Abstract:
An RF attenuator circuit includes an anti-parallel PI structure having an input shunt arm comprising a single PIN diode, and an output shunt arm comprising a single PIN diode configured to have opposite polarity of the PIN diode of the input shunt arm.

Description:
PRIORITY CLAIM 
       [0001]    The present application claims priority under 35 USC 119 to U.S. application No. 61/069,790 filed on Monday, Mar. 17, 2008, which is presently pending, and which is incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    A ‘PI’ attenuator circuit such as one shown in  FIG. 1  may be employed to control the amplitude levels of a modulation signal. It is an optical network, for example, such a circuit may be used to control the amplitude signal applied to modulate the output of a laser beam. Properly biased, the diodes  102 ,  104  may behave in the circuit as current-sensitive resistors with an impedance that varies according to the current injected from the biasing resources VC and V+. 
         [0003]    Shunt arms  126  and  128  shunt the input RF signals and output RF signals respectively to ground via RC circuits  104 ,  124 , and  120 ,  122 , which provide a DC bias potential on the diodes  106 ,  112  while passing non-DC bias components to ground. Likewise, the voltage divider circuits comprising resistors  102 ,  116 , and  114  bias diodes  108  and  110 . The diodes  106 ,  112 ,  108 ,  110  are typically PIN (P-type, Insulator, N-type) diodes. An input RF signal is attenuated by the circuit with the actual attenuation varying according to the biasing current provided by Vc and V+. The circuit thus provides a tunable RF attenuator. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0004]    In the drawings, the same reference numbers and acronyms identify elements or acts with the same or similar functionality for ease of understanding and convenience. To easily identify the discussion of any particular element or act, the most significant digit or digits in a reference number refer to the figure number in which that element is first introduced. 
           [0005]      FIG. 1  is an illustration of a prior art ‘PI’ PIN diode attenuator. 
           [0006]      FIG. 2  is an illustration of an embodiment of a novel anti-parallel ‘PI’ PIN diode attenuator. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0007]    References to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, although they may. 
         [0008]    Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, throughout the description and the claims, the words “comprise,” “comprising,” and the like are to be construed in an inclusive sense as opposed to an exclusive or exhaustive sense; that is to say, in the sense of “including, but not limited to.” Words using the singular or plural number also include the plural or singular number respectively. Additionally, the words “herein,” “above,” “below” and words of similar import, when used in this application, refer to this application as a whole and not to any particular portions of this application. When the claims use the word “or” in reference to a list of two or more items, that word covers all of the following interpretations of the word: any of the items in the list, all of the items in the list and any combination of the items in the list. 
         [0009]    “Logic” refers to signals and/or information that may be applied to influence the operation of a device. Software, hardware, and firmware are examples of logic. Hardware logic may be embodied in circuits. In general, logic may comprise combinations of software, hardware, and/or firmware. 
         [0010]    Those skilled in the art will appreciate that logic may be distributed throughout one or more devices, and/or may be comprised of combinations of instructions in memory, processing capability, circuits, and so on. Therefore, in the interest of clarity and correctness logic may not always be distinctly illustrated in drawings of devices and systems, although it is inherently present therein. 
         [0011]    The techniques and procedures described herein may be implemented via logic distributed in one or more computing devices. The particular distribution and choice of logic is a design decision that will vary according to implementation. 
         [0012]      FIG. 2  shows one embodiment of logic for a novel anti-parallel ‘PI’ attenuator. A DC bias differential is provided by capacitor  230  and resistor  202  passing RF signals from the input while blocking DC components. A shunt arm is formed from the diode  222  and various biasing components  220 ,  204 ,  206 ,  208 . Note that in some embodiments, resistors in the circuit of  FIG. 2  may be replaced by inductors. Note also that a similar modification may be made to the output shunt arm in various embodiments, which may include one or both of input shunt arm and output shunt arm having diodes of reversed polarity. A voltage divider formed by resistor  218 ,  202 ,  214  provides a bias potential to diodes  224 ,  226  which in turn vary their impedance according to the current supplied by biasing source Vc, thus forming a tunable attenuator. Shunt arm comprising diode  222 , capacitor  220 , resistor  204 , capacitor  206 , and resistor  208  form an anti-parallel PI configuration with the output shunt arm comprising diode  228 , resistor  210  and capacitor  212 . Output capacitor  216  blocks DC components of the RF signal that may be introduced within the circuit from reaching the output. 
         [0013]    Logic in accordance with  FIG. 2  provides substantially improved CSO performance over prior art circuits and designs. Logic in accordance with  FIG. 2  may be used in gain control circuits with an approximately 15 DB attenuation range and lower CSO contributions than provided by prior art PI circuits. 
         [0014]    Those having skill in the art will appreciate that there are various logic implementations by which processes and/or systems described herein can be effected (e.g., hardware, software, and/or firmware), and that the preferred vehicle will vary with the context in which the processes are deployed. For example, if an implementer determines that speed and accuracy are paramount, the implementer may opt for a hardware and/or firmware vehicle; alternatively, if flexibility is paramount, the implementer may opt for a solely software implementation; or, yet again alternatively, the implementer may opt for some combination of hardware, software, and/or firmware. Hence, there are several possible vehicles by which the processes described herein may be effected, none of which is inherently superior to the other in that any vehicle to be utilized is a choice dependent upon the context in which the vehicle will be deployed and the specific concerns (e.g., speed, flexibility, or predictability) of the implementer, any of which may vary. Those skilled in the art will recognize that optical aspects of implementations may involve optically-oriented hardware, software, and or firmware. 
         [0015]    The foregoing detailed description has set forth various embodiments of the devices and/or processes via the use of block diagrams, flowcharts, and/or examples. Insofar as such block diagrams, flowcharts, and/or examples contain one or more functions and/or operations, it will be understood as notorious by those within the art that each function and/or operation within such block diagrams, flowcharts, or examples can be implemented, individually and/or collectively, by a wide range of hardware, software, firmware, or virtually any combination thereof. Several portions of the subject matter described herein may be implemented via Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), digital signal processors (DSPs), or other integrated formats. However, those skilled in the art will recognize that some aspects of the embodiments disclosed herein, in whole or in part, can be equivalently implemented in standard integrated circuits, as one or more computer programs running on one or more computers (e.g., as one or more programs running on one or more computer systems), as one or more programs running on one or more processors (e.g., as one or more programs running on one or more microprocessors), as firmware, or as virtually any combination thereof, and that designing the circuitry and/or writing the code for the software and/or firmware would be well within the skill of one of skill in the art in light of this disclosure. In addition, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the mechanisms of the subject matter described herein are capable of being distributed as a program product in a variety of forms, and that an illustrative embodiment of the subject matter described herein applies equally regardless of the particular type of signal bearing media used to actually carry out the distribution. Examples of a signal bearing media include, but are not limited to, the following: recordable type media such as floppy disks, hard disk drives, CD ROMs, digital tape, and computer memory; and transmission type media such as digital and analog communication links using TDM or IP based communication links (e.g., packet links). 
         [0016]    In a general sense, those skilled in the art will recognize that the various aspects described herein which can be implemented, individually and/or collectively, by a wide range of hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof can be viewed as being composed of various types of “electrical circuitry.” Consequently, as used herein “electrical circuitry” includes, but is not limited to, electrical circuitry having at least one discrete electrical circuit, electrical circuitry having at least one integrated circuit, electrical circuitry having at least one application specific integrated circuit, electrical circuitry forming a general purpose computing device configured by a computer program (e.g., a general purpose computer configured by a computer program which at least partially carries out processes and/or devices described herein, or a microprocessor configured by a computer program which at least partially carries out processes and/or devices described herein), electrical circuitry forming a memory device (e.g., forms of random access memory), and/or electrical circuitry forming a communications device (e.g., a modem, communications switch, or optical-electrical equipment). 
         [0017]    Those skilled in the art will recognize that it is common within the art to describe devices and/or processes in the fashion set forth herein, and thereafter use standard engineering practices to integrate such described devices and/or processes into larger systems. That is, at least a portion of the devices and/or processes described herein can be integrated into a network processing system via a reasonable amount of experimentation. 
         [0018]    The foregoing described aspects depict different components contained within, or connected with, different other components. It is to be understood that such depicted architectures are merely exemplary, and that in fact many other architectures can be implemented which achieve the same functionality. In a conceptual sense, any arrangement of components to achieve the same functionality is effectively “associated” such that the desired functionality is achieved. Hence, any two components herein combined to achieve a particular functionality can be seen as “associated with” each other such that the desired functionality is achieved, irrespective of architectures or intermedial components. Likewise, any two components so associated can also be viewed as being “operably connected”, or “operably coupled”, to each other to achieve the desired functionality.