Abstract:
Apparatus having corresponding methods and non-transitory computer-readable media comprise: a transmitter configured to transmit a signal according to a gain setting, wherein the signal represents a first digital signal; a receiver configured to receive the signal transmitted by the transmitter, and produce a second digital signal based on the signal received by the receiver; a measurement module configured to produce a digital indication of a linearity of the transmitter based on the second digital signal; and a gain setting module configured to control the gain setting in accordance with the digital indication of the linearity of the transmitter.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This disclosure claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/365,239, entitled “Transmit Power Control Using Distortion Measurement,” filed on Jul. 16, 2010, the disclosure thereof incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. 
    
    
     FIELD 
     The present disclosure relates generally to the field of electronic data communication. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to controlling the transmitted power level of a signal representing digital data. 
     BACKGROUND 
     The performance of a transmitter depends upon the transmitted power level. As the transmitted power increases beyond a certain level, distortion degrades the transmitted signal. This distortion results in data loss, high bit error rates, and the like. To prevent these effects, power control schemes have been developed. 
     Two common power control schemes are open loop power control and closed loop power control. In both schemes the goal is to maintain a target output power level at the transmitter. However, both schemes have drawbacks. In either scheme, any known power level error must be subtracted from the target power level to avoid exceeding specified maximum power levels. This can result in unnecessarily low transmitted power levels. Furthermore, other factors such as temperature, voltage standing wave ratio (VSWR), and the like can cause large errors, especially for open loop power control schemes. 
     To directly address the distortion problem, pre-distortion schemes have been developed. According to these schemes, the distortion produced by the transmitter is measured, and then applied inversely to the source signal, before feeding the source signal to the transmitter. Both analog and digital pre-distortion schemes have been developed.  FIG. 1  shows a conventional digital pre-distortion scheme. 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , a digital signal source  102  produces a digital signal  104 . A digital pre-distortion (DPD) module  106  pre-distorts digital signal  104  based on DPD information  108  provided by DPD training module  110 . A digital-to-analog converter (DAC)  112  converts pre-distorted digital signal  114  to an analog signal  116 . Transmitter  118  transmits a signal  120  that represents analog signal  116 . Transmitter  118  transmits signal  120  at a power level specified by a gain setting  122  provided by a gain setting module  124 . A receiver  126  receives signal  120  and produces a second analog signal  128  based on signal  120 . An analog-to-digital converter (ADC)  130  converts second analog signal  128  to a second digital signal  132 . DPD training module  110  produces DPD information  108  based on a comparison of digital signals  104  and  132 . 
     SUMMARY 
     In general, in one aspect, an embodiment features an apparatus comprising: a transmitter configured to transmit a signal according to a gain setting, wherein the signal represents a first digital signal; a receiver configured to receive the signal transmitted by the transmitter, and produce a second digital signal based on the signal received by the receiver; a measurement module configured to produce a digital indication of a linearity of the transmitter based on the second digital signal; and a gain setting module configured to control the gain setting in accordance with the digital indication of the linearity of the transmitter. 
     Embodiments of the apparatus can include one or more of the following features. In some embodiments, the digital indication of the linearity of the transmitter comprises at least one of digital pre-distortion information; an error vector magnitude of the signal received by the receiver; and a spectral mask of the signal received by the receiver. In some embodiments, the measurement module comprises: an error vector magnitude detector configured to measure the error vector magnitude. In some embodiments, the measurement module comprises: a spectral mask detector configured to measure the spectral mask. In some embodiments, the gain setting module is further configured to control the gain setting based on at least one of a measured power level of the signal received by the receiver, a voltage of a power supply of the apparatus, and a temperature of the apparatus. In some embodiments, the measurement module comprises: a power detector configured to measure the power level. In some embodiments, the measurement module comprises: a voltage detector configured to measure the voltage of the power supply. In some embodiments, the measurement module comprises: a temperature detector configured to measure the temperature. Some embodiments comprise a digital pre-distortion module configured to produce the first digital signal based on a third digital signal and digital pre-distortion information; wherein the digital indication of the linearity of the transmitter comprises the digital pre-distortion information; and wherein the measurement module includes a digital pre-distortion training module configured to produce the digital pre-distortion information based on the third digital signal and the second digital signal. Some embodiments comprise a digital signal source configured to provide the third digital signal. In some embodiments, the digital pre-distortion module comprises: a digital filter configured to produce the first digital signal based on the third digital signal and a polynomial; wherein the digital pre-distortion information specifies values for coefficients of the polynomial; and wherein the gain setting module is further configured to set the gain setting to a maximum value that keeps the values of the coefficient within predetermined ranges. In some embodiments, the digital pre-distortion information represents differences between corresponding samples of the second digital signal and the third digital signal. Some embodiments comprise a communication device comprising the apparatus. 
     In general, in one aspect, an embodiment features a method comprising: transmitting a signal, from a transmitter, according to a gain setting, wherein the signal represents a first digital signal; receiving the transmitted signal; producing a second digital signal based on the received signal; producing a digital indication of a linearity of the transmitter based on the second digital signal; and controlling the gain setting in accordance with the digital indication of the linearity of the transmitter. 
     Embodiments of the method can include one or more of the following features. In some embodiments, the digital indication of the linearity of the transmitter comprises at least one of digital pre-distortion information; an error vector magnitude; and a spectral mask. Some embodiments comprise controlling the gain setting based on at least one of a measured power level of the signal received by the receiver, a voltage of a power supply of an apparatus comprising the transmitter, and a temperature of the apparatus. Some embodiments comprise producing the first digital signal based on a third digital signal and digital pre-distortion information, wherein the digital indication of the linearity of the transmitter comprises the digital pre-distortion information; and producing the digital pre-distortion information based on the third digital signal and the second digital signal. Some embodiments comprise producing the first digital signal based on the third digital signal and a polynomial, wherein the digital pre-distortion information specifies values for coefficients of the polynomial; and setting the gain setting to a maximum value that keeps the values of the coefficient within predetermined ranges. In some embodiments, the digital pre-distortion information represents differences between corresponding samples of the second digital signal and the third digital signal. 
     In general, in one aspect, an embodiment features non-transitory computer-readable media embodying instructions executable by a computer to perform functions comprising: controlling a gain setting of a transmitter of a signal in accordance with a digital indication of a linearity of the transmitter; wherein the signal represents a first digital signal; wherein the digital indication of the linearity of the transmitter is based on a second digital signal; and wherein the second digital signal is based on the signal. 
     The details of one or more implementations are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features will be apparent from the description and drawings, and from the claims. 
    
    
     
       DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  shows a conventional digital pre-distortion scheme. 
         FIG. 2  shows elements of a communication device according to an embodiment where transmitter gain is controlled according to digital indications of the linearity of the transmitter. 
         FIG. 3  shows a process for the communication device of  FIG. 2  according to one embodiment. 
         FIG. 4  shows elements of a communication device according to an embodiment where transmitter gain is controlled according to digital pre-distortion information. 
         FIG. 5  shows elements of a communication device according to an embodiment where transmitter gain is controlled according to digital pre-distortion information and other factors. 
         FIG. 6  shows elements of a communication device according to an embodiment where transmitter gain is controlled by a processor according to digital pre-distortion information and other factors. 
         FIG. 7  shows elements of a communication device according to an embodiment where transmitter gain is controlled according to measurements of error vector magnitudes and/or spectral masks. 
     
    
    
     The leading digit(s) of each reference numeral used in this specification indicates the number of the drawing in which the reference numeral first appears. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Embodiments of the present disclosure provide transmit power control using distortion measurement. In particular, various embodiments obtain digital indications of the linearity of the transmitter, and control the gain of the transmitter based on those indications. Linearity describes the extent to which the output of the transmitter is proportional to the input. The digital indications of linearity can include digital pre-distortion information, error vector magnitudes, spectral masks, and the like. 
       FIG. 2  shows elements of a communication device  200  according to an embodiment where transmitter gain is controlled according to digital indications of the linearity of the transmitter. Although in the described embodiments the elements of communication device  200  are presented in one arrangement, other embodiments may feature other arrangements. For example, elements of communication device  200  can be implemented in hardware, software, or combinations thereof. Furthermore, communication device  200  can communicate wirelessly or over wireline, optical cable or the like. 
     Referring to  FIG. 2 , communication device  200  includes a digital signal source  202 , a digital-to-analog converter (DAC)  212 , a transmitter  218 , a gain setting module  224 , a receiver  226 , an analog-to-digital converter (ADC)  230 , and a measurement module  210 . 
     Digital signal source  202  produces a digital signal  204 . Digital signal  204  can represent any sort of data. DAC  212  converts digital signal  204  to an analog signal  216 . Transmitter  218  transmits a signal  220  that represents analog signal  216 . For example, signal  220  can be a radio-frequency signal or the like. Transmitter  218  transmits signal  220  at a power level specified by a gain setting  222  provided by gain setting module  224 . Receiver  226  produces a second analog signal  228  based on signal  220 . ADC  230  converts second analog signal  228  to a second digital signal  232 . Measurement module  210  produces a digital indication  208  of the linearity of transmitter  218  based on digital signal  232 . Digital indication  208  can include digital pre-distortion information, error vector magnitudes, spectral masks, and the like. Digital predistortion information describes how the digital signal  204  to be transmitted should be pre-distorted to compensate for the distortion caused by the transmitter  218 . An error vector magnitude is a measure of the difference between the constellation points of the digital signal  204  to be transmitted and the ideal constellation points for the transmitter. A spectral mask describes the spectrum of the transmitted signal  220 , and can be compared to an ideal spectral mask to obtain a measure of the distortion of the transmitter  218 . 
     In contrast to existing power control schemes, gain setting module  224  controls gain setting  222  in accordance with digital indication  208 . In some embodiments, gain setting module  224  controls gain setting  222  in accordance with other factors in addition to digital indication  208 . These factors can include a measured power level of signal  220  received by receiver  226 , a voltage of a power supply of communication device  200 , a temperature of communication device  200 , and the like. 
       FIG. 3  shows a process  300  for communication device  200  of  FIG. 2  according to one embodiment. Although in the described embodiments the elements of process  300  are presented in one arrangement, other embodiments may feature other arrangements. For example, in various embodiments, some or all of the elements of process  300  can be executed in a different order, concurrently, and the like. 
     Referring to  FIG. 3 , at  302  transmitter  218  transmits signal  220  according to gain setting  222 . Signal  220  represents digital signal  204 . At  304 , receiver  226  receives signal  220 . At  306 , ADC  230  produces digital signal  232  based on signal  220 . At  308 , measurement module  210  produces digital indication  208  of the linearity of transmitter  218  based on digital signal  232 . At  310 , gain setting module  224  controls gain setting  222  in accordance with digital indication  208  of the linearity of transmitter  218 . 
       FIG. 4  shows elements of a communication device  400  according to an embodiment where transmitter gain is controlled according to digital pre-distortion information. Although in the described embodiments the elements of communication device  400  are presented in one arrangement, other embodiments may feature other arrangements. For example, elements of communication device  400  can be implemented in hardware, software, or combinations thereof. Furthermore, communication device  400  can communicate wirelessly or over wireline, optical cable or the like. 
     Referring to  FIG. 4 , communication device  400  includes a digital signal source  402 , a digital pre-distortion (DPD) module  406 , a digital-to-analog converter (DAC)  412 , a transmitter  418 , a gain setting module  424 , a receiver  426 , an analog-to-digital converter (ADC)  430 , and measurement module  210 . In communication device  400 , measurement module  210  includes a DPD training module  410 , and the digital indication of linearity  208  produced by measurement module  210  includes DPD information  408 . 
     Digital signal source  402  produces a digital signal  404 . Digital signal  404  can represent any sort of data. DPD module  406  pre-distorts digital signal  404  based on DPD information  408  provided by DPD training module  410 . DAC  412  converts pre-distorted digital signal  414  to an analog signal  416 . Transmitter  418  transmits a signal  420  that represents analog signal  416 . For example, signal  420  can be a radio-frequency signal or the like. Transmitter  418  transmits signal  420  at a power level specified by a gain setting  422  provided by gain setting module  424 . Receiver  426  produces a second analog signal  428  based on signal  420 . ADC  430  converts second analog signal  428  to a second digital signal  432 . DPD training module  410  produces DPD information  408  based on a comparison of digital signals  402  and  432 . 
     In contrast to existing power control schemes, gain setting module  424  generates gain setting  422  based on DPD information  408 . In some embodiments, DPD module  406  includes a digital filter configured to produce digital signal  414  based on digital signal  404  and a polynomial. In such embodiments, DPD information  408  specifies values for coefficients of the polynomial, and gain setting module  424  generates gain setting  422  based on the values of those coefficients. For example, gain setting module  424  can set gain setting  422  to the maximum value that keeps the coefficient values within predetermined ranges. As another example, gain setting module  424  can implement a cost function or the like to produce a single value based on the coefficient values, and can set gain setting  422  to the maximum value that keeps that value within a predetermined range. In some embodiments, DPD information  408  represents differences between corresponding samples of digital signal  414  and digital signal  404 . In such embodiments, gain setting module  424  can set gain setting  422  to the maximum value that keeps the differences within a predetermined range. In some embodiments, DPD information  408  is conveyed in other ways. In various embodiments, gain setting module  424  can set gain setting  422  using an iterative approach, or in one shot. 
       FIG. 5  shows elements of a communication device  500  according to an embodiment where transmitter gain is controlled according to digital pre-distortion information and other factors. Although in the described embodiments the elements of communication device  500  are presented in one arrangement, other embodiments may feature other arrangements. For example, elements of communication device  500  can be implemented in hardware, software, or combinations thereof. Furthermore, communication device  500  can communicate wirelessly or over wireline, optical cable or the like. 
     Referring to  FIG. 5 , communication device  500  includes a gain setting module  524 , measurement module  210  includes DPD training module  410 , a power detector  534  and other detectors  536 , and the digital indication of linearity  208  produced by measurement module  210  includes DPD information  408 , a power level indication  538 , and indications  540  of other measurements. The remaining elements of communication device  500  are described above with reference to  FIG. 4 . Referring again to  FIG. 5 , power detector  534  measures a power level of signal  420  received by receiver  426 , and provides an indication  538  of the power level to gain setting module  524 . Other detectors  536  measure other factors, such as a voltage of a power supply of communication device  500 , a temperature of communication device  500 , and the like, and provide indications  540  of these measurements to gain setting module  524 . Gain setting module  524  generates gain setting  422  based on DPD information  408  and indications  538  and  540 . Gain setting module  524  can use the indication  538  of the power level to implement maximum and/or minimum power levels. A maximum power level can be set, for example, to comply with FCC restrictions. A minimum power level can be set, for example, to try a different modulation scheme/data rate when the power level goes below the minimum level. Indications  540  can also be used to adjust the output power level, for example to allow for ongoing gain adjustments between DPD training sessions. For example the gain can be changed in response to a temperature change, according to a known relationship between temperature and gain, to maintain a constant power level. 
       FIG. 6  shows elements of a communication device  600  according to an embodiment where transmitter gain is controlled by a processor according to digital pre-distortion information and other factors. Although in the described embodiments the elements of communication device  600  are presented in one arrangement, other embodiments may feature other arrangements. For example, elements of communication device  600  can be implemented in hardware, software, or combinations thereof. Furthermore, communication device  600  can communicate wirelessly or over wireline, optical cable or the like. 
     Referring to  FIG. 6 , communication device  600  includes a gain setting module  624 ; measurement module  210  includes DPD training module  410 , power detector  534 , other detectors  536 , and a processor  602 ; and the digital indication of linearity  208  produced by measurement module  210  includes a gain control signal  604  that is based on DPD information  408 , a power level indication  538 , and indications  540  of other measurements. The remaining elements of communication device  600  are described above with reference to  FIGS. 4 and 5 . Referring again to  FIG. 6 , DPD training module  410  provides DPD information  408  to processor  602 . Power detector  534  measures a power level of signal  420  received by receiver  426 , and provides an indication  538  of the power level to processor  602 . Other detectors  536  measure other factors, such as a voltage of a power supply of communication device  600 , a temperature of communication device  600 , and the like, and provide indications  540  of these measurements to processor  602 . Processor  602  provides a gain control signal  604  to gain setting module  524  based on DPD information  408  and indications  538  and  540 . Gain setting module  524  generates gain setting  422  based on gain control signal  604 . Processor  602  performs calculations based on based on DPD information  408  and indications  538  and  540 , while gain setting module  624  provides a hardware interface between processor  602  and transmitter  418 . 
       FIG. 7  shows elements of a communication device  700  according to an embodiment where transmitter gain is controlled according to measurements of error vector magnitudes and/or spectral masks. Although in the described embodiments the elements of communication device  700  are presented in one arrangement, other embodiments may feature other arrangements. For example, elements of communication device  700  can be implemented in hardware, software, or combinations thereof. Furthermore, communication device  700  can communicate wirelessly or over wireline, optical cable or the like. 
     Referring to  FIG. 7 , communication device  700  includes a gain setting module  724 ; measurement module  210  includes power detector  534 , other detectors  536 , and an error vector magnitude/spectral mask (EVM/SM) detector  702 ; and the digital indication of linearity  208  produced by measurement module  210  includes power level indication  538 , indications  540  of other measurements, and EVM/SM measurements  708 . The remaining elements of communication device  700  are described above with reference to  FIGS. 4 and 5 . Referring again to  FIG. 7 , EVM/SM detector  702  measures an error vector magnitude and/or spectral mask of signal  420  received by receiver  426 , and provides an indication  708  of the measurements to gain setting module  724 . Gain setting module  724  generates gain setting  422  based on indication  708  and indications  538  and  540 . For example, gain setting module  724  can set gain setting  422  to the maximum gain that keeps the EVM and/or spectral mask within predetermined requirements. Gain setting in this manner can be implemented using an iterative or one-shot approach, and can be combined with indications  538  and  540  to limit the maximum and/or minimum transmitter power. Indications  540  can be used to adjust those maximum/minimum values. 
     Various embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented in digital electronic circuitry, or in computer hardware, firmware, software, or in combinations thereof. Embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented in a computer program product tangibly embodied in a computer-readable storage device for execution by a programmable processor. The described processes can be performed by a programmable processor executing a program of instructions to perform functions by operating on input data and generating output. Embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented in one or more computer programs that are executable on a programmable system including at least one programmable processor coupled to receive data and instructions from, and to transmit data and instructions to, a data storage system, at least one input device, and at least one output device. Each computer program can be implemented in a high-level procedural or object-oriented programming language, or in assembly or machine language if desired; and in any case, the language can be a compiled or interpreted language. Suitable processors include, by way of example, both general and special purpose microprocessors. Generally, processors receive instructions and data from a read-only memory and/or a random access memory. Generally, a computer includes one or more mass storage devices for storing data files. Such devices include magnetic disks, such as internal hard disks and removable disks, magneto-optical disks; optical disks, and solid-state disks. Storage devices suitable for tangibly embodying computer program instructions and data include all forms of non-volatile memory, including by way of example semiconductor memory devices, such as EPROM, EEPROM, and flash memory devices; magnetic disks such as internal hard disks and removable disks; magneto-optical disks; and CD-ROM disks. Any of the foregoing can be supplemented by, or incorporated in, ASICs (application-specific integrated circuits). 
     A number of implementations have been described. Nevertheless, various modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the disclosure. Accordingly, other implementations are within the scope of the following claims.