Patent ID: 7239678

Claim:
A control word generator for an automatic gain control (AGC) circuit comprising: a first circuit configured to determine how much alteration in a first level of attenuation is needed to alter an input signal power such that nominal power is achieved, said alteration of the first level of attenuation being expressed as an error signal, said first circuit including a register for storing a value corresponding to the nominal power and a multiplier for generating the error signal as a function of the product of the input signal and the value stored in the register; a second circuit configured to generate a control word which will cause sufficient alteration of the first level of attenuation to reduce the error signal to zero, the second circuit including a comparator configured to iteratively compare the error signal with a value derived from an upper limit of the AGC circuit, said value derived from the upper limit changing with each iteration in a manner that reduces said error signal; and a third circuit configured to store the control word so determined for every level of input power, said circuitry to store the control word including a plurality of control words spanning an asymmetric dynamic range.