INTEGRATED MULTI-CHANNEL RF CIRCUIT WITH PHASE SENSING

• Main Authors: ZINNOECKER, Mathias, MELZER, Alexander, CHRISTOFFERS, Niels, FIORE, Vincenzo, KOLLMANN, Helmut, ONIC, Alexander, STUHLBERGER, Rainer, SCHRATTENECKER, Jochen O, GSTOETTENBAUER, Bernhard
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 11.07.2019
• Subjects: ANALOGOUS ARRANGEMENTS USING OTHER WAVES; ANTENNAS, i.e. RADIO AERIALS; BASIC ELECTRIC ELEMENTS; DETERMINING DISTANCE OR VELOCITY BY USE OF RADIO WAVES; ELECTRICITY; LOCATING OR PRESENCE-DETECTING BY USE OF THE REFLECTION ORRERADIATION OF RADIO WAVES; MEASURING; MEASURING ELECTRIC VARIABLES; MEASURING MAGNETIC VARIABLES; PHYSICS; RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING; RADIO NAVIGATION; TESTING

A circuit is described herein. In accordance with one embodiment the circuit includes two or more RF channels, wherein each channel includes an input node, a phase shifter and an output node. Each channel is configured to receive an RF oscillator signal at the input node and to provide an RF output signal at the output node. The circuit further includes an RF combiner circuit that is coupled with the outputs of the RF channels and configured to generate a combined signal representing a combination of the RF output signals, and a monitor circuit that includes a mixer and is configured to receive and down-convert the combined signal using an RF reference signal. Thus a mixer output signal is generated that depends on the phases of the RF output signals.