Patent Application
20180123621
This application claims the benefit of Taiwan application Serial No. 105135073, filed Oct. 28, 2016, the subject matter of which is incorporated herein by reference.
The invention relates in general to a transceiver, an RF front-end circuit and an RF system using the same, and more particularly to a multi-mode multi-band (MMMB) transceiver, an RF front-end circuit and an RF system using the same.
In recent years, the development of communication electronic products (such as smart phones) is directed towards the support of multi-mode multi-band transmission and the compatibility with different wireless communication technologies. The multi-mode multi-band (MMMB) technology allows the device to be switched between different communication modes such as 2G/3G/4G communication modes, and supports the transmission of signals corresponding to different operating bands under each communication mode.
For the RF front-end elements (such as the transceiver) to support multi-mode multi-band operations, the quantity of signal ports (such as chip pins) needs to be increased. For example, the transceiver may need to provide a plurality of signal ports corresponding to different operating bands (such as 824 MHz to 915 MHz, 1710 MHz to 1910 MHz) under the 2G communication mode, and provide a plurality of transmitting ports corresponding to different operating bands (such as 2300 MHz to 2700 MHz, 1700 MHz to 2000 MHz, 700 MHz to 900 MHz) under the 3G/4G communication mode. However, a large quantity of signal ports will make circuit layout become very complicated, and the circuit area and circuit costs will be increased accordingly, which is unfavorable to circuit design and integration.
Therefore, it has become a prominent task for the industry to provide a technology capable of reducing the quantity of signal ports of multi-mode multi-band RF elements.
The invention is directed to a multi-mode multi-band transceiver, an RF front-end circuit and an RF system using the same. RF signals corresponding to different communication modes and/or bands are transmitted through single path, such that the quantity of signal ports of the elements can be reduced.
According to one embodiment of the present invention, a radio frequency (RF) system including a transceiver and an RF front-end circuit is provided. The transceiver has a signal transmitting port, which selectively transmits a first RF signal or a second RF signal, wherein the first RF signal corresponds to a first communication mode and a first band, and the second RF signal corresponds to a second communication mode and a second band. The RF front-end circuit is coupled to the transceiver, and includes a transmission path switch and an antenna switch. The transmission path switch electrically couples the signal transmitting port to a selected signal transmission path of a plurality of signal transmission paths. The antenna switch is coupled to the signal transmission paths, and electrically couples the selected signal transmission path to the antenna module.
According to another embodiment of the invention, a transceiver including a controller and the drive amplifier is provided. The controller provides a band switching signal. The drive amplifier is controlled by the controller and coupled to a signal transmitting port of the transceiver. The drive amplifier includes a frequency dependent load set, a band selector and an amplifier circuit. The frequency dependent load set includes a plurality of frequency dependent loads. The band selector is switched between the frequency dependent loads in response to the band switching signal. The amplifier circuit is coupled to the band selector, and electrically coupled to one of the frequency dependent loads through the band selector. When the amplifier circuit is coupled to a first frequency dependent load of the frequency dependent loads, the amplifier circuit outputs a first RF signal to the signal transmitting port. When the amplifier circuit is coupled to a second frequency dependent load of the frequency dependent loads, the amplifier circuit outputs a second RF signal to the signal transmitting port. The first RF signal corresponds to a first communication mode and a first band. The second RF signal corresponds to a second communication mode and a second band.
According to an alternate embodiment of the invention, an RF front-end circuit including a transmission path switch and the antenna switch is provided. The transmission path switch selectively and electrically couples a signal transmitting port of the transceiver to one of a plurality of signal transmission paths. The antenna switch is coupled to the signal transmission paths for transmitting the signals coming from the signal transmission paths to the antenna module; wherein when the signal transmitting port transmits the first RF signal, the transmission path switch electrically couples the signal transmitting port to a first signal transmission path of the signal transmission paths to transmit the first RF signal to the antenna module, when the signal transmitting port transmits the second RF signal, the transmission path switch electrically couples the signal transmitting port to a second signal transmission path of the signal transmission paths to transmit the second RF signal to the antenna module. The first RF signal corresponds to a first communication mode and a first band. The second RF signal corresponds to a second communication mode and a second band.
The above and other aspects of the invention will become better understood with regard to the following detailed description of the preferred but non-limiting embodiment (s). The following description is made with reference to the accompanying drawings.
A number of embodiments of the present invention are disclosed below with reference to accompanying drawings, but not every embodiment is illustrated in accompanying drawings. In practical application, the present invention can have different variations and is not limited to the embodiments exemplified in the specification. A number of embodiments are disclosed in the present disclosure to meet the statutory requirements. Designations common to the accompanying drawings are used to indicate identical or similar elements.
The transceiver 12 transmits and receives RF signals. For example, the transceiver 12 can transmit the RF signals to the RF front-end circuit 14. The RF signals are amplified and filtered, and then are wirelessly transmitted through the antenna module 16. After the signals received from the antenna module 16 are processed by the RF front-end circuit 14 (such as filtered by the RF front-end circuit 14), the signals are transmitted to the transceiver 12, which converts the signals to a form that can be processed by a baseband processing chip.
The transceiver 12 has one or more signal ports (such as chip pins) for communicating signals with external elements. The signal ports, through which RF signals are transmitted, are referred as “signal transmitting ports”; the signal ports, through which RF signals received, are referred as “signal receiving ports”. As indicated in
According to the embodiments of the invention, the transceiver 12 can transmit RF signals corresponding to different communication modes and/or bands through single signal port, such that the required quantity of signal ports by which the transceiver 12 supports multi-mode multi-band signal transmission can be reduced.
For example, the signal transmitting port TP1 selectively transmits a first RF signal or a second RF signal, wherein the first RF signal corresponds to a first communication mode and a first band, and the second RF signal corresponds to a second communication mode and a second band.
The signal port of the invention can selectively transmit different band signals under the same communication mode. For example, the signal transmitting port TP1 can selectively transmit the first RF signal or the second RF signal, wherein the first RF signal corresponds to the first band under the first communication mode, the second RF signal corresponds to the second band under the first communication mode.
The said communication mode refers to the wireless communication technology adopted by the communication system, such as the global system for mobile communications (GSM) technology for 2G mobile communication, the wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA) technology for 3G mobile communication, and the long term evolution (LTE) technology for 4G mobile communication. The said band refers to a specific frequency range, and the definition of band division is dependent on the communication mode. In the LTE technology, 43 bands (band 1 to band 43) are defined.
An application is disclosed for illustrative purpose. The first RF signal is a 2G mobile communication signal having a band range of 824 MHz to 915 MHz. The second RF signal is a 4G mobile communication signal having a band range of band 40 defined by the LTE technology. Both the first RF signal and the second RF signal can be transmitted through the same signal port (such as signal transmitting port TP1).
In an embodiment, the drive amplifier 110_1/110_2 can switch and change its load to selectively output the first/second RF signal to the signal transmitting port TP1/TP2.
It can be understood that the invention is not limited thereto. In some embodiments, single signal port of the transceiver 12 can support the transmission of signals corresponding to different mode or bands. For example, the transceiver 12 can transmit 2G, 3G and 4G mobile communication signals through single signal port.
The RF front-end circuit 14 is coupled to the transceiver 12, and mainly includes a transmission path switch 102_Tx and an antenna switch 108.
A plurality of signal transmission paths UL1 to UL4 defined by the power amplifier set 104 and the filter set 106 are formed between the transmission path switch 102_Tx and the antenna switch 108. The power amplifier set 104 includes a plurality of power amplifiers 104_1 to 104_4 corresponding to different bands. The filter set 106 includes a plurality of filters (such as filters and duplexers) corresponding to different bands.
In an embodiment, each of the signal transmission paths UL1 to UL4 includes one or more power amplifiers and filters.
In the example of
The transmission path switch 102_Tx can electrically couple the signal transmitting port TP1/TP2 to a selected signal transmission path of the signal transmission paths UL1 to UL4. The RF signal transmitted by the transceiver 12 reaches the antenna switch 108 through the selected signal transmission path. In general, the selection of the signal transmission path is dependent on the band range of the to-be-transmitted RF signal. That is, in the selected signal transmission path, the bands of the power amplifier and the filter need to support the band of the RF signal such that the power amplifier and the filter can suitably amplify or filter the RF signal.
The antenna switch 108 is coupled to a plurality of signal transmission paths UL1 to UL4, and can electrically couple a selected signal transmission path of the to-be-transmitted RF signal to the antenna module 16, such that the RF signal can be wirelessly transmitted by the antenna module 16. For example, the antenna switch 108 can be switched between multiple antennas of the antenna module 16 to transmit the RF signal by using a suitable antenna.
In the example of
The reception path switch 102_Rx can transmit the RF signal corresponding to different communication modes and/or bands to single signal port (such as signal receiving port RP1/RP2) of the transceiver 12.
Suppose the signal reception paths DL1 and DL2 are used for transmitting a third RF signal and a fourth RF signal, respectively. The third RF signal corresponds to a third communication mode and a third band (such as a 2G mobile communication signal operated within a specific band). The fourth RF signal corresponds to a fourth communication mode and a fourth band (such as a 3G/4G mobile communication signal operated within another specific band). The reception path switch 102_Rx can switch the signal reception paths DL1 and DL2 to be electrically coupled to the signal receiving port RP1, such that the RF signals corresponding to different communication modes or bands can be received through single signal receiving port RP1.
The signal receiving port of the invention can selectively receive signal having different bands under the same communication mode. For example, the signal receiving port RP1 can selectively receive a third RF signal or a fourth RF signal, wherein the third RF signal corresponds to the third band under the third communication mode, and the fourth RF signal corresponds to the fourth band under the third communication mode.
In an embodiment, the low-noise amplifier 112_1/112_2 coupled to signal receiving port RP1/RP2 can switch and change its load, such that the third RF signal or the fourth RF signal can be correspondingly amplified.
It can be understood that the invention is not limited thereto. In some embodiments, single signal receiving port of the transceiver 12 can support the transmission of signals corresponding to more than two different modes or bands. For example, the 2G, 3G and 4G mobile communication signals can be received through single signal receiving port.
It can be understood that in
Some other signal transmission paths and some other signal reception paths are coupled between the antenna switch 108 and the transmission path switch 102_Tx/the reception path switch 102_Rx through independent paths such as signal transmission paths UL1′ and UL4′.
It can be known from the example of
The output end of the drive amplifier 110_i is coupled to the signal transmitting port TPi of the transceiver.
The drive amplifier 110_i mainly includes a frequency dependent load set 202, a band selector 204 and an amplifier circuit 206.
The frequency dependent load set 202 may include N frequency dependent loads 202_1 to 202_N, which can be implemented by elements whose impedance values vary with the frequency wherein the elements can be realized by inductors or capacitors, and N is a positive integer.
The band selector 204 can be realized by a switch, which can be switched between the frequency dependent loads 202_1 to 202_N.
In an embodiment, the transceiver (such as transceiver 12) further includes a controller 208. The controller 208 provides a band selection signal SEL, and the band selector 204 is electrically coupled to one of the frequency dependent loads 202_1 to 202_N in response to the band selection signal SEL.
The amplifier circuit 206 can be realized by one or more transistors. The amplifier circuit 206 is coupled to the band selector 204 to be electrically coupled to one of the frequency dependent loads 202_1 to 202_N through the band selector 204.
By switching the frequency dependent load coupled to the amplifier circuit 206, the operating band of the amplifier circuit 206 can be adjusted to assure that the amplifier circuit 206 can convert an input signal whose operating band is required under the communication mode into a to-be-outputted RF signal. The said input signal is a modulated carrier signal, and the corresponding communication mode of the input signal is determined by the baseband processing chip.
Through the above operation, single drive amplifier 110_i can switch to output the RF signal corresponding to different communication modes and/or bands to the signal transmitting port TPi, such that the signal paths corresponding to different modes or bands can be integrated into single signal path.
For example, when the amplifier circuit 206 is coupled to a first frequency dependent load (such as 202_1) of the frequency dependent loads 202_1 to 202_N, the amplifier circuit 206 outputs a first RF signal corresponding to a first communication mode and a first band to the signal transmitting port TPi; when the amplifier circuit 206 is coupled to a second frequency dependent load (such as 202_2) of the frequency dependent loads 202_1 to 202_N, the amplifier circuit 206 outputs a second RF signal corresponding to a second communication mode and a second band to the signal transmitting port TPi.
According to the embodiments of the invention, the disposition of the low-noise amplifier of the transceiver is similar to that of the drive amplifier 110_i, and the operating band of the low-noise amplifier can be switched and adjusted, but the direction of signal transmission of the low-noise amplifier is inverse to that of the amplifier circuit. That is, the input end of the amplifier circuit is coupled to the signal receiving port of the transceiver.
In the example of
The node NA is coupled to the transistor end of the amplifier circuit (such as amplifier circuit 206), such that the load of the amplifier circuit can be switched and adjusted, and the operating band of the amplifier circuit can be changed accordingly.
In the example of
In the example of
It can be understood that the invention is not limited to above exemplifications. In the frequency dependent load set, the quantity and disposition of the capacitor and/or the inductor can be adjusted according to the needs of application.
To summarize, the invention provides a multi-mode multi-band transceiver, an RF front-end circuit and an RF system using the same capable of transmitting the RF signal corresponding to different communication modes and/or bands through single path, such that the quantity of signal ports of the elements can be reduced.
While the invention has been described by way of example and in terms of the preferred embodiment (s), it is to be understood that the invention is not limited thereto. On the contrary, it is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements and procedures, and the scope of the appended claims therefore should be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar arrangements and procedures.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 105135073 | Oct 2016 | TW | national |
