Apparatus and methods for dynamic management of antenna arrays
Apparatus and methods for dynamic management of antenna arrays are provided herein. In certain configurations, a radio frequency (RF) system includes an antenna array including a plurality of antenna elements. The RF system further includes a plurality of signal conditioning circuits operatively associated with the antenna elements, and an antenna array management circuit that generates a plurality of enable signals that individually control activation of the signal conditioning circuits to dynamically manage the antenna array. The array of antenna elements can be dynamically managed to control a trade-off between power consumption, off-beam capture, and communication range/rate.
1. A module for a communications device, the module comprising:
a substrate;
a first antenna array formed on the substrate, the first antenna array including a first plurality of antenna elements;
a semiconductor die attached to the substrate and including a plurality of signal conditioning circuits, each signal conditioning circuit including at least one of a transmit conditioning circuit or a receive conditioning circuit, each conditioning circuit operatively associated with a corresponding one of the first plurality of antenna elements, and the semiconductor die further including an antenna array management circuit configured to individually control activation of the plurality of signal conditioning circuits to dynamically activate a corresponding pattern of activated antenna elements; and
tuning control circuitry configured to dynamically tune an input impedance or an output impedance of the activated signal conditioning circuits.
2. The module of claim 1 further comprising a second antenna array formed on the substrate, the second antenna array comprising a second plurality of antenna elements, wherein the first antenna array is formed on a first surface of the substrate and the second antenna array is formed on a second surface of the substrate, and the antenna array management circuit is further configured to dynamically manage the second antenna array.
3. The module of claim 2 wherein the semiconductor die is attached to a major surface of the substrate, and the second antenna array includes a plurality of cavity-based antennas along an edge of the substrate.
4. The module of claim 2 wherein the first and second antenna arrays point in orthogonal directions.
5. The module of claim 1 wherein at least some of the plurality of signal conditioning circuits include a receive conditioning circuit including a receive amplifier, and the tuning control circuitry is configured to tune an input impedance of the receive amplifiers.
6. The module of claim 1 wherein at least some of the plurality of signal conditioning circuits include a transmit conditioning circuit including a transmit amplifier, and the tuning control circuitry is configured to tune an output impedance of the transmit amplifiers.
7. The module of claim 1 wherein each signal conditioning circuit further includes one or more radio frequency filters, attenuators, phase shifters, or switches.
8. A radio frequency system comprising:
an antenna array including a plurality of antenna elements;
a plurality of signal conditioning circuits, each signal conditioning circuit including one or more of a transmit conditioning circuit or a receive conditioning circuit operatively associated with a corresponding one of the plurality of antenna elements;
an antenna array management circuit configured to individually control activation of the plurality of signal conditioning circuits to dynamically activate a corresponding pattern of activated antenna elements; and
tuning control circuitry configured to dynamically tune an impedance of the activated signal conditioning circuits.
9. The radio frequency system of claim 8 wherein at least some of the plurality of signal conditioning circuits include a receive conditioning circuit including a low noise amplifier, and wherein the tuning control circuitry is configured to dynamically tune an input impedance of the low noise amplifier.
10. The radio frequency system of claim 8 wherein at least some of the plurality of signal conditioning circuits include a transmit conditioning circuit including a power amplifier, and wherein the tuning control circuitry is configured to dynamically tune an output impedance of the power amplifier.
11. The radio frequency system of claim 8 wherein the antenna array management circuit controls an activation state of the plurality of signal conditioning circuits based on one or more inputs indicative of a communications link of the antenna array.
12. The radio frequency system of claim 11 wherein the one or more inputs includes an achieved data rate of the communications link.
13. The radio frequency system of claim 11 wherein the one or more inputs includes an observed error rate of the communications link.
14. The radio frequency system of claim 11 wherein the one or more inputs includes a receive signal strength indicator.
15. The radio frequency system of claim 11 wherein the one or more inputs includes an indicator of geo-positioning.
16. The radio frequency system of claim 8 wherein each signal conditioning circuit further includes one or more radio frequency filters, attenuators, phase shifters, or switches.
17. A method of antenna array management, the method comprising:
using a plurality of antenna elements of an antenna array for wirelessly communicating a plurality of radio frequency signals, the antenna array including a plurality of antenna elements each wirelessly communicating a corresponding one of the plurality of radio frequency signals;
conditioning the plurality of radio frequency signals of the plurality of antenna elements using a plurality of signal conditioning circuits each including one or more of a transmit conditioning circuit or a receive conditioning circuit and associated with a respective one of the plurality of radio frequency signals;
individually controlling activation of each of the plurality of signal conditioning circuits using a corresponding one of a plurality of enable signals to control a pattern of activated antenna elements of the antenna array; and
dynamically tuning an impedance of the activated signal conditioning circuits using tuning control circuitry.
18. The method of claim 17 wherein individually controlling activation of each of the plurality of signal conditioning circuits includes dynamically adjusting a transmit or receive beam.
19. The method of claim 17 wherein at least some of the plurality of signal conditioning circuits include a receive conditioning circuit including a low noise amplifier, and the tuning control circuitry is configured to dynamically tune an input impedance of the low noise amplifier.
20. The method of claim 17 wherein at least some of the plurality of signal conditioning circuits include a transmit conditioning circuit including a power amplifier, and the tuning control circuitry is configured to dynamically tune an output impedance of the power amplifier.