Two steps of the PLL locking process

The ADRF6820 is a highly integrated demodulator and frequency synthesizer ideally suited for advanced communication systems. It includes a wideband I/Q demodulator, a fractional-N/integer-N phase-locked loop (PLL), and a low phase noise multicore voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO). The multi-core VCO covers the fundamental frequency range of 2800MHz to 5700MHz. The LO output range is 356.25 MHz to 2850 MHz and dividers (2, 4, and 8) can be used.

Each VCO core contains multiple overlapping sub-bands to cover hundreds of MHz of frequency range. By setting Bit 0 in Register 0x44 and Bit 7 in Register 0x45 to 0, the PLL automatically performs VCO band calibration and supports selection of the optimum VCO.

The PLL locking process involves two steps:

1. The band is automatically selected by the inner loop (coarse adjustment). During register configuration, the PLL first switches and configures according to the internal loop. Then an algorithm drives the PLL to find the correct VCO band.

2. Fine tune through the outer loop. The PLL switches to the outer loop. The phase detector and charge pump work in conjunction with the external loop filter to form a closed loop, ensuring that the PLL locks to the desired frequency. Calibration requires approximately 94,208 phase-frequency detector (PFD) cycles; for a 30.72 MHz fPFD, this corresponds to 3.07 ms.

After the calibration is complete, the feedback operation of the PLL locks the VCO to the correct frequency. The locking speed depends on the nonlinear cycle behavior. The PLL total lock time consists of two parts: VCO band calibration time and PLL cycle time. The VCO band calibration time only depends on the PFD frequency; the higher the PFD frequency, the shorter the locking time. The PLL cycle time is determined by the loop bandwidth achieved. When the loop bandwidth is narrower than the PFD frequency, a fractional-N/Integer-N synthesizer will have a cycle slip. The phase error at the input of the PFD accumulates too quickly, the PLL is too late to correct, and the charge pump momentarily draws charge in the wrong direction, dramatically shortening the lock time. If the ratio of the PFD frequency to the loop bandwidth is increased, the cycle slip will increase; for a given PFD cycle, increasing the loop bandwidth will shorten the cycle slip time.

Therefore, when using auto-calibration mode, the total lock time may be too long for some applications. This application note proposes a solution that significantly shortens the locking time by manually selecting the frequency band. The steps are as follows:

1. Power up the device according to the register initialization sequence shown in Table 1. By default, the chip operates in automatic band calibration mode. Register 0x02, Register 0x03, and Register 0x04 are set according to the desired LO frequency.

Table 1. Register initialization sequence

2. Read the lock detection (LD) status bit. If LD is 1, it indicates that the VCO is locked.

3. Read back Bits[5:0] of Register 0x46 through the Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI). Assuming that the value is A, the register values ​​corresponding to all required LO frequencies in the system are saved to the EEPROM. This allows you to determine the table of frequencies and associated register values ​​(see Table 2).

Table 2. Lookup table

4. To shorten the LD time, place the ADRF6820 in manual band selection mode and program it manually using the data collected in step 3. The manual programming steps are as follows:

a) Set Register 0x44 to 0x0001: The band selection algorithm is disabled. b) Set Bit 7 of Register 0x45 to 1 to set the VCO band source to the saved band information instead of the band calculation algorithm. Bit 0[6:0] in register 0x45 is set with the register value recorded in step 3. c) Select the appropriate VCO frequency range via Bits[2:0] of Register 0x22 (see Table 3). Table 3. VCO frequency range

d) Update Register 0x02, Register 0x03, and Register 0x04 according to the desired frequency. Register 0x02 sets the divider INT value, which is the integer part of the VCO frequency/PFD; Register 0x03 sets the divider FRAC value, which is (VCO frequency/PFD − INT) × MOD; Register 0x04 sets the divider MOD value, which is PFD / Frequency resolution. e) Monitor the LD to check if the frequency is locked. For example, PFD = 30.72MHz and LO = 1600 MHz.

Table 4. Manual Band Calibration Register Sequence

Figures 1 and 2 show the lock detection time in the automatic band calibration mode and the manual band calibration mode, respectively. In Figure 2, a high level on line 1 (lock detection) indicates that the PLL is locked. Line 2 (LE) represents the LE pin and is a trigger signal. Note: The lock detection time must be read from low to high. In automatic band calibration mode, the locking time is approximately 4.5 ms; in manual band calibration mode, the locking time is approximately 360 μs. The data was measured with a 20 kHz loop filter bandwidth and 250 μA charge pump current configuration.

Figure 1. Lockdown time in automatic band calibration mode, tested with a signal source analyzer

Figure 2. Lockdown time in manual band calibration mode with oscilloscope test

in conclusion

With manual band selection, the locking time is reduced from a typical value of 4.5 ms to a typical value of 360 μs. For each frequency, first use the automatic band selection to determine the best band value and save it. Because the optimum band value varies from device to device, this procedure must be performed for each ADRF6820. The VCO band does not need to be updated due to temperature changes.

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