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| United States Patent Application |
20050135503
|
| Kind Code
|
A1
|
|
Talwar, Shilpa
;   et al.
|
June 23, 2005
|
System and method for adjusting a power level of a transmission signal
Abstract
The invention includes an apparatus and a method for adjusting a power
level of a transmission signal for minimal distortion. The method
includes modulating the transmission signal. The modulated transmission
signal is processed to reduce a peak to average ratio of the modulated
transmission signal based upon modulation parameters of the modulated
transmission signal. The power level of the modulated transmission signal
is adjusted according to the peak to average ratio of the modulated
transmission signal. The transmission signal is amplified and
transmitted.
| Inventors: |
Talwar, Shilpa; (Palo Alto, CA)
; Tellado, Jose; (Sunnyvale, CA)
|
| Correspondence Address:
|
INTEL CORPORATION
P.O. BOX 5326
SANTA CLARA
CA
95056-5326
US
|
| Assignee: |
Intel Corporation
|
| Serial No.:
|
006403 |
| Series Code:
|
11
|
| Filed:
|
December 6, 2004 |
| Current U.S. Class: |
375/297 |
| Class at Publication: |
375/297 |
| International Class: |
H04K 001/02 |
Claims
What is claimed:
1. A method for adjusting a power level of a transmission signal for
minimal distortion, comprising: modulating the transmission signal;
processing the modulated transmission signal to reduce a peak to average
ratio of the modulated transmission signal based upon modulation
parameters of the modulated transmission signal; adjusting the power
level of the modulated transmission signal according to the peak to
average ratio of the modulated transmission signal; amplifying the
transmission signal; and transmitting the transmission signal.
2. The method for adjusting the power level of a transmission signal of
claim 1, wherein adjusting the power level of the modulated transmission
signal is dependent upon the peak to average ratio of the modulated
transmission signal.
3. The method for adjusting the power level of a transmission signal of
claim 1, wherein the processing the modulated transmission signal
comprises windowing time samples of the modulation transmission signal.
4. The method for adjusting the power level of a transmission signal of
claim 3, wherein windowing time samples is dependent upon a bandwidth of
the modulated transmission signal.
5. The method for adjusting the power level of a transmission signal of
claim 3, wherein windowing the time samples comprises centering the
windowing dependent upon characteristics of the time samples.
6. The method for adjusting the power level of a transmission signal of
claim 3, wherein an amplitude of the windowing is dependent upon
characteristics of the time samples.
7. The method for adjusting the power level of a transmission signal of
claim 1, wherein the modulation parameters comprise modulation rate.
8. The method for adjusting the power level of a transmission signal of
claim 1, wherein the modulation parameters comprise modulation order.
9. The method for adjusting the power level of a transmission signal of
claim 1, wherein adjusting the power level of the modulated transmission
signal based upon modulation parameters is adaptive to changes in the
modulation parameters of the modulated transmission signal.
10. The method for adjusting the power level of a transmission signal of
claim 1, wherein processing the modulated transmission signal to reduce a
peak to average ratio of the modulated transmission signal is adaptive to
changes in the modulation parameters of the modulated transmission
signal.
11. The method for adjusting the power level of a transmission signal of
claim 1, wherein a transmission channel that the modulated transmission
signal is transmitted through is adaptive.
12. The method for adjusting the power level of a transmission signal of
claim 3, wherein the windowing comprises at least one of Hamming,
Hanning, Chebychev and Gaussian windows.
13. The method for adjusting the power level of a transmission signal of
claim 3, wherein the windowing comprises a window length that is
determined through the use of a look-up-table (LUT).
14. The method for adjusting the power level of a transmission signal of
claim 13, wherein the look-up-table (LUT) provides a window length based
upon a desired out-of-band distortion of the transmission signal.
15. The method for adjusting the power level of a transmission signal of
claim 3, wherein output PAR level is determined through the use of a
look-up-table (LUT).
16. The method for adjusting the power level of a transmission signal of
claim 15, wherein the look-up-table (LUT) provides an output PAR level
based upon a modulation order of the transmission signal.
17. The method for adjusting the power level of a transmission signal of
claim 13, wherein the look-up-table (LUT) provides an output PAR level
based upon a modulation order and coding rate of the transmission signal.
18. The method for adjusting the power level of a transmission signal of
claim 1, further comprising: linearizing a transmitter amplifier that
amplifies the modulated transmission signal.
19. The method for adjusting the power level of a transmission signal of
claim 17, wherein linearizing a transmitter amplifier comprises:
pre-distorting the modulated transmission signal to pre-correct for
non-linearities of the transmitter amplifier.
20. The method for adjusting the power level of a transmission signal of
claim 17, wherein the pre-distorting is adaptive to changes in
non-linearities of the transmitter amplifier over time.
21. The method for adjusting the power level of a transmission signal of
claim 1, wherein the transmission signal includes signals from a
plurality of transmission chains.
22. A method for adjusting a power level of a transmission signal for
minimal distortion, comprising: modulating the transmission signal;
processing the modulated transmission signal to reduce a peak to average
ratio of the modulated transmission signal based upon modulation
parameters of the modulated transmission signal, wherein the processing
the modulated transmission signal comprises windowing time samples of the
modulation transmission signal. adjusting the power level of the
modulated transmission signal according to the peak to average ratio of
the modulated transmission signal; amplifying the transmission signal;
and transmitting the transmission signal.
23. An apparatus for adjusting a power level of a transmission signal for
minimal distortion, comprising: means for modulating the transmission
signal; means for processing the modulated transmission signal to reduce
a peak to average ratio of the modulated transmission signal based upon
modulation parameters of the modulated transmission signal, wherein the
processing the modulated transmission signal comprises windowing time
samples of the modulation transmission signal. means for adjusting the
power level of the modulated transmission signal according to the peak to
average ratio of the modulated transmission signal; means for amplifying
the transmission signal; and means for transmitting the transmission
signal.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The invention relates generally to wireless communications. More
particularly, the invention relates a method and system for adjusting a
power level of a transmission signal to minimize distortion of the
transmission signal.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Wireless communication systems commonly include information
carrying modulated carrier signals that are wirelessly transmitted from a
transmission source (for example, a base transceiver station) to one or
more receivers (for example, subscriber units) within an area or region.
[0003] FIG. 1 shows a portion of a single cell of a cellular wireless
network system. A base transceiver station 110 provides a wireless
connection to a plurality of subscriber units 120, 130, 140. The base
transceiver station is generally connected to a network that provides
access to the Internet. The cell of FIG. 1 is generally repeated forming
a cellular network. The base transceiver station 110 and the subscriber
units 120, 130, 140 include one or more antennas allowing two-way
communication between the base transceiver station 110 and the subscriber
units 120, 130, 140.
[0004] FIG. 2 shows a typical transmission chain 200 of a wireless
transmitter or transceiver. The transmitter receives a stream of data
(Data In) to be transmitted. A transmission signal is modulated by the
stream of data by a modulator 210. The modulated transmission signal is
typically frequency up converted by mixing the modulated carrier signal
with a local oscillator (LO) signal through a frequency mixer 220. The
frequency up converted signal is generally amplified by a power amplifier
230 before transmission through a transmission antenna T.
[0005] Distortion of the modulated transmission signal by the transmission
chain 200 can reduce the effectiveness of signal transmission from the
transmitter to a receiver. The power amplifier 230 can cause distortion
to modulated transmission signal if the amplitude of the modulated
transmission signal is too large, and therefore, reduce the effectiveness
of the signal transmission.
[0006] FIG. 3 shows a example of a typical modulated transmission signal
in which the amplitude of the modulated transmission signal varies with
time. The modulated transmission signal typically include peaks 310, 320
which indicate the maximum modulated transmission signal amplitude over
the time period of interest. A dashed line 330 indicates an average
signal amplitude of the modulated transmission signal. A peak to average
ratio (PAR) is defined as the ratio of the peaks of the amplitude of the
signal, to the average amplitude of the signal.
[0007] Generally, it is desirable to maintain a particular average power
level. For example, an average power level can insure a desired signal to
noise ratio of the received transmission signal. Therefore, it is
generally at the peaks 310, 320 in which the power amplifier 230 causes
distortion of the modulated transmission signal.
[0008] FIG. 4 shows a typical curve 400 representing a relationship
between the input signal amplitude versus output signal amplitude of the
power amplifier 230. The curve 400 is typically linear until the output
signal power become large enough that the power amplifier 230 begins to
saturate. Dashed line 410 roughly designates the point in which the power
amplifier transitions from an essentially linear range to a non-linear
range. As the input signal amplitude increase past the dashed line 410,
the output signal amplitude compresses and no longer linearly increases.
Operation of the power amplifier in the non-linear range distorts the
modulated transmission signal.
[0009] It is clear from FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, that it is desirable to
minimize the PAR of the modulated transmission signal. It is also clear
that the power level of a modulated transmission signal having a given
PAR should be adjusted so that the peaks of the modulated transmission
signal do not cause a power amplifier of wireless transmitter to
saturate, and therefore, distort modulated transmission signal of the
transmitter.
[0010] Reduction of the PAR of the modulated transmission signal provides
two advantageous features. First, a reduced PAR allows transmission of a
greater average transmission signal power level. This provides the
advantage of an enhanced signal to noise ratio. Second, a reduced PAR
allows for the use of a typically less expensive power amplifier for a
given average transmission signal power level. That is, the non-linear
region of a power amplifier is typically reached at a lower output power
level than for a less expensive power amplifier. Therefore, the reducing
the amplitudes of peaks of the transmission signal generally allows for
the use of a less expensive power amplifier for a given transmission
signal power level.
[0011] It is desirable to have an apparatus and method that provides
reduction of a PAR of a transmission signal. It is additionally desirable
to provide adjustment of the average power level of the transmission
signal so that a power amplifier of a transmitter of the transmission
signal does not excessively distort the transmission signal.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0012] The invention includes an apparatus and a method for reducing the
PAR of a transmission signal to minimize distortion of the transmission
signal. The invention further includes adjusting the power level of the
transmission signal.
[0013] An embodiment of the invention includes a method for adjusting a
power level of a transmission signal for minimal distortion. The method
includes modulating the transmission signal. The modulated transmission
signal is processed to reduce a peak to average ratio of the modulated
transmission signal based upon modulation parameters of the modulated
transmission signal. The power level of the modulated transmission signal
is adjusted according to the peak to average ratio of the modulated
transmission signal. The transmission signal is amplified and
transmitted.
[0014] Other aspects and advantages of the present invention will become
apparent from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction
with the accompanying drawings, illustrating by way of example the
principles of the invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0015] FIG. 1 shows a prior art wireless system that includes a
transceiver and multiple subscriber units.
[0016] FIG. 2 shows a typical transmission chain of a wireless
transmitter.
[0017] FIG. 3 shows a waveform representing an amplitude of a typical
transmission signal.
[0018] FIG. 4 shows a curve representing an input signal amplitude versus
output signal amplitude of a typical power amplifier of a transmitter.
[0019] FIG. 5 shows an embodiment of the invention.
[0020] FIG. 6 shows time samples of a modulated transmission signal.
[0021] FIG. 7 shows a sample modulated transmission signal waveform after
being windowed, and before being windowed.
[0022] FIG. 8 shows another embodiment of the invention.
[0023] FIG. 9 shows a flow chart of steps included within an embodiment of
the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0024] As shown in the drawings for purposes of illustration, the
invention is embodied in a method and system for reducing the PAR of a
transmission signal to minimize distortion of the transmission signal.
The invention further includes adjusting the power level of the
transmission signal.
[0025] Particular embodiments of the present invention will now be
described in detail with reference to the drawing figures. The techniques
of the present invention may be implemented in various different types of
wireless communication systems. Of particular relevance are cellular
wireless communication systems. A base station transmits downlink signals
over wireless channels to multiple subscribers. In addition, the
subscribers transmit uplink signals over the wireless channels to the
base station. Thus, for downlink communication the base station is a
transmitter and the subscribers are receivers, while for uplink
communication the base station is a receiver and the subscribers are
transmitters. Subscribers may be mobile or fixed. Exemplary subscribers
include devices such as portable tele
phones, car
phones, and stationary
receivers such as a wireless
modem at a fixed location.
[0026] The techniques of the present invention apply to
point-to-multipoint systems, they are not limited to such systems, but
apply to any wireless communication system having at least two devices in
wireless communication. Accordingly, for simplicity, the following
description will focus on the invention as applied to a single
transmitter-receiver pair, even though it is understood that it applies
to systems with any number of such pairs.
[0027] Point-to-multipoint applications of the invention can include
various types of multiple access schemes. Such schemes include, but are
not limited to, time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division
multiple access (FDMA), code division multiple access (CDMA), orthogonal
frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) and wavelet division multiple
access.
[0028] The transmission can be time division duplex (TDD). That is, the
downlink transmission can occupy the same channel (same transmission
frequency) as the uplink transmission, but occur at different times.
Alternatively, the transmission can be frequency division duplex (FDD).
That is, the downlink transmission can be at a different frequency than
the uplink transmission. FDD allows downlink transmission and uplink
transmission to occur simultaneously.
[0029] Typically, variations of the wireless channels cause uplink and
downlink signals to experience fluctuating levels of attenuation,
interference, multi-path fading and other deleterious effects. In
addition, the presence of multiple signal paths (due to reflections off
buildings and other obstacles in the propagation environment) causes
variations of channel response over the frequency bandwidth, and these
variations may change with time as well. As a result, there are temporal
changes in channel communication parameters such as data capacity,
spectral efficiency, throughput, and signal quality parameters, e.g.,
signal-to-interference and noise ratio (SINR), and signal-to-noise ratio
(SNR).
[0030] Information is transmitted over the wireless channel using one of
various possible transmission modes. For the purposes of the present
application, a transmission mode is defined to be a particular modulation
type and rate, a particular code type and rate, and may also include
other controlled aspects of transmission such as the use of antenna
diversity or spatial multiplexing. Using a particular transmission mode,
data intended for communication over the wireless channel is coded,
modulated, and transmitted. Examples of typical coding modes are
convolution and block codes, and more particularly, codes known in the
art such as Hamming Codes, Cyclic Codes and Reed-Solomon Codes. Examples
of typical modulation modes are circular constellations such as BPSK,
QPSK, and other m-ary PSK, square constellations such as 4 QAM, 16 QAM,
and other m-ary QAM. Additional popular modulation techniques include
GMSK and m-ary FSK. The implementation and use of these various
transmission modes in communication systems is well known in the art.
[0031] FIG. 5 shows an embodiment of the invention. This embodiment
includes a transmitter chain 500.
[0032] The transmitter chain 500 includes a modulator 510 that receives a
stream of data. The modulator modulates a carrier signal with the stream
of data according to any of the previously mentioned typical modulation
modes.
[0033] The modulated transmission signal is processed by a peak to average
ratio (PAR) processing block 520. The PAR processing block 520 generally
reduces the PAR of the modulated transmission signal. The processing to
some extent is dependent upon the modulation parameters, such as the
order of modulation or modulation rate. Therefore, the PAR processing
block 520 also receives modulation order information from the modulator
510.
[0034] A power level adjuster 530 varies the amplitude of the PAR
processed modulated transmission signal. The power level adjuster 530 can
be a variable attenuator. As will be described later, the PAR of the
processed modulated transmission signal is to some extent dependent upon
the modulation parameters. Therefore, the optimal setting of the power
level adjuster 530 is to some extent dependent upon the modulation
parameters.
[0035] An amplitude controller 525 controls the power level adjuster 530.
As previously mentioned, the modulation parameters of the modulated
transmission signal effects the PAR of the modulated transmission signal.
Therefore, the amplitude controller 525 receives the modulation
information (order and rate) to help control the power lever adjuster
530.
[0036] A power amplifier 540 amplifies the modulated transmission signal
before transmission from a transmission antenna T. As previously
described, the power amplifier 540 distorts the modulated transmission
signal when the amplitude of peaks of the modulated transmission signal
are too large.
[0037] PAR Processing
[0038] The PAR processing block 520 receives the modulated transmission
signal and reduces the PAR of the modulated transmission signal. Reducing
the PAR provides the previously described benefits of allowing a higher
average transmission signal power level, or the use of a less expensive
power amplifier.
[0039] An embodiment of the invention includes windowing samples of the
modulated transmission signal to reduce the PAR. For example, FIG. 6
shows time samples of a modulated transmission signal. These time samples
can be windowed to reduce the PAR. The windowing introduces limited or
controlled distortion of the modulated transmission signal, and prevents
the transmission chain from substantially distorting the modulated
transmission signal.
[0040] The sample spacing Ts of the modulated transmission signal is
determined by the maximum frequency component of the modulated
transmission signal. Generally, the sampling period Ts is chosen to
provide one to four times over-sampling of the modulated transmission
signal. The greater sampling rates can be advantageous because peaks of
the modulated transmission signal are less likely to be missed.
[0041] FIG. 7 shows a sample modulated transmission signal waveform after
being windowed 710, and before being windowed 720. As shown, the
windowing reduces the PAR of the modulated transmission signal.
[0042] The length of the windowing W is generally dependent upon the data
bandwidth of the modulated transmission signal. Typically, the greater
the data bandwidth, the greater the length of window.
[0043] The windowing based PAR reduction scheme of the invention can
adaptively adjust the window length W base upon requirements of the
wireless system of the transmitter. As previously mentioned, the
windowing introduces a controlled distortion of the modulated
transmission signal. The introduced signal distortion can be both in-band
and out-of-band.
[0044] In-band distortion generally refers to distortion of the
transmission signal within the transmission frequency band of the
transmission signal. In-band distortion must generally meet a criterion
required to ensure a particular bit error rate (BER) of the transmission
signal. Smaller window length results in less in-band distortion but more
out-of-band distortion, and vice versa.
[0045] Out-of-band distortion generally refers to distortion of the
transmission signal outside of the transmission frequency band of the
transmission signal. Out-of-band distortion can interfere with other
transmission signals. The out-of-band distortion must generally meet a
criterion as established by, for example, the FCC. Typically, longer
window lengths are used to minimize out-of-band distortion.
[0046] The windowing can include any one of several possible windows. For
example, some well known windows include Hamming, Hanning, Chebychev and
Gaussian windows.
[0047] An embodiment of the invention includes a look-up-table (LUT) that
determines the window length for each signal bandwidth available to the
transmitter. Generally, this embodiment is implemented in hardware. The
length of the window is selected so that the out-of-band distortion
criterion is met for each transmission bandwidth. Therefore, as the
transmission is assigned more or less bandwidth over time, a longer or
shorter window may be used to reduce the transmit signal PAR. An
embodiment includes storing only the longest window, and deriving smaller
windows by sub-sampling the longest window.
[0048] PAR reduction also causes in-band distortion in the transmitted
signal. The distortion is function of several parameters, such as
post-processing (output) PAR, window type, window length, and probability
distribution of input signal samples. The most influential parameter,
however, is the output PAR. The lower the required output PAR, the
greater the distortion. The amount of distortion that can be tolerated
without significantly degrading the receiver SINR or the system's BER
performance is a function of order of modulation. Higher order
modulations such as 16 and 64 QAM typically require higher receiver
SINR's for proper operation, and can therefore, tolerate less distortion.
Lower order constellations such as 4 QAM require lower SINR's and can
tolerate higher distortion.
[0049] An embodiment of the invention includes adaptive modulation and
coding in which the PAR processing should generally only introduce a
small amount of PAR distortion. Therefore, the resultant
signal-to-interference-and-noise-and-distortion (SINDR) at a receiver is
only slightly lower than it would be without PAR processing, for example
0.1 to 1 dB. Similarly, the PAR processing can be such that there is a
minimal increase in receiver BER after decoding. An implementation
includes a look-up-table that can be used to determine output PAR as a
function of modulation order or modulation order and code rate. In
general, higher order modulations include higher output PAR, while lower
order modulations include lower output PAR. As the wireless channel
changes over time, the modulation order and possibly the code rate can be
adapted to optimize receiver performance. Consequently, the PAR
processing can be adapted based on output PAR specified in the LUT.
[0050] The invention includes finding peaks in a transmission signal,
centering a window, and determining an amplitude for the window. A peak
is defined as a signal sample with amplitude that is greater than a
threshold. The threshold is a direct function of desired output PAR. That
is, Threshold=AX.sub.rms, where A=10.sup.PAR.sup..sub.OUT/.sub.20 and
X.sub.rms is the root-mean-square value of the transmission signal. Peaks
can occur in clusters, especially when the signal is over-sampled. A
technique has been developed that determines a local maximum of a set
(cluster) of peaks, and an attenuating window is centered at the local
maximum. This technique is not always successful at reducing the output
PAR to desired level because centering a window at the local maximum may
not reduce peaks that are further away from the local maximum, since the
peaks are not attenuated as much. Moreover, identifying a peak cluster is
difficult to implement in hardware.
[0051] An embodiment of the invention includes a "generalized peak
cluster", and includes a method for choosing the window center and the
window amplitude such that all peaks within the generalized cluster are
simultaneously reduced to below the PAR threshold.
[0052] A generalized peak cluster is defined to be a set of P samples, in
which the first sample of the P samples exceeds a PAR threshold. The
selection of P is predetermined based on peak statistics and desired
hardware complexity. A value of P=1 corresponds to a cluster of length
one, and requires each peak to be windowed independently, which includes
significant hardware complexity. If the desired output PAR is low, there
can be significant number of peaks that exceed the PAR threshold. It is
desirable to simultaneously reduce a set of peaks to simplify hardware
implementation. This can be achieved by choosing P to be larger than a
maximum length of a peak cluster or multiple neighboring peak clusters
(namely generalized peak cluster). The length of a generalized peak
cluster typically depends on how much the transmission signal is
over-sampled and a statistical distribution of signal samples.
[0053] The larger the value of P, the fewer windows required to be
implemented in hardware. However, as P increases, the window amplitude
increases, leading to more attenuation of input samples and thereby
causing more distortion. Typically, P is chosen to be a fraction of
window length (1/8, 1/4, etc). However, P may be as large as the window
length to simplify hardware complexity.
[0054] Mathematically, the problem of generalized peak reduction can be
expressed as follows. Given a window fixed g(n), a window amplitude
.alpha. and window center .beta. can be determined such that when the
resulting PAR reduction window
w(n)=1-.alpha.g(n-.beta.)
[0055] is multiplied with the transmission signal x(n), no peaks occur
within a peak cluster of length P. That is;
y(n)=x(n)[1-.alpha.g(n-.beta.)]
[0056] includes no amplitude values greater than the PAR threshold,
A.sub.x.ident.AX.sub.rms, for n=p, p+1, . . . , p+P-1.
[0057] Assuming there is only 1 peak within cluster of length P, then by
definition, the peak must be at the first sample n=p. The optimal choice
for .alpha. and .beta. are 1 = 1 - A X x ( p ) , =
p .
[0058] Assuming there are 2 peaks with a peak cluster at samples n=p and
n=m. Then the optimal choice for .alpha. and .beta. is determined by
minimizing the following expression over values of .beta. in the range
p.ltoreq..beta..ltoreq.m: 2 max [ a p g ( p - ) , a m
g ( m - ) ] ,
[0059] in which the variable .alpha..sub.k is defined as 3 a k = 1 -
A X x ( k )
[0060] for a peak at sample k. The value of .beta. that minimizes the
expression is the window center, and the corresponding minimum value of
the expression is the window amplitude .alpha..
[0061] In general, assuming there are multiple peaks within a peak cluster
of length P, for example at samples n=p, n=m, . . . , and n=1. Then the
optimal choice for .alpha. and .beta. is obtained by optimizing the
following min-max criterion 4 = min p l [ max [ a p g
( p - ) , a m g ( m - ) , , a 1 g ( m -
l ) ] ]
[0062] and .beta. is the value that yields the minimum of min-max
criterion.
[0063] The hardware implementation of min-max criterion can be complex for
large values of P. An embodiment includes the expression min-max
criterion being evaluated at only the peaks rather than over the whole
range of .beta.. Another embodiment includes the min-max criterion being
evaluated at a select set of peaks where the peak selection may be based
on some desired criterion. In an embodiment, the min-max criterion is
only evaluated at two peaks n=r and n=s, where n=r corresponds to the
largest peak in first-half of peak cluster and n=s corresponds to largest
peak in second half of the peak cluster. This approach is sub-optimal,
and the desired output PAR is not exactly achieved, but is very close.
[0064] An embodiment includes the PAR reduction scheme described being
combined with a linearization scheme that linearizes the amplitude
characteristic of transmitter amplifier. An example of such a scheme is a
predistorter that pre-corrects for the nonlinearity in amplifier response
before amplification. Predistortion can be implemented digitally by
pre-characterizing the amplifier response. The response can change over
time, so the response must be measured and compensated for adaptively.
The combination of PAR reduction with amplifier linearization results in
efficient use of the power amplifier and causes no additional distortion
since the amplifier is being operated only in a linearized region.
[0065] FIG. 8 shows another embodiment of the invention. This embodiment
includes a first transmitter chain and a second transmitter chain.
Additional transmitter chains can be included.
[0066] The first transmitter chain includes an encoder 810, a modulator
820 and a frequency up converter 850.
[0067] The second transmitter chain includes an encoder 830, a modulator
840 and a frequency up converter 860.
[0068] A summer 870 receives and combines modulated transmission signals
from the first transmitter chain and the second transmitter chain.
[0069] A PAR processor 875 according to the invention provides the
previously described PAR processing. A digital to analog (D/A) converter
880 converts digital signal into analog signals before transmission.
[0070] An amplitude adjuster 885 is controlled by an amplitude controller
895 to provide adjustment of an amplitude of the transmission signals
before being transmitted through a transmitter antenna T.
[0071] The inclusion of multiple transmitter chains and the corresponding
transmission signals generally increases the PAR of the combined
transmitted signal. The transmission signals corresponding to different
transmitter chains can each include different modulation rates, and/or
different codes. The LO for each transmission chain can be a different
frequency for a multiple carrier transmission system. For a multi-code
code division multiplexed access (CDMA) system, the transmitter signals
can be generated by including a different code for each transmitter
chain. For such a system, the LO of each chain can be the same, and
therefore, located between the summer 870 and the PAR processor 875.
Multi-code CDMA can be used to increase the data rate associated with the
transmission signal.
[0072] The previously described processing techniques can be used to
reduce the PAR of the transmission signal. The PAR processing should be
based upon the modulation parameters of the signal of the transmitter
chain that requires the minimum distortion.
[0073] FIG. 9 shows a flow chart of steps included within an embodiment of
the invention. A first step 910 includes modulating the transmission
signal. A second step 920 includes processing the modulated transmission
signal to reduce a peak to average ratio of the modulated transmission
signal based upon modulation parameters of the modulated transmission
signal. A third step 930 includes adjusting the power level of the
modulated transmission signal according to the peak to average ratio of
the modulated transmission signal. A fourth step 940 includes amplifying
the transmission signal. A fifth step 950 includes transmitting the
transmission signal.
[0074] Although specific embodiments of the invention have been described
and illustrated, the invention is not to be limited to the specific forms
or arrangements of parts so described and illustrated. The invention is
limited only by the appended claims.
* * * * *