Patent ID: 6865235

Claim:
A modulator capable of supporting two or more different modes of operation, each mode of operation corresponding to a different type of modulation, the modulator comprising: an m-level phase shift keying (m-PSK) modulator including an input for receiving a serial data stream, and an output, m being an integer; a phase rotator operatively coupled to the output of the M-PSK modulator for rotating a phase of an output signal generated by the m-PSK modulator by at least one of a first predetermined value corresponding to a first modulation type in a first mode of operation and a second predetermined value corresponding to a second modulation type in a second mode of operation; a pulse shaping filter operatively coupled to the phase rotator; and a controller operatively coupled to the phase rotator for selectively switching the modulator between the first and second modes of operations; wherein the phase rotator comprises: an adder including first and second inputs and an output, the first input of the adder being operatively coupled to the output of the m-PSK modulator; and a ramp generator operatively coupled to the second input of the adder, wherein the ramp generator is responsive to the controller for selectively generating a phase ramp signal having at least one of a first slope in the first mode of operation and a second slope in the second mode of operation.