Phase-hit Immunity Methods for High Speed Communication Systems

Youming Qin, Frank Matsumoto, David Pham, and Chacko Easaw

Harris Stratex Networks Inc. 120 Rose Orchard Way, San Jose, California 95134, USA Email: oc o m
Abstract Phase-hits can cause burst error and synchronization problems in high speed communication systems. The root cause of phase-hits results from the material's thermal expansion mismatch. The Coefficient of Thermal Expansion (CTE) is an important material characteristic to consider. To reduce the CTE effect, an oven-controlled synthesizer is presented in this paper. By adding a Proportionally Controlled Heater onto the synthesizer module, the temperature variation of the synthesizer module is reduced by warming up the module only at cold temperatures. Since phase-hits usually happen during the temperature transition from room to cold, this method is especially attractive when the available DC power supply is limited. It is also emphasized in this paper that a clean PCB assembly process, high quality capacitors and other techniques, such as a PCB cut-out under the VCO, are also essential for phase-hit immunity. Test results show that by applying the methods presented in this paper, the phase-hit problem can be well controlled. Index Terms Phase jitter, phase noise, phase locked oscillators, voltage controlled oscillator, quadrature amplitude modulation, digital communication.
I. INTRODUCTION

High speed digital wireless transmission systems, such as point-to-point, point-to-multipoint, and local multipoint distribution services, usually employ sophisticated modulation schemes from QPSK (Quadrature Phase Shift Keying) to 128 QAM (Quadrature Amplitude Modulation) to increase the system spectral efficiency, i.e. bit/s/Hz. These modulations utilize a stable, low phase noise frequency source to manipulate the digital data in the manner of phase and magnitude variations with a scheduled sequence. If the phase of the frequency source is disturbed by an unexpected event, wrong information could be generated and the communication medium could be interrupted. If the phase of the frequency source changes abruptly due to environment temperature fluctuations and interrupts the communication, then a phasehit occurs. A phase-hit usually happens during temperature transitions due to the component physical changes or movements inside the communication system, in most cases, inside the local oscillator (LO) module. Contemporary digital communication systems usually employ a phase locked oscillator or a synthesizer. Once locked, the output of the oscillator produces a continuous phase sine wave with the same frequency stability as the reference oscillator. To maintain the oscillator output signal phase continuity all components within the

oscillator must behave stably over the temperature range of 33C to +550C, the standard industrial temperature range for an outdoor unit (ODU). Any physical movement of a component inside the oscillator could break the phase continuity of the signal and generate phase-hits. Depending on the level of the phase interruptions and the level of the modulation, the phase-hit could generate different levels of problems in a communication system. A significant phase-hit could cause system synchronization losses, whereas a small phase change would generate only bit errors or no impact to the system at all. Lower level modulations can, in general, tolerate more phase disturbances. QPSK, for example, can tolerate 45 phase disturbances, whereas a 128 QAM modulated system can only stand for 5.1 phase changes. The phase variation tolerance will be further reduced when the phase noise of the synthesizer is considered. Many efforts have been made to control phase-hits [1]-[5]. Invention [3] uses receiver end compensation to remove phase-hits before the decision circuit of the demodulator by using a feed-forward technique. Reference [4] described a method of improving phase noise and removing phase-hits in the frequency synthesizer based upon a third-order loop circuit. The third-order loop follows frequency changes better than the second-order loop but often suffers convergence problem. This invention tries to circumvent the problem using a sampling type of phase detector and third-order loop filter with two integrators and a wider loop gain. Paper [5] shows the dielectric resonator oscillator (DRO) can improve phasehit performance, but the tuning range of the synthesizer is relatively narrow. In this paper, we will discuss, from a practical point of view, the root causes of phase-hits and present some of the methods to control phase-hits.
II. THE ROOT CAUSE OF PHASE-HITS

Most materials, except for water, expand when they are heated and shrink when they are chilled. A typical high performance synthesizer module may consist of a PCB, an offthe-shelf VCO, metal shield and a number of other electronic components. These materials usually have different coefficient of thermal expansion, creating thermal expansion mismatch. The mismatch can build up large mechanical stresses. If the energy is released suddenly, it can result in a phase-hit or an abrupt change in the phase of the signal.

1-4244-0688-9/07/$20.00 C 2007 IEEE

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There are many possible ways to create phase-hits in a synthesizer module. Here are a few typical causes. A. VCO PCB and Synthesizer PCB Mismatch A high performance synthesizer usually uses a purchased VCO, which has a standard size of 0.5 inches X 0.5 inches. This component has its own PCB and EMI shield. If the PCB of the VCO has different material from the synthesizers', the CTE mismatch can deform the PCB as indicated by the dashed line in the Fig. 1, and the stress may be accumulated during temperature cycling. Once the stress is released, the sudden mechanical change can create a jump in phase and interrupt the data transmission.

mismatch between the flux residuals and PCB makes the flux crack. The electronic components on the board then transfer the mechanical vibrations into electrical noise creating phasehits.
III. PHASE-HITS IMMUNITY METHODS

Per our discussion above, the phase-hit immunity methods are summarized below: A. A Clean VCO and Synthesizer Assembly
A clean VCO and synthesizer assembly is important to minimize phase-hits. The VCO vendor must have a well controlled VCO assembly process to ensure a "clean" component for the synthesizer module. A poor process will result in excess flux and solder residuals on the board. The finished synthesizer assembly should also be well washed to remove any remaining flux and solder residuals. B. High Quality Capacitors Film type capacitors should be used for synthesizer loop filter applications when phase-hits are considered. The unique construction of the film type capacitors allow it to have better phase-hit performance compared to that of the multi-layer ceramic capacitors. Yet, a film type capacitor usually has a larger size and is more expensive than a ceramic capacitor. It is a trade-off between price, size and phase-hit performance. Tantalum type capacitors are also acceptable in most cases. It is also important to carefully evaluate purchased VCOs to guide the VCO vendor to use high quality capacitors in their designs. C. PCB Cut-out If the CTE mismatch of the VCO module and synthesizer PCB is a concern, then a cut-out under the synthesizer PCB portion or a cavity underneath the VCO, as shown in Fig. 2, can minimize the mechanical stress during temperature changes. D. Oven Controlled Synthesizer Since the phase-hits result from the environment temperature changes, it is natural to consider a way to minimize the temperature fluctuations or to maintain the synthesizer module at a constant temperature. Unlike oven controlled crystal oscillators, a synthesizer module usually has a much greater size and weight. It may take lots of DC power to heat up the whole module to a maximum temperature and maintain the maximum temperature over the whole temperature range as an oven controlled oscillator does. Since the phase-hits in most cases happen during the temperature transitions from room to cold, the oven controlled synthesizer uses a Proportionally Controlled Heater inside the synthesizer shield to heat up the whole synthesizer module only at cold temperature, and turn offthe heater once the temperature hits a pre-selected limit. Fig. 2 presents this idea and Fig. 3 is the

VCO

F CB

~Shield
C)

(~~~~~--

Fig. 1. A VCO module is mounted on a synthesizer PCB. The dashed line indicates the distortion from the CTE mismatch of the two parts.

B. PCB and Shield CTE Mismatch

High performance microwave synthesizers usually have an aluminum shield to prevent electromagnetic wave radiations. The shield is mounted on the PCB or an enclosure secured tightly with screws as shown in Fig. 1. Energy could be accumulated during temperature changes due to CTE mismatch of the aluminum shield and the PCB material. Once the screws cannot hold the expansion forces, the energy is then released abruptly creating phase-hits. C. Ceramic Capacitors CTE mismatches can happen inside ceramic capacitors. To reduce the size and to increase the capacitance, the state of the art technology uses fine multi-layer designs. The metal and ceramic materials have different expansion coefficients and can create internal stress in the component. The CTE mismatches can develop micro-cracks during temperature transitions and change the capacitance value abruptly. If the capacitor is used in a VCO resonant circuit or in a phase lock loop circuit, the abrupt change in capacitance will result in a shift in phase, causing phase-hits. D. Solder and Flux Residuals The solder residuals left on the PCB are usually in the shape of solder balls. These small solder balls expand or shrink during temperature changes causing phase-hits. Solder flux residuals after the reflow assembly process can create phase-hits too. Most solder fluxes are rosin based. During temperature change from room to cold, the CTE

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circuit. In our applications, the DC input voltage may vary from 26VDC to 6OVDC and input DC power is limited to about 6 Watts, maximum. The circuit is required to dissipate the maximum DC power and use the DC power dissipation to heat up the synthesizer module as the temperature drops to room temperature and below and gradually reduces the DC power dissipation as the synthesizer module temperature increases. The circuit consists of a Voltage Regulator, a Control Circuit, a Posistor (positive temperature coefficient thermistor), a Heater Element, and Adjusted Elements 1 and 2. The circuit is powered by the DC input battery voltage that comes from an indoor Intelligent Node Unit (INU) in a typical split mount configuration of an ODU. The output voltage of the voltage regulator is set by the ratio of adjusted element 1 and the sum of the posistor and adjusted element 2. The voltage regulator servos the output to maintain the voltage at the adjust pin. The control circuit alters the output voltage over the range of the DC input voltage to maintain a constant power dissipation. A thermal pad is added to isolate the heater from the VCO and synthesizer assembly. With this isolation, the heater is isolated from the VCO and synthesizer board and thus has virtually no effects on the VCO and synthesizer functions.

The total power dissipation of the proportionally controlled heater is the sum of the power dissipation of the voltage regulator, PI, and the power dissipation ofthe Heater element, P2, i.e. Ptotal = P + P2.
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26V 35V 45V 60V

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-25 -10 5 20 35 Temperature (OC) 50 65
80

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Fig. 4. The total power dissipation of Proportionally Controlled Heater vs. temperature and input DC voltages.

Fig. 2. The synthesizer module with heater being mounted on the shield and the PCB cut-out underneath VCO module.

Between room and cold temperature levels, the heater raises the temperature of the synthesizer module above 0C at all times, as shown in Fig. 7, to prevent low temperature conditions on the synthesizer module where the phase-hits are most likely to occur. When the synthesizer module is at higher temperature levels (above +25C) where the phase-hits are not as sensitive, the heater circuit gradually backs off and then turns off when the temperature levels get to +65C and higher. Fig. 4 shows the total power dissipation versus DC battery input voltages and temperature levels. The total power dissipation is relatively constant when the temperature is below 35C and is about half Watts when the temperature reaches 80C. The maximum power dissipation is about 5 Watts over the input voltage and temperature range.
IV. PHASE-HIT TEST SETUP

DC

POSISTOR

ADJUSTED
ELEMENT

I
Fig. 3.
The Proportionally Controlled Heater Circuit.

The phase-hit test setup is shown in Fig. 5, where the standard Stratex Networks product, an Eclipse 300HPC 15 GHz link was used. An Eclipse link consists of two INUs and two ODUs. The two ODUs are connected with coaxial cables with an attenuator to allow the receiver to have a nominal receiving level of about -45dBm. The link was configured with software for 128QAM, 155 Mbps operation. During the tests, one ODU is located inside the temperature chamber and another is placed outside. Two temperature sensors are used to monitor the ODU temperature and the synthesizer temperature. The ODU temperature sensors is located on the IF (Intermediate Frequency) card and the LO temperature sensor was mounted on the aluminum shield of the synthesizer module. The module is inside ODU and isolated from the ODU enclosure with rubber grommets. The synthesizer has a single loop, third-order design with a standard VCO module and a 10 MHz temperature compensated crystal oscillator as its reference. The output

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frequency of the synthesizer is about 4 GHz and a x4 multiplier is used for 15 GHz operation. The phase-hit performance was monitored with both a BER tester (BERT) and Eclipse internal software, called "Portal". The temperature data and phase-hit events were then logged into database. If a phase-hit happens, the display software will add a black triangle on the temperature plot as shown in Fig. 6.

slightly. During the temperature cycle, no phase-hit events were recorded.

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(U

E a)

a) 0L

80 60 40 20 0 -20 -40

I-r

ODU Temp 0
5

-LO Temp
10 15

Time (Hrs)
Fig. 7. Phase-hit test results with heater on the synthesizer shield. No phase-hits were recorded. Fig. 5. Phase-hit test setup. The link operates at 128QAM, 155Mbps.

VI. CONCLUSION

V. TEST RESULTS

Fig. 6 is a typical phase-hit plot with a regular synthesizer or LO module inside the ODU, i.e. no heater was installed, during the temperature test cycle. When the temperature chamber runs from -33C to +55C, the ODU temperature varies from -15C to +72C, and the LO module temperature swings from -29C to +76C. The phase-hit events, indicated by white triangles on the solid line, occur five times during the temperature cycle.
100
-

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DU Temp --LO Temp

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A sudden change in the phase of the local oscillator often results in phase-hit problems, i.e. burst bit errors or synchronization losses, in a high speed digital communication system. A typical cause of phase-hits is the sudden mechanical relief of stress or strain accumulated within a synthesizer module during environment temperature variations, due to the differences of the material of the Coefficient of Thermal Expansion (CTE). To minimize the CTE effects, the finished PCB assembly must be well cleaned and should be free of flux and solder residuals. Film type capacitors are suggested for the synthesizer loop filters and special attentions must be paid to the ceramic capacitors for the VCO. A Proportionally Control Heater can be added to the synthesizer module to reduce the environment temperature fluctuations. The PCB under the VCO module can be cut-out to further improve phase-hit performances. Test results show that by applying the techniques presented in this paper, phase-hits can be well suppressed. REFERENCES

-20 -400

10

15

Time (Hrs)
Fig. 6. Phase-hit test results without heater. There hit events during the temperature cycle.
are

five phase-

Fig. 7 shows the ODU temperature and the LO module temperature with the heater installed. When the temperature chamber dropped to -33C the LO module temperature is maintained at about +20C. At hot, the synthesizer temperature was increased slightly to +83C due to the fact that the residual power of the heater warms up the LO module

[1] David Pham, Frank Matsumoto, and Youming Qin, "System and method for compensation of phase-hits" US Patent Pending, Stratex Networks, December, 2006. [2] Tektronix, "Capturing and measuring microphonics and phasehits with the RTSA" Application Notes, April 2006. [3] Atrushi Yoshida, "Apparatus for compensating for phase hit", US patent 4860319, NEC Corporation, July, 1986. [4] Johnson, Kent K. "Low phase noise oscillator frequency control apparatus and method", US Patent 5414741, May, 1995. [5] William Reuter, "Source and synthesizer phase noise requirements for QAM radio applications", CTI Inc., Microwave Product Digest, January, 1999.

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