Automatic level control for radio frequency amplifiers
US7271674B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Aug 13, 2004 |
| Grant date | Sep 18, 2007 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Aug 14, 2024 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH03G3/3036
- WIPO fieldBasic communication processes
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
The disclosure relates to an automatic level control technique for RF amplifiers in a communication system, such as a wireless communication system. The invention provides an automatic level control technique to compensate for variations in the gain of an RF amplifier, which may be a transmitter amplifier or a receiver amplifier. In accordance with the invention, the gain of the RF amplifier can be controlled as a function of the output of a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) circuit provided in the communication system. A VCO typically includes a buffer amplifier with a structure similar to that of the RF amplifier used in the transmit or receive side of the RF front-end. By tracking changes in the output of the VCO buffer amplifier, an automatic level control (ALC) input to the RF amplifier can be adjusted to compensate for process- and temperature-based variations in amplifier gain.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.