Digital Attenuator Circuits and Methods for Use thereof

1 . A method for controlling an attenuator circuit, where the attenuator circuit includes a shunt attenuation component with a first plurality of selectable legs and a series attenuation component with a second plurality of selectable legs, the attenuator circuit providing digitally-selectable impedance values in discrete steps, said method comprising:

stepping through a first plurality of attenuation codes in said series component; and

stepping through a second plurality of attenuation codes in said shunt component, wherein attenuation is adjusted with said first and second plurality of attenuation codes by switching only one of said shunt attenuator component and series attenuator component at each attenuation step.

2 . The method of claim 1 in which only one of said selectable legs is switched at each attenuation step.

3 . The circuit of claim 1 in which each of said selectable legs is selectable by an associated, respective transistor, each said selectable leg having an associated impedance.

4 . The method of claim 1 in which the first and second pluralities of selectable legs comprise binary weighted impedance arrays.

5 . The method of claim 1 in which stepping through the first and second plurality of attenuation codes includes:

alternating between adjusting the series component and adjusting the shunt component until the shunt component reaches a predetermined attenuation level; and

after the shunt component reaches the pre-determined attenuation level, stepping through a portion of dynamic range using only the series component.

6 . The method of claim 1 in which each attenuation step is accompanied by a change in output impedance of less than five percent.

7 . The method of claim 1 in which each of said attenuation codes of the first plurality of attenuation codes corresponds to a respective binary word, the respective binary words having fewer bits than a number of selectable legs in the second plurality of selectable legs.

8 . The method of claim 7 in which stepping through the first plurality of attenuation codes comprises:

applying said respective binary words to a first portion of the second plurality of selectable legs and then shifting to a second portion of the second plurality of selectable legs, the second portion including a more significant set of selectable legs than in the first portion.

9 . The method of claim 1 wherein each of said attenuation codes of the second plurality of attenuation codes corresponds to a respective binary word, the respective binary words having fewer bits than a number of selectable legs in the first plurality of selectable legs.

10 . A system for controlling an attenuator circuit, where the attenuator circuit includes a shunt attenuation component with a first plurality of selectable legs and a series attenuation component with a second plurality of selectable legs, the attenuator circuit providing digitally-selectable impedance values in discrete steps, said system comprising:

means for adjusting attenuation in discrete steps by applying a first pattern that alternates between switching at least one leg of said first plurality of selectable legs and switching at least one leg of said second plurality of selectable legs;

means for applying said first pattern until one of said shunt component and said series component reaches a predetermined level of impedance; and

means for adjusting attenuation over a range of gain in a plurality of discrete steps by applying a second pattern that switches selectable legs only in one of said shunt component and said series component.

11 . The system of claim 10 in which the second pattern switches selectable legs in the series component.

12 . The system of claim 10 in which the second pattern switches selectable legs in the shunt component.

13 . The system of claim 10 in which the first and second pluralities of selectable legs comprise respective binary weighted impedance arrays.

14 . The system of claim 10 wherein each of said selectable legs is selectable by an associated, respective transistor, each said selectable leg having an associated impedance.

15 . The system of claim 10 further including:

digital control logic operable to measure a power level of a Radio Frequency (RF) signal and to provide digital signals to said attenuator circuit to achieve an attenuation of said RF signal based at least in part on said measured power level.

16 . The system of claim 10 in which said attenuator circuit is arranged as a voltage divider.

17 . A system for controlling an attenuator circuit, where the attenuator circuit includes a shunt attenuation component with a first plurality of selectable legs and a series attenuation component with a second plurality of selectable legs, the attenuator circuit providing digitally-selectable impedance values in discrete steps, said system comprising:

a control system that uses digital signals to select ones of the first and second plurality of selectable legs, the control system performing the following actions:

stepping through a dynamic range using a plurality of attenuation steps, wherein only one of said shunt attenuation component and said series attenuation component is switched at a given attenuation step, and wherein each attenuation step experiences no more than a five percent change in output impedance of the attenuator circuit.

18 . The system of claim 17 in which only one of said selectable legs is switched at each attenuation step.

19 . The system of claim 17 in which the first and second pluralities of selectable legs comprise respective binary weighted impedance arrays.

20 . The circuit of claim 17 in which the digital control logic measures a power level of a Radio Frequency (RF) signal and provides said digital signals to the attenuator circuit to achieve an attenuation of said RF signal based at least in part on said measured power level.

21 . The system of claim 17 wherein said attenuator circuit is arranged as a voltage divider.

22 . The system of claim 17 in which stepping through the dynamic range comprises:

alternating between adjusting the series component and adjusting the shunt component until the shunt component reaches a predetermined attenuation level; and

after the shunt component reaches the pre-determined attenuation level, stepping through a portion of dynamic range using only the series component.