Direct digital synthesizer driven phase lock loop frequency synthesizer with clean up phase lock loop
US5757239A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Jan 8, 1997 |
| Grant date | May 26, 1998 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jan 8, 2017 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH03L7/23
- WIPO fieldBasic communication processes
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A frequency synthesizer which uses a direct digital synthesizer (DDS) to generate a highly accurate periodic signal of a frequency selected from a plurality of reference frequencies. The DDS output signal is bandpass filtered utilizing a clean-up phase lock loop (PLL) to produce a spectrally pure reference signal and promote overall fast settling time. A second or primary phase lock loop, having a much faster settling time than the first PLL, adjusts the frequency of the reference signal generated by the clean-up PLL. In one embodiment, the DDS frequency synthesizer has a digital to analog (DAC) converter coupled to the clean-up PLL. Another embodiment uses a modified DDS (without a DAC or lookup table) and feeds the most significant bit (MSB) or overflow bit from the DAC accumulator into the "clean-up" PLL. In both embodiments, the resulting synthesizer has high spectral purity, fine frequency resolution and a fast settling time. Yet another embodiment uses a switching apparatus to bypass the "clean-up" PLL while it is settling on a new frequency. Once the "clean-up" PLL settles on the new frequency the switches are set to couple the "clean-up" PLL back into the synthesizer appara…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.