This application claims priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2019-0097319, filed on Aug. 9, 2019, which is hereby incorporated by reference for all purposes as if fully set forth therein.
The present invention relates to a SAW filter and a duplexer. More specifically, the present invention relates to a SAW filter and a duplexer, which can obtain attenuation characteristics in a wide frequency range by separating antenna pads connected to filters that pass frequencies of different bands and inserting an additional inductor in each of the antenna pads.
A filter is an element for passing or removing frequencies of a specific band, and it is an essential element in communication, signal generation, signal processing, and signal output. The filter like this is typically used in the field of mobile communication, and a SAW filter and a duplexer are used as elements that pass or remove frequencies of a specific band in a mobile communication device.
As conventional SAW filters and duplexers are mainly used in the band of 850 MHz to 2.6 GHz, attenuation performance is required importantly only for some frequency bands. However, owing to GPS band, harmonic attenuation, appearance of various multi-frequency communication systems, and commercialization of 5G systems using ultra-high frequency bands of 3.5 GHz or higher, frequencies much more diverse than before and attenuation characteristics in high frequency and ultra-high frequency bands are required.
Furthermore, high performance and miniaturization of SAW filters and duplexers are also required so that they may be applied to communication devices with gradually increased performance and miniaturization. Miniaturization of SAW filters and duplexers like this has a problem in that it is difficult to secure sufficient attenuation characteristics due to limitation in design space and increase of coupling.
To overcome the problem, a technique of configuring a matching stage of a low pass filter (LPF) type by connecting additional inductors and capacitors on the outside of the SAW filter and the duplexer or configuring a DMS-type SAW filter is disclosed to secure attenuation characteristics in a high frequency band.
However, this technique reduces the external space for matching the filter and other components, increases material cost, and reduces degree of freedom in designing the filter.
Therefore, a SAW filter and a duplexer of a new structure capable of maintaining existing miniaturization characteristics while securing attenuation characteristics in high frequency and ultra-high frequency regions are required.
Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a SAW filter and a duplexer capable of obtaining excellent attenuation characteristics in a wide high-frequency band by separating antenna pads connected to filters that pass frequencies of different bands and selectively inserting an inductor in the separated antenna pads.
The technical problems of the present invention are not limited to the technical problems mentioned above, and other technical problems not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description.
A SAW filter according to an embodiment of the present invention is a high-frequency filter including a common terminal, a transmission terminal and a reception terminal through which high-frequency signals are inputted and outputted, and the filter comprises: a first filter circuit having a first frequency band as a pass band, and connected to the common terminal and the transmission terminal; a second filter circuit having a second frequency band different from the first frequency band as a pass band, and connected to the common terminal and the reception terminal; an antenna connected to the common terminal; and at least one inductor connected in series between the common terminal and the first filter circuit or the second filter circuit.
According to an embodiment, the inductor may include a first inductor inserted in the first antenna pad and a second inductor inserted in the second antenna pad.
According to an embodiment, the antenna may include a first antenna pad branched from the common terminal and connected to the first filter circuit and a second antenna pad branched from the common terminal and connected to the second filter circuit, and the first and second antenna pads may be provided on the same plane.
According to an embodiment, an attenuation region of the first filter circuit or the second filter circuit may be adjusted according to an inductance value of the inductor.
According to an embodiment, the SAW filter may further comprise at one shunt capacitor inserted between the first filter circuit or the second filter circuit and the inductor.
According to an embodiment, the SAW filter may further comprise a bump electrically connecting the inductor and the first antenna pad or the second antenna pad.
A duplexer according to another embodiment of the present invention is a duplexer including a common terminal, a transmission terminal and a reception terminal through which high-frequency signals are inputted and outputted, and the duplexer comprises: a transmission filter connected to the common terminal and the transmission terminal; a reception filter connected to the common terminal and the reception terminal; an antenna connected to the common terminal; and at least one inductor connected in series between the common terminal and the transmission filter or the reception filter.
According to an embodiment, the antenna may include a first antenna pad branched from the common terminal and connected to the transmission filter and a second antenna pad branched from the common terminal and connected to the reception filter, and the first and second antenna pads may be provided on the same plane.
According to an embodiment, the inductor may include a first inductor inserted in the first antenna pad and a second inductor inserted in the second antenna pad.
According to an embodiment, an attenuation region of the transmission filter or the reception filter may be adjusted according to an inductance value of the inductor.
According to an embodiment, the duplexer may further comprise at one shunt capacitor inserted between the transmission filter or the reception filter and the inductor.
According to an embodiment, the duplexer may further comprise a bump electrically connecting the inductor and the first antenna pad or the second antenna pad.
According to an embodiment, the reception filter may be configured of a ladder-type circuit including a SAW resonator.
According to an embodiment, the reception filter may include a SAW resonator connected on the second antenna pad side in series and a plurality of IDT electrodes connected to the SAW resonator in series.
Hereafter, the preferred embodiments of the invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The advantages and features of the present invention and the methods for achieving them will become apparent with reference to the embodiments described below in detail together with the accompanying drawings. Throughout the specification, like reference numerals refer to like components.
Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used in the present invention may be used in a sense that can be commonly understood by those skilled in the art to which this specification belongs. In addition, the terms defined in a generally used dictionary are not excessively interpreted unless explicitly and specially defined. The terms used in the present specification are for describing the embodiments and not intended to limit the present specification. In the present specification, a singular form also includes a plural form unless otherwise specified in the phrase.
“Comprises” and “comprising” used in this specification do not exclude presence or addition of one or more other components, steps, operations or elements for the mentioned components, steps, operations or elements.
The conventional SAW duplexer 1 is to improve the attenuation characteristics in a high frequency band by matching the low frequency low pass filter (LPF) shown in a dotted line to the transmission terminal TX as shown in (a) of
However, when it is desired to improve the attenuation characteristics in the high frequency band by matching the LPF as described above, there is a problem in that the degree of design freedom of the SAW duplexer 1 is lowered, and manufacturing cost increases.
Accordingly, the present invention proposes a structure capable of improving the attenuation characteristics in a high frequency band while maintaining the existing structures of the SAW filter and the duplexer as much as possible.
The SAW filter 100 shown in (a) of
A matching inductor 115 is connected to the antenna 110, and the SAW filter 100 may include the first inductor 141 connected to the first filter circuit 120 and the second inductor 143 connected to the second filter circuit 130 through a common terminal CN.
Meanwhile, although not shown in the circuit diagram of
That is, conventionally, when two or more filters are configured in one chip and at least one terminal is connected, the antenna is connected to the first filter circuit 120 and the second filter circuit 130 through one pad. However, in an embodiment of the present invention, the antenna 110 may be connected to the first filter circuit 120 and the second filter circuit 130 by using two antenna pads branched from the antenna 110.
In relation to this,
As described above, when the filters connected through one antenna 110 are electrically separated using different antenna pads 110a and 110b, it is easier to obtain attenuation characteristics in a desired frequency band.
In addition, as the first inductor 141 and the second inductor 143 are inserted in the antenna pads 110a and 110b, attenuation characteristics of a wide band can be obtained through the inductors. In addition, a package including the SAW filter 100 may be electrically connected by providing bumps (not shown) at the points where the first and second inductors 141 and 143 are inserted. Here, when the bumps and the SAW filter 100 are connected, an electrical connection line (feed through) is generated, and the electrical connection line may be included as part of the first or second inductor 141 or 143, or the entire electrical connection line may perform the function of the inductors.
Referring to
The first and second inductors 141 and 143 are inserted in the separated antenna pads 110a and 110b to allow the SAW filter 100 to have attenuation characteristics in a specific frequency band. That is, the attenuation regions of the first and second filter circuits 120 and 130 connected to the antenna pads 110a and 110b may be adjusted according to the inductance values of the first and second inductors 141 and 143.
In addition, the first and second inductors 141 and 143 connected to the antenna pads 110a and 110b may have an inductance value of up to 8 nH, and the inductance value may vary according to the size of the SAW filter 100.
On the other hand, (b) of
In the duplexer 200, the transmission filter 220 and the reception filter 230 may also be connected to different antenna pads to be electrically separated like the SAW filter 100 described above, and in addition, as the first and second inductors 241 and 243 are respectively inserted in the antenna pads, the attenuation characteristics in a specific frequency band may be improved.
In addition, referring to
Meanwhile, bumps (not shown) may be provided at the points where the first and second inductors 241 and 243 are inserted to electrically connect the duplexer 200 and an external device (not shown).
Referring to
Here, the graph shown in black color is for the conventional duplexer in which separation of antenna pads and insertion of inductors are not accomplished, and the graph shown in red color is for the duplexer 200 of the present invention in which the antenna pads are separated and the first and second inductors 241 and 243 having an inductance value of 1 nH are inserted.
That is, it can be confirmed that as the inductors are inserted in the separated antenna pads as described above, a notch is formed while the SAW filter has a sharp skirt characteristic in the high frequency band of 3000 MHz and that the SAW filter has excellent attenuation characteristics in a wide region of 3000 MHz or more.
Here, the black graph is for the conventional duplexer, and the red graph is for the duplexer 200 including the first and second inductors 241 and 243 having different inductance values, and the antenna pad connected to the transmission filter 220 and the first inductor 241 are provided with a bump to be electrically connected to a package including the duplexer 200.
As described above, as inductors of different values are inserted in the separated antenna pads, attenuation characteristics may be secured in a desired section. That is, it can be confirmed that the SAW filter has a sharp skirt characteristic starting from the high frequency band of 2800 MHz, and has excellent attenuation characteristics in a wide region of 5000 MHz or more.
On the other hand, in addition to inserting inductors having different inductance values in the separated antenna pads of the duplexer 200, a shunt capacitor C may be formed, and when the shunt capacitor is formed, insertion loss (dB) with respect to frequency is as shown in
Referring to
Meanwhile, although it is described in
Until now, the SAW filter 100 and the duplexer 200 according to a first embodiment of the present invention have been described. According to the present invention, attenuation characteristics may be formed in a desired frequency band and excellent attenuation characteristics can be secured in a wide region by separating electrically connected antenna regions and inserting an inductor in each of the antenna regions in the process of implementing two filter circuits having different pass bands in one chip.
Hereinafter, a case of inserting only one inductor in an antenna pad separated from the SAW filter 100 or the duplexer 200 and the characteristic thereof will be described.
In describing the SAW filter 100 and the duplexer 200 according to a second embodiment of
Referring to
In addition, referring to
The first inductors 141 and 241 inserted in the SAW filter 100 and the duplexer 200 are connected to the antenna pads connected to the first filter circuit 120 and the transmission filter 220 among the two antenna pads branched from the common terminal CN to secure attenuation characteristics in a specific frequency band.
Here, the first inductors 141 and 241 may have an inductance value of up to 8 nH, and the inductance value may vary according to the size of the SAW filter 100 and the duplexer 200.
In relation to this,
Referring to
As described above, as the first inductor 241 is inserted in the antenna pad connected to the transmission filter 220 among the separated antenna pads, it can be confirmed that the SAW filter has excellent attenuation characteristics in a region of 4800 MHz or more.
In addition, attenuation characteristics in a desired region may be secured according to the inductance value, and when a shunt capacitor is additionally formed, a notch pole may be formed.
In addition, referring to
As described above, as the first inductor 141 is inserted in the antenna pad connected to the first filter circuit 120 among the separated antenna pads, it can be confirmed that the SAW filter has excellent attenuation characteristics in a region of 3200 MHz or more.
The SAW filter 100 shown in (a) of
In addition, referring to
The second inductors 143 and 243 inserted in the SAW filter 100 and the duplexer 200 are connected to the antenna pads connected to the second filter circuit 130 and the reception filter 230 among the two antenna pads branched from the common terminal CN to secure attenuation characteristics in a specific frequency band.
Here, the second inductors 143 and 243 may have an inductance value of up to 8 nH, and the inductance value may vary according to the size of the SAW filter 100 and the duplexer 200.
Referring to
As described above, as the second inductor 243 is inserted in the antenna pad connected to the reception filter 230 among the separated antenna pads, it can be confirmed that a notch is formed while the SAW filter has a sharp skirt characteristic in the high frequency band of 3000 MHz and that the SAW filter has excellent attenuation characteristics in a region of 5000 MHz or more.
Until now, the SAW filter 100 and the duplexer 200 according to the second and third embodiments of the present invention have been described. According to the present invention, attenuation characteristics in a desired frequency band can be acquired by selectively inserting an inductor having various inductance values in a separated antenna pad. In addition, since it does not give a large deformation in the structure of the existing SAW filter 100 and duplexer 200, an external matching space can be secured, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced as an additional material cost for improving the characteristics is not required.
On the other hand, although it is described in the SAW filters 100 of the first to third embodiments that the first or second inductor 141 or 143 is connected in a package including the SAW filter 100, the first or second inductor 141 or 143 may be provided outside the package.
Referring to
Here, the graph shown in black color is for the conventional filter in which separation of antenna pads, insertion of inductors and insertion of resonators are not accomplished, and the graph shown in red color is for the SAW filter 100 of the present invention in which the first and second inductors 141 and 143 having an inductance value of 1 nH are inserted after the antenna pads are separated and the SAW resonators are inserted.
That is, it can be confirmed that as the inductors are inserted in the separated antenna pads as described above, a notch is formed while the SAW filter has a sharp skirt characteristic in the high frequency band of 2500 MHz and that the SAW filter has excellent attenuation characteristics in a wide region of 2500 MHz or more.
Referring to
That is, it can be confirmed that as inductors are inserted in separated antenna pads as described above, the SAW filter has excellent attenuation characteristics in a wide region of 4000 MHz or more.
Referring to
That is, it can be confirmed that as the inductors are inserted in the separated antenna pads as described above, a notch is formed while the SAW filter has a sharp skirt characteristic in the high frequency band of 2400 MHz and that the SAW filter has excellent attenuation characteristics in a wide region of 5000 MHz or more.
According to the present invention, the attenuation characteristics can be improved in a wider band by separating electrically connected parts (antennas) in two filters that pass frequencies of different bands.
In addition, the attenuation characteristics can be improved in a desired frequency band by adjusting the inductance value of the inductor inserted in the high frequency filter.
In addition, an external matching space can be secured by improving the characteristics in a method of separating the internal antenna of a high-frequency filter and inserting an inductor, and since it has a simple structure, the degree of freedom can be increased in designing SAW filters and duplexers.
In addition, as an inductor is implemented only in a structure of electrically connecting different antenna pads and a package, manufacturing costs for improving the characteristics of the SAW filter and the duplexer can be reduced. In addition, as the electrical structure of connecting separated antennas is included as part of the inductor, it may contribute to improvement of the characteristics.
The effects of the present invention are not limited to the effects mentioned above, and other effects not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the above description.
Although the embodiments of the present specification have been described with reference to the accompanying drawings, those skilled in the art may understand that the present invention can be implemented in other specific forms without changing the technical spirit or essential features thereof. Therefore, it should be understood that the above-described embodiments are illustrative and not restrictive in all respects.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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10-2019-0097319 | Aug 2019 | KR | national |
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20070222540 | Nishigaki | Sep 2007 | A1 |
20180375495 | Taguchi | Dec 2018 | A1 |
20200295734 | Urata | Sep 2020 | A1 |
20200304101 | Choi | Sep 2020 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country |
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10-2019-0037295 | Apr 2019 | KR |
2018047862 | Mar 2018 | WO |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20210044279 A1 | Feb 2021 | US |