Dynamic Measurement of Complex Impedance in Real-Time for Smart Handset Applications

The evolution of the mobile handset in support of fourth-generation and beyond technology requirements continues to introduce significant challenges. Tunable systems promise improvements in performance and flexibility with the significant potential to relax limitations currently imposed on traditional RF components and systems. This paper introduces novel techniques based on tunable systems that enable the handset to learn the complex impedance at any stage of its RF front-end in real-time. The proposed approaches are based on utilizing readily available information from the receiver or can be easily obtained with simple perturbations of the system. The added flexibility of this previously unavailable information enables the implementation of new smart handset applications including improved handset performance. The methods are presented through simulations and measurements.