillator 16 synchronizes with the reference signal based on the reference signal from the reference signal generation device 5 and the setting data signal from the frequency / phase setting data generation device 9, and the frequency and phase according to the setting data signal. Is generated and output to the transmission frequency converter 13.

  Note that the internal configuration of the transmission MMIC 1B is merely an example, and an amplifier according to a required power level, a multiplier according to a frequency relationship, or the like is added or deleted, or a frequency using harmonics. A converter or an oscillator that extracts harmonics may be used.

  Here, since transmission MMIC 1B is arranged very close to the input terminal of transmission antenna 3, attenuation of the RF signal can be suppressed, and the same effect as in the first embodiment can be obtained. Furthermore, by using the phase-locked oscillator 16 using DDS or DDS as an oscillation source, the phase can be set by each transmission MMIC 1B, so the direction of the beam radiated from the transmission antenna 3 arranged in an array Can be controlled.

Next, the function of the reception system of the transmission / reception device will be described. Note that description of functions similar to those of the first embodiment is omitted.
The phase-locked oscillator 25 synchronizes with the reference signal based on the reference signal from the reference signal generation device 5 and the setting data signal from the frequency / phase setting data generation device 9, and the frequency and phase according to the setting data signal. Is generated and output to the receiving frequency converter 22.

  Note that the internal configuration of the reception MMIC 2B is merely an example, and an amplifier according to a required power level, a multiplier according to a frequency relationship, or the like is added or deleted, or a frequency using harmonics. A converter or an oscillator that extracts harmonics may be used.

  Here, since reception MMIC 2B is arranged very close to the output terminal of reception antenna 4, attenuation of the RF signal can be suppressed, and the same effect as in the first embodiment can be obtained. Furthermore, by using the phase-locked oscillator 25 using DDS or DDS as the oscillation source, the phase can be set by each receiving MMIC 2B, so the direction of the beam received by the receiving antenna 4 arranged in an array Can be controlled.

As described above, according to the third embodiment, the direct digital synthesizer of the transmission MMIC and the direct digital synthesizer of the reception MMIC establish synchronization based on the reference signal in the low frequency band from the reference signal generation unit. The transmission MMIC and the reception MMIC are arranged in the vicinity of the input / output terminals of the transmission antenna and the reception antenna, respectively.
Thereby, the same effect as the first embodiment can be obtained.

Further, at least one of the transmission antenna and the reception antenna is arranged in a plurality of arrays, and the direct digital synthesizer is based on the reference signal from the reference signal generation means and the setting data signal from the frequency / phase setting data generation means. Thus, a local oscillation wave is generated which is synchronized with the reference signal and whose frequency and phase are set according to the setting data signal.
Therefore, beam scanning of the antennas arranged in an array can be performed.

Embodiment 4 FIG.
FIG. 4 is a block configuration diagram showing a transmission / reception apparatus according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention.
In FIG. 4, the transmitting / receiving apparatus includes a plurality of transmitting MMICs 1C, a plurality of receiving MMICs 2C, two transmitting antennas 3 connected to each of the transmitting MMICs 1C, and two receiving antennas 4 connected to each of the receiving MMICs 2C. , A reference signal generation device 5, a modulation signal generation device 6, and a signal processing device 7. Here, each transmission MMIC 1C and each reception MMIC 2C are arranged very close to the input / output terminals of the transmission antenna 3 and the reception antenna 4, respectively.

  The transmission MMIC 1C has two transmission systems. That is, the transmission MMIC 1C includes a phase-locked oscillator 11 in a high frequency band, two IF amplifiers 12, a transmission frequency converter 13, and an RF amplifier 14, respectively. Further, it has a reception MMIC 2C, a high-frequency band phase-locked oscillator 21, and two reception frequency converters 22 and IF amplifiers 23, respectively. The phase-locked oscillator 11 and the phase-locked oscillator 21, and the IF amplifier 12 and the IF amplifier 23 are the same devices. Other configurations and functions are the same as those of the first embodiment described above, and thus description thereof is omitted.

  Here, by providing two transmission systems or reception systems and a phase-locked oscillator common to each system in one MMIC, the total area of the MMIC compared to the transmission / reception devices described in the first to third embodiments. Can be reduced. In this case, the same effect as in the first to third embodiments can be obtained by arranging each MMIC at a position that is substantially equidistant from the two antennas. However, when the phase of the beam scanning of the antennas arranged in an array is controlled by an oscillator, the two systems in one MMIC have the same phase. In this case, the problem can be solved by providing phase shift means such as a phase shifter in each system.

As described above, according to the fourth embodiment, the direct digital synthesizer of the transmission MMIC and the direct digital synthesizer of the reception MMIC establish synchronization based on the reference signal in the low frequency band from the reference signal generation unit. The transmission MMIC and the reception MMIC are arranged in the vicinity of the input / output terminals of the transmission antenna and the reception antenna, respectively.
Thereby, the same effect as the first embodiment can be obtained.

At least one of the transmission MMIC and the reception MMIC has a plurality of transmission systems or reception systems that commonly use either a high-frequency band phase-locked oscillator or a direct digital synthesizer.
Therefore, the total area of the transmission MMIC and the reception MMIC can be reduced.

In the first to fourth embodiments, the transmission system and the reception system that are integrated into one chip on the MMIC have been described as examples. However, the range to be monolithic is not limited to this, and is arranged in the vicinity of the input / output terminal of the antenna and divided into a plurality of chips as long as an oscillator is provided in each of the transmission MMIC and the reception MMIC, Commercially available discrete parts may be used, or conversely, a power supply control circuit or the like may be incorporated in the chip.
In these cases, for example, a general-purpose product can be used to configure the transmission / reception device at a low cost.

  1, 1A to 1C transmission MMIC, 2, 2A to 2C reception MMIC, 3 transmission antenna, 4 reception antenna, 5 reference signal generation device (reference signal generation means), 6 modulation signal generation device (modulation signal generation means), 8 modulation Signal control device (modulation signal generation means), 9 phase setting data generation device (frequency / phase setting data generation means), 11, 15, 16, 21, 24, 25 phase-locked oscillator, 13 frequency converter for transmission, 22 reception Frequency converter.

Claims (4)

A transmission / reception apparatus that radiates a transmission signal via a transmission antenna and receives the transmission signal as a reception signal via a reception antenna,
A reference signal generating means for outputting a low frequency band reference signal;
Modulation signal generating means for outputting a desired modulation signal;
A high-frequency band phase-locked oscillator that generates a local oscillation wave in accordance with the reference signal; and at least one frequency converter that frequency-converts the desired modulation signal using the local oscillation wave and outputs the high-frequency transmission signal. Two transmit MMICs;
A high-frequency band phase-locked oscillator that generates a local oscillation wave according to the reference signal, and at least one reception MMIC including a frequency converter that converts the frequency of the reception signal by the local oscillation wave and outputs the received signal.
The phase-locked oscillator of the transmitting MMIC and the phase-locked oscillator of the receiving MMIC establish synchronization based on the reference signal;
The transmission MMIC and the reception MMIC are arranged in the vicinity of input / output terminals of the transmission antenna and the reception antenna, respectively. At least one of the transmitting antenna and the receiving antenna is arranged in a plurality of arrays,
A frequency / phase setting data generating means for outputting a setting data signal for setting a desired frequency and phase;
Instead of the phase-locked oscillator in the high frequency band, generates a local oscillation wave that is synchronized with the reference signal and whose frequency and phase are set according to the setting data signal, based on the reference signal and the setting data signal The transmitter / receiver according to claim 1, further comprising a direct digital synthesizer.   The at least one of the transmission MMIC and the reception MMIC has a plurality of transmission systems or reception systems that commonly use either the high-frequency band phase-locked oscillator or the direct digital synthesizer. Or the transmission / reception apparatus of Claim 2.   4. The transmission / reception apparatus according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the transmission MMIC and the reception MMIC is configured by an IC divided into a plurality of parts. 5.

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