198 results about "Linearizer" patented technology

The present invention is a computationally-efficient compensator for removing nonlinear distortion. The compensator operates in a digital post-compensation configuration for linearization of devices or systems such as analog-to-digital converters and RF receiver electronics. The compensator also operates in a digital pre-compensation configuration for linearization of devices or systems such as digital-to-analog converters, RF power amplifiers, and RF transmitter electronics. The compensator effectively removes nonlinear distortion in these systems in a computationally efficient hardware or software implementation by using one or more factored multi-rate Volterra filters. Volterra filters are efficiently factored into parallel FIR filters and only the filters with energy above a prescribed threshold are actually implemented, which significantly reduces the complexity while still providing accurate results. For extremely wideband applications, the multi-rate Volterra filters are implemented in a demultiplexed polyphase configuration which performs the filtering in parallel at a significantly reduced data rate. The compensator is calibrated with an algorithm that iteratively subtracts an error signal to converge to an effective compensation signal. The algorithm is repeated for a multiplicity of calibration signals, and the results are used with harmonic probing to accurately estimate the Volterra filter kernels. The compensator improves linearization processing performance while significantly reducing the computational complexity compared to a traditional nonlinear compensator.

An active predistorting linearizer with agile bypass circuit for safe mode operation is used in conjunction with an amplifier. This linearizer comprises a controllable input variable-attenuator and drive-amplifier circuit supplied with the input signal to attenuate and amplify the input signal. A predistorter includes a controllable phase-shifting and amplitude-adjusting path supplied with the attenuated and amplified input signal to distort the latter signal and produce a predistorted output signal. A controllable output variable-attenuator and drive-amplifier circuit is supplied with the predistorted output signal to attenuate and amplify this predistorted output signal before supplying it to the power amplifier. A phase-shifting and amplitude-adjusting controller is connected to the controllable input variable-attenuator and drive-amplifier circuit, the controllable phase-shifting and amplitude-adjusting path, and the controllable output variable-attenuator and drive-amplifier circuit. Finally, a bypass extends in parallel with the series circuit including the serially interconnected input variable-attenuator and drive-amplifier circuit, controllable phase-shifting and amplitude-adjusting path, and output variable-attenuator and drive-amplifier circuit. This bypass defines a bypass circuit established in response to a fault condition in the series circuit to bypass the faulty series circuit.

A transceiver architecture for wireless base stations wherein a broadband radio frequency signal is carried between at least one tower-mounted unit and a ground-based unit via optical fibers, or other non-distortive media, in either digital or analog format. Each tower-mounted unit (for both reception and transmission) has an antenna, analog amplifier and an electro-optical converter. The ground unit has ultrafast data converters and digital frequency translators, as well as signal linearizers, to compensate for nonlinear distortion in the amplifiers and optical links in both directions. In one embodiment of the invention, at least one of the digital data converters, frequency translators, and linearizers includes superconducting elements mounted on a cryocooler.

Provided are, among other things, systems, apparatuses, methods and techniques for converting a discrete-time quantized signal into a continuous-time, continuously variable signal. An exemplary converter preferably includes: (1) multiple oversampling converters, each processing a different frequency band, operated in parallel; (2) multirate (i.e., polyphase) delta-sigma modulators (preferably second-order or higher); (3) multi-bit quantizers; (4) multi-bit-to-variable-level signal converters, such as resistor ladder networks or current source networks; (5) adaptive nonlinear, bit-mapping to compensate for mismatches in the multi-bit-to-variable-level signal converters (e.g., by mimicking such mismatches and then shifting the resulting noise to a frequently range where it will be filtered out by a corresponding bandpass (reconstruction) filter); (6) multi-band (e.g., programmable noise-transfer-function response) bandpass delta-sigma modulators; and / or (7) a digital pre-distortion linearizer (DPL) for canceling noise and distortion introduced by an analog signal bandpass (reconstruction) filter bank.

The present invention provides an advanced adaptive predistortion linearization technique to dramatically reduce nonlinear distortion in power amplifiers over a very wide instantaneous bandwidth (up to 2 GHz) and over a wide range of amplifier types, input frequencies, signal types, amplitudes, temperature, and other environmental and signal conditions. In an embodiment of the invention, the predistortion linearization circuitry comprises (1) a higher-order polynomial model of an amplifier's gain and phase characteristics—higher than a third-order polynomial model; (2) an adaptive calibration technique; and (3) a heuristic calibration technique. The higher-order polynomial model is generated by introducing, for example, a plurality of multi-tone test signals with varying center frequency and spacing into the power amplifier. From the power amplifier's corresponding output, the nonlinearities are modeled by employing a higher-order curve fit to capture the irregularities in the nonlinear transfer function. Different distortion transfer functions can be implemented for different operating conditions. The adaptive calibration technique is based on a feedback analysis technique, which updates the applicable distortion transfer function by analyzing the error signal between the introduced input signal and the output signal in real-time. The heuristic calibration technique implements different distortion transfer functions based on historical operating conditions and optimal configurations of the power amplifier.

The present invention is an improved linearizer that implements more complex transfer functions to provide the necessary linearization performance with a reasonable amount of signal processing resources. Particularly, the linearizer operates on an analog-to-digital converter and comprises a distortion compensator and one or more factored Volterra compensators, which may include a second-order factored Volterra compensator, a third-order factored Volterra compensator, and additional higher-order factored Volterra compensators. Inclusion of factored Volterra distortion compensators improves linearization processing performance while significantly reducing the computational complexity compared to a traditional Volterra-based compensator.

A transceiver architecture for wireless base stations wherein a broadband radio frequency signal is carried between at least one tower-mounted unit and a ground-based unit via optical fibers, or other non-distortive media, in either digital or analog format. Each tower-mounted unit (for both reception and transmission) has an antenna, analog amplifier and an electro-optical converter. The ground unit has ultrafast data converters and digital frequency translators, as well as signal linearizers, to compensate for nonlinear distortion in the amplifiers and optical links in both directions. In one embodiment of the invention, at least one of the digital data converters, frequency translators, and linearizers includes superconducting elements mounted on a cryocooler.

A transceiver architecture for wireless base stations wherein a broadband radio frequency signal is carried between at least one tower-mounted unit and a ground-based unit via optical fibers, or other non-distortive media, in either digital or analog format. Each tower-mounted unit (for both reception and transmission) has an antenna, analog amplifier and an electro-optical converter. The ground unit has ultrafast data converters and digital frequency translators, as well as signal linearizers, to compensate for nonlinear distortion in the amplifiers and optical links in both directions. In one embodiment of the invention, at least one of the digital data converters, frequency translators, and linearizers includes superconducting elements mounted on a cryocooler.

A gain adjuster and a phase adjuster of a distortion generation path are set so that an extracted distortion component becomes small, the extracted component is compared with a reference value. When an upper-frequency distortion component of a pilot signal is larger than the reference value, the gain and phase of a frequency characteristic compensator of the distortion generation path are controlled so that the upper-frequency distortion component of the pilot signal becomes smaller than a value preset in the controller. When a lower-frequency distortion component of the pilot signal is larger than a reference value, the gain and phase of the frequency characteristic compensator of the distortion generation path are controlled so that the lower-frequency distortion component of the pilot signal becomes smaller than a value preset in the controller.

An amplifier circuit responsive to a power mode signal improves efficiency at low power levels without compromising efficiency at high power levels. At low power levels, high impedance is presented with suitable adjustment in the phase of the signal. Also, providing for predistortion linearization improves high power efficiency and switching the predistortion linearizer OFF at low power levels contributes little more than a small insertion loss. The power amplifier also uses a bias circuit incorporating a dual harmonic resonance filter to provide high impedance at a fundamental frequency and low impedance at a second harmonic. These properties are of particularly advantageous since amplifiers in cell-phones are used in low power modes most of the time although they are designed to be most efficient at primarily the highest power levels.

In various embodiments, a dynamic range converter includes a plurality of circuits, including at least one configurable circuit that operates based on configuration data. The plurality of circuits include a first color space converter to convert a source color space of a source video having a source dynamic range to nonlinear color space signals. A linearizer configured converts the nonlinear color space signals to linearized color space signals having a mastering dynamic range via a piecewise linear interpolation of a transfer function. A color volume transformer applies dynamic color transform metadata associated with the source video to generate master adjusted color space signals from the linearized color space signals. A delinearizer converts the master adjusted color space signals to nonlinearized color space signals via a piecewise linear interpolation of an inverse transfer function in accordance with a display dynamic range. A second color space converter converts the nonlinearized color space signals to display domain signals. Other embodiments are disclosed.