Hybrid load and source tuner using digital active loop

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11137439-B1
Application number	US-201816105143-A
Country	US
Kind code	B1
Filing date	Aug 20, 2018
Priority date	Aug 20, 2018
Publication date	Oct 5, 2021
Grant date	Oct 5, 2021

Abstract

A digitally controlled hybrid (active-passive) tuning system includes a passive slide screw tuner using a slabline in which also fixed and adjustable signal couplers (wave-probes) are mounted, leading to and from an active feedback loop, digitally controlled using an electronic tuner. The wave-probes control the static amplitude and phase of the feedback signal and the electronic tuner controls the actual dynamic (high speed) amplitude and phase of the re-injected signal. The slide screw tuner serves as an additional static pre-matching for reducing the required feedback injection power. Appropriate passive and active calibration and search routines allow identifying tuner states satisfying DUT parameter targets.

First claim

What I claim as my invention is:

1. A load pull tuner system comprising: a hybrid source impedance tuner, having a test port and an idle port, and including an active feed-forward digital electronic impedance tuner, and an integrated passive pre-matching impedance tuner; and a hybrid load impedance tuner, having a test port and an idle port, and including an active feed-back digital electronic impedance tuner, and an integrated passive pre-matching impedance tuner, and a pre-calibrated four port vector network analyzer (VNA); wherein the test port of the hybrid source impedance tuner is connected to an input port of a DUT, and the test port of the hybrid load impedance tuner is connected to an output port of the DUT.

2. The load pull tuner system as in claim 1 , wherein i) the active feed-forward digital electronic tuner of the hybrid source impedance tuner includes: a slotted airline (slabline) having a center conductor between a test port and an idle port; an adjustable signal coupler SC # 1 having a coupled and an isolated port; one circulator C # 1 having ports 1 , 2 and 3 ; a digital electronic impedance tuner ET # 1 including a multitude M 1 of independently controlled RF switches; an amplifier A # 1 having input port and output port; two fixed signal couplers SC # 2 and SC # 3 ; associated RE cables and characteristic impedance Zo loads; ii) the integrated passive pre-matching tuner of the hybrid source impedance tuner comprises: a slide screw tuner sharing the same slabline as the signal couplers of the active feed-forward digital electronic tuner, and having at least one wideband reflective tuning probe, insertable into a slot of the slabline, capacitively coupled with the center conductor and movable along and perpendicularly to the center conductor of the slabline; and wherein the adjustable signal coupler SC # 1 is an electro-magnetic wire loop (wave-probe) insertable into a slot of the slabline and movable along a longitudinal axis of the slabline between the idle port of the slabline and the at least one reflective tuning probe, and wherein the fixed signal couplers SC # 2 and SC # 3 are electro-magnetic wire loops (wave-probes) mounted on the slabline between the test port and the at least one reflective tuning probe; wherein signal coupler SC # 3 is mounted closest to the test port; the coupled port of signal coupler SC # 1 is connected with port 1 of circulator C # 1 ; port 2 of circulator C # 1 is connected with the digital electronic impedance tuner ET # 1 ; port 3 of circulator C # 1 is connected with the input port of the amplifier A # 1 ; the output port of amplifier A # 1 is connected with the forward coupled port of signal coupler SC # 2 ; the forward and reverse coupled ports of signal coupler SC # 3 are connected with test ports 1 and 2 of the VNA and the isolated ports of signal couplers SC # 1 and SC # 2 are terminated with characteristic impedance Zo.

3. The load pull tuner system as claim 2 , wherein the characteristic impedance Zo is equal to 50 Ohms.

4. The load pull tuner system as in claim 1 , wherein i) the active feed-back digital electronic tuner of the hybrid load impedance tuner comprises: a slotted airline (slabline) having a center conductor between a test port and an idle port,
a fixed signal coupler SC # 4 being an electro-magnetic wire loop (wave-probe) and having a forward and a reverse coupled port, a power divider having one input and two output ports, a circulator C # 2 having ports 1 , 2 and 3 , a digital electronic impedance tuner ET # 2 including a multitude M 2 of independently controlled RF switches, an amplifier A # 2 having input port and output port, an adjustable signal coupler SC # 5 being an electro-magnetic wire loop (wave-probe), RF cables and characteristic impedance Zo loads, and wherein ii) the integrated passive pre-matching tuner of the hybrid load impedance tuner comprises: a slide screw impedance tuner, sharing the same slabline as the signal couplers SC # 4 and SC # 5 of the active digital feed-back electronic tuner and having at least one wideband reflective tuning probe insertable into a slot of the slabline, capacitively coupled with the center conductor and movable along and perpendicularly to the center conductor of the slabline; wherein the fixed signal coupler SC # 4 is an electro-magnetic wire loop (wave probe), said signal coupler SC # 5 is an electro-magnetic wire loop (wave-probe) insertable into the slot of the slabline and movable along a longitudinal axis of the slabline between the idle port of the slabline and the at least one reflective tuning probe; and wherein the forward coupled port of signal coupler SC # 4 is connected with the input port of the power divider, one output port of the power divider is connected with port 1 of the circulator C # 2 , the other output port of the power divider is connected with test port 3 of the VNA; the reverse coupled port of signal coupler SC # 4 is connected with test port 4 of the VNA; port 2 of circulator C # 2 is connected with the electronic tuner; port 3 of circulator C # 2 is connected with the input port of the amplifier; the output port of the amplifier is connected with the reverse coupled port of signal coupler SC # 5 ; the forward coupled port of signal coupler SC # 5 is terminated with Zo.

5. The load pull tuner system as in claim 1 , wherein the integrated passive pre-matching tuner of the hybrid load impedance tuner includes at least two independently movable wideband reflective tuning probes.

Assignees

• Tsironis Christos

Inventors

• Tsironis Christos

Classifications

• G01R35/005

  Calibrating; Standards or reference devices, e.g. voltage or resistance standards, "golden" references (G01R33/0035, G01R35/002 take precedence) · CPC title

• G01R31/2822 Primary

  of microwave or radiofrequency circuits (of attenuation, gain, e.g. using network analyzers G01R27/28) · CPC title