Power detector

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10082528-B2
Application number	US-201514963921-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 9, 2015
Priority date	May 13, 2015
Publication date	Sep 25, 2018
Grant date	Sep 25, 2018

Abstract

Some embodiments relate to power detector including a voltage sensor configured to detect a voltage of a load and a current sensor configured to detect a current of the load. The power detector also includes circuitry configured to introduce a phase delay between the detected voltage of the load and the detected current of the load, thereby producing a voltage measurement and a current measurement. The circuitry is also configured to multiply the voltage measurement and the current measurement.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A power detector, comprising:
a voltage sensor configured to detect a voltage of a load;
a current sensor configured to detect a current of the load; and
circuitry configured to:
add a phase delay to the detected voltage of the load, the detected current of the load, or both the detected voltage of the load and the detected current of the load, to compensate for a variation in an impedance of the load and make a power measurement insensitive to changes in voltage standing wave ratio (VSWR), thereby producing a voltage measurement and a current measurement; and
multiply the voltage measurement and the current measurement to produce the power measurement.

2. The power detector of claim 1 , wherein the voltage sensor comprises a conductor or a circuit element.

3. The power detector of claim 2 , wherein the voltage sensor comprises the conductor, and the conductor comprises at least one of a bondwire, a coupled line, a via and a solder ball.

4. The power detector of claim 1 , wherein the current sensor comprises a conductor or a circuit element.

5. The power detector of claim 4 , wherein the current sensor comprises the conductor, and the conductor comprises at least one of a bondwire, a coupled line, a via and a solder ball.

6. The power detector of claim 4 , wherein the current sensor comprises the conductor, and the conductor is positioned to inductively sense the current of the load.

7. The power detector of claim 1 , wherein the phase delay is tunable.

8. The power detector of claim 7 , wherein the phase delay is calibrated to account for processing variations, variations in temperature and/or variations in frequency.

9. The power detector of claim 1 , further comprising a low pass filter and/or averaging unit to filter and/or average a product of the current measurement and the voltage measurement.

10. The power detector of claim 1 , implemented in a quad flat-lead package or chip scale package.

11. The power detector of claim 1 , wherein the load is driven by an amplifier.

12. The power detector of claim 11 , wherein the amplifier comprises a switching amplifier.

13. The power detector of claim 11 , wherein the amplifier comprises a plurality of amplifier circuits that combine their outputs to drive the load.

14. The power detector of claim 1 , wherein the load comprises an antenna.

15. The power detector of claim 1 , wherein the voltage and current of the load have a frequency of higher than 0 Hz.

16. The power detector of claim 1 , further comprising a circuit element to resonate with a parasitic inductance or capacitance at a frequency of operation of the load.

17. The power detector of claim 16 , wherein the circuit element comprises an inductive element that resonates with a parasitic capacitance, the parasitic capacitance being in parallel with the load.

18. The power detector of claim 16 , wherein the circuit element comprises a capacitive element that resonates with a parasitic inductance, the parasitic inductance being in series with the load.

19. The power detector of claim 1 , wherein the phase delay is introduced in at least one of a voltage sensing path and a current sensing path.

20. The power detector of claim 19 , wherein the phase delay is introduced in at least one of the voltage sensor, the current sensor, a phase delay unit in a current path, a phase delay unit in a voltage path, and a phase delay element in a multiplier circuit.

21. The power detector of claim 1 , wherein the voltage sensor is a differential voltage sensor and/or the current sensor is a differential current sensor.

22. The power detector of claim 1 , wherein the phase delay is introduced in at least one of the current sensor, the voltage sensor, a phase delay unit, and a multiplier.

23. The power detector of claim 1 , further comprising circuitry configured to amplify and/or attenuate the detected voltage of the load and/or the detected current of the load.

24. The power detector of claim 1 , further wherein the circuitry is configured to amplify and/or attenuate the detected voltage of the load and/or the detected current of the load by a tunable gain.

25. A power detection method, comprising,
detecting a voltage of a load;
detecting a current of the load;
add a phase delay to the detected voltage of the load, the detected current of the load, or both the detected voltage of the load and the detected current of the load, to compensate for a variation in an impedance of the load and make a power measurement insensitive to changes in voltage standing wave ratio (VSWR), thereby producing a voltage measurement and a current measurement; and
multiplying the voltage measurement and the current measurement to produce the power measurement.

26. The power detection method of claim 25 , further comprising calibrating the phase delay.

27. The power detection method of claim 25 , wherein the current of the load is detected inductively.

28. The power detection method of claim 25 , further comprising low-pass filtering a product of the voltage measurement and the current measurement.

Assignees

• Mediatek Inc

Inventors

• Chen Meng-Hung
• Shana'A Osama K A
• Chee Yuenhui
• Lu Chiyuan

Classifications

• G01R21/07 Primary

  in circuits having distributed constants (G01R21/09 takes precedence) · CPC title

• G01R21/06 Primary

  by measuring current and voltage (G01R21/08 - G01R21/133 take precedence) · CPC title