Local oscillator spur suppression in a phased array system

1. A system comprising:

local oscillator spur suppression circuitry operable to generate a phase adjustment value in view of a plurality of spurs associated with a plurality of phase locked loops (PLL);

local oscillator generation circuitry operable to generate a local oscillator signal at a determined phase, the determined phase equal to a (a) reference phase that is offset by (b) the phase adjustment value; and

beamforming circuitry operable to:

receive the phase adjustment value; and

generate a beamforming coefficient to apply to a to-be-transmitted signal that is to be upconverted by the local oscillator signal and transmitted via an antenna element of a phased array, wherein the generation of the beamforming coefficient is to reduce an effect of the plurality of spurs based on the phase adjustment value and a location of the particular antenna element within the phased array.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein:

the location of the antenna element is indicated by one or more array indices assigned to the antenna element; and

each of the one or more array indices is associated with a respective axis along which antenna elements of the phased array are distributed.

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the generation of the phase adjustment value is based on a desired directionality of an antenna lobe that results from leakage of the local oscillator signal into the to-be-transmitted signal.

4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the local oscillator spur suppression circuitry is operable to vary the phase adjustment value over time such that an antenna lobe that results from leakage of the local oscillator signal into the to-be-transmitted signal is spread over a range of angles over time.

5. The system of claim 1 , wherein the local oscillator spur suppression circuitry comprises a phase shifter circuitry operable to shift a phase of a reference signal by the phase adjustment value to generate a phase-adjusted reference signal.

6. The system of claim 5 , wherein the local oscillator generation circuitry comprises a phase locked loop operable to phase lock to the phase-adjusted reference signal.

7. The system of claim 1 , wherein the phase adjustment value is a pseudorandom value.

8. The system of claim 1 , wherein the generation of the beamforming coefficient comprises adjustment of a reference beamforming coefficient by an amount corresponding to the phase adjustment value.

9. The system of claim 8 , wherein the reference beamforming coefficient corresponds to a main antenna lobe in a desired direction when the phase adjustment value is zero.

10. The system of claim 1 , wherein the antenna element is a horn and the phased array comprises a plurality of horns formed in a single piece of material.

11. A method comprising:

generating, by local oscillator spur suppression circuitry, a phase adjustment value;

generating, by local oscillator generator circuitry, a local oscillator signal at a determined phase, the determined phase equal to a reference phase that is offset by the phase adjustment value in view of a plurality of spurs associated with a plurality of phase locked loops (PLL); and

receiving, by beamforming circuitry, the phase adjustment value;

generating, by the beamforming circuitry, a beamforming coefficient to be applied to a to-be-transmitted signal that is to be upconverted by the local oscillator signal and transmitted via an antenna element of a phased array, wherein the generating of the beamforming coefficient is to reduce an effect of the plurality of spurs based on the phase adjustment value and a location of the antenna element within the phased array; and

applying the beamforming coefficient to the signal to be upconverted.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein:

the location of the antenna element is indicated by one or more array indices assigned to the antenna element; and

each of the one or more array indices is associated with a respective axis along which antenna elements of the phased array are distributed.

13. The method of claim 11 , wherein the generating the phase adjustment value is based on a desired directionality of an antenna lobe that results from leakage of the local oscillator signal into the to-be-transmitted signal.

14. The method of claim 11 , comprising carrying, by the local oscillator spur suppression circuitry, the phase adjustment value over time such that an antenna lobe that results from leakage of the local oscillator signal into the to-be-transmitted signal is spread over a range of angles over time.

15. The method of claim 11 , wherein the local oscillator spur suppression circuitry comprises a phase shifter circuitry and the method comprises the phase shifter shifting a phase of a reference signal by the phase adjustment value to generate a phase-adjusted reference signal.

16. The method of claim 15 , wherein the local oscillator generation circuitry comprises a phase locked loop and the method comprises the phase locked loop locking to the phase-adjusted reference signal.

17. The method of claim 11 , wherein the phase adjustment value is a pseudorandom value.

18. The method of claim 11 , wherein the generating the beamforming coefficient comprises adjusting a reference beamforming coefficient by an amount corresponding to the phase adjustment value.

19. The method of claim 18 , wherein the reference beamforming coefficient corresponds to a main antenna lobe in a desired direction when the phase adjustment value is zero.

20. The method of claim 11 , wherein the antenna element is a horn and the phased array comprises a plurality of horns formed in a single piece of material.