Radio frequency receiving and transmitting switch
Technical Field
The invention relates to the field of radio frequency integrated circuits, in particular to a high-performance radio frequency transceiving switch circuit.
Background
Common wireless transceiving communication systems in the market today, such as 802.11 abgn/ac and Bluetooth, all belong to time-sharing transceiving systems, that is, the wireless systems do not transmit and receive data simultaneously. Therefore, the high-isolation and low-loss rf transceiver switch is a key module of such time-sharing transceiver system.
PIN diodes and iii-v compound semiconductor MESFETs discrete devices have occupied most of the market for rf transmit-receive switches for many years, but the use of additional discrete devices not only increases the complexity of the system, occupies space on a Printed Circuit Board (PCB), but also increases the cost.
The isolation and linearity of the radio frequency transceiver switch can be improved based on a CMOS-SOI process and an LC resonance substrate bias technology, but the radio frequency transceiver switch and other circuit modules cannot be integrated on the same chip by the CMOS-SOI non-standard CMOS process, the integration level is low, the cost is high, and a schematic circuit structure diagram of the LC resonance radio frequency transceiver switch in the prior art is shown in figure 1.
Fig. 2 is a schematic circuit diagram of a series/parallel rf transceiver switch in the prior art, and most of the CMOS rf transceiver switches currently used adopt a series/parallel structure. However, as the frequency of the circuit increases, the impedance of the branch is reduced by the parasitic effect generated by the parallel branch, and the insertion loss is seriously deteriorated at high frequency. The linearity is also improved by adopting an impedance matching network or a stacked transistor, but the performances such as isolation degree and insertion loss are reduced, so that the commercial requirement cannot be met on the comprehensive index.
In summary, the existing various rf transceiving switches have the problems of low integration level, high cost and poor circuit performance.
Disclosure of Invention
The present invention is directed to solve the above problems and to provide a radio frequency transceiver switch scheme based on a standard CMOS process, which has the advantages of high performance, high integration, low cost, etc.
In order to achieve the purpose, the invention adopts the technical scheme that:
a radio frequency transmit receive switch, comprising:
an antenna terminal for signal transmission in a transmission mode and for signal reception in a reception mode;
the transmitting end is used for inputting a signal to be transmitted into the radio frequency transceiving switch;
a transmitting end converter for coupling the signal to be transmitted to the antenna end;
the first capacitor and the transmitting end converter jointly form a transmitting matching network in a transmitting mode;
when in a receiving mode, the first capacitor and the second capacitor form a receiving matching sub-network matched with the impedance of a receiving matching network;
the receiving end is used for outputting a signal to be received to the radio frequency transceiving switch;
a radio frequency switch module for selecting a transmission mode or a reception mode;
the receiving matching sub-network and the receiving end are connected in series and connected with the other end of the first capacitor to form a first secondary branch, one end of the radio frequency switch module is connected with the other end of the first capacitor, and the other end of the radio frequency switch module is grounded to form a second secondary branch;
in a transmitting mode, the radio frequency switch module is closed, and a signal to be transmitted is transmitted between the transmitting end and the antenna end;
in a receiving mode, the radio frequency switch module is switched off, and a signal to be received is transmitted between the antenna end and the receiving end.
The radio frequency switch module comprises a radio frequency switch tube, a gate end of the radio frequency switch tube forms a first control end through a first resistor, a drain end of the radio frequency switch tube is connected with the first capacitor, and a source end of the radio frequency switch tube is connected with the second capacitor and forms a second control end through a second resistor connected with the second capacitor in parallel;
when the potential of the first control end is higher than the potential of the second control end, the radio frequency receiving and transmitting switch is in a transmitting mode, and when the potential of the first control end is lower than the potential of the second control end, the radio frequency receiving and transmitting switch is in a receiving mode.
The radio frequency switch module comprises a triode, a base electrode of the triode forms a first control end through a first resistor, a collector electrode of the triode is connected with the first capacitor and forms a second control end through a second resistor, and an emitting electrode of the triode is grounded;
when the potential connected with the first control end and the potential connected with the second control end are both high potentials, the radio frequency transceiving switch is in a transmitting mode, and when the potential connected with the first control end and the potential connected with the second control end are both low potentials, the radio frequency transceiving switch is in a receiving mode.
The radio frequency switch module comprises a diode, the anode of the diode forms a first control end through a first resistor, the anode of the diode is connected with the first capacitor, and the cathode of the diode is grounded;
when the potential of the first control end is high potential, the radio frequency transceiving switch is in a transmitting mode, and when the potential of the first control end is low potential, the radio frequency transceiving switch is in a receiving mode.
The transmitting end converter comprises a transmitting coil and an antenna coil which are coupled, two ends of the transmitting coil are both connected to the transmitting end, one end of the antenna coil is connected with the antenna end, and the other end of the antenna coil is grounded.
The receive matching sub-network comprises an inductance or a capacitance or a combination of an inductance and a capacitance.
The radio frequency transceiving switch is realized by adopting a standard CMOS process.
Due to the application of the technical scheme, compared with the prior art, the invention has the following advantages: the radio frequency transceiving switch can greatly reduce the use of discrete devices outside the chip, effectively reduce the cost and the PCB area, and simultaneously has the advantages of high performance, high integration and low cost.
Drawings
Fig. 1 is a schematic circuit diagram of an LC resonant rf transceiver switch in the prior art.
Fig. 2 is a schematic circuit diagram of a series-parallel rf transceiver switch in the prior art.
Fig. 3 is a schematic circuit diagram of a high-performance rf transceiver switch according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 4 is a schematic circuit diagram of a high-performance rf transceiver switch according to a first embodiment of the present invention, where an rf switch module is in a closed state.
Fig. 5 is a schematic circuit diagram of a high-performance rf transceiver switch according to a first embodiment of the present invention, in which an rf switch module is in an off state.
Fig. 6 is a schematic circuit diagram illustrating a high-performance rf transceiver switch operating in a transmit mode according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 7 is a schematic circuit diagram illustrating a high performance rf transceiver switch operating in a receiving mode according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 8 is a schematic circuit diagram of a high-performance rf transceiver switch according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 9 is a schematic circuit diagram of a high-performance rf transceiver switch according to a second embodiment of the present invention, in which an rf switch module is in a closed state.
Fig. 10 is a schematic circuit diagram of a high-performance rf transceiver switch according to a second embodiment of the present invention, in which an rf switch module is in an off state.
Fig. 11 is a schematic circuit diagram of a high-performance rf transceiver switch operating in a transmitting mode according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 12 is a schematic circuit diagram illustrating a high performance rf transceiver switch operating in a receiving mode according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
Detailed Description
The invention will be further described with reference to examples of embodiments shown in the drawings to which the invention is attached.
The first embodiment is as follows: as shown in fig. 3, the radio frequency transceiving switch includes an antenna terminal, a transmitting terminal converter balun, a first capacitor C1, an impedance-matched receiving matching sub-network, a receiving terminal, a radio frequency switch module K, and a second capacitor C2. The radio frequency transceiving switch has two working modes, namely a transmitting mode and a receiving mode.
The antenna end is used for signal transmission in a transmitting mode and for signal reception in a receiving mode, and a connecting node of the antenna end is divided into two primary branches which are connected in parallel. The transmitting terminal is used for inputting a signal to be transmitted into the radio frequency transceiving switch, and can be connected with other devices, such as a Power Amplifier (PA) for amplifying the signal to obtain the signal to be transmitted. And the transmitting end converter balun is used for coupling the signal to be transmitted to the antenna end. The transmitting terminal and the transmitting terminal converter balun are connected in series and connected with a connection node of an antenna terminal to form a first primary branch, that is, two output terminals of the power amplifier PA respectively form a transmitting terminal P and a transmitting terminal N, the two transmitting terminals P, N are input terminals of the radio frequency transceiving switch in a transmitting mode, the two transmitting terminals P, N are connected with the two input terminals of the transmitting terminal converter balun, and the output terminal of the transmitting terminal converter balun is connected to the connection node and connected with the antenna terminal.
The transmitting-end converter balun comprises a transmitting coil and an antenna coil coupled to each other. Two ends of the transmitting coil are connected to the transmitting end P and the transmitting end N, one end of the antenna coil is connected with the connecting node of the antenna end, and the other end of the antenna coil is grounded.
One end of the first capacitor C1 is connected to the connection node of the antenna end to form a second primary branch, and the other end of the first capacitor C1 is divided into two secondary branches. The receiving matching sub-network is connected in series with the receiving end and is connected with the other end of the first capacitor C1 to form a first secondary branch, i.e. one end of the receiving matching sub-network is connected with the other end of the first capacitor C1, the other end of the receiving matching sub-network is connected to the receiving end, and the receiving end can be further connected with other devices, such as the input end of a low noise amplifier LNA. In this embodiment, the receiving matching sub-network uses inductor L1, but in other embodiments, the receiving matching sub-network may also use a capacitor or a combination of a capacitor and an inductor. The first capacitor C1 forms a transmission matching network together with the transmission-side converter balun in the transmission mode, and the reception matching sub-network forms a reception matching network together with the first capacitor C1 in the reception mode. One end of the radio frequency switch module K is connected with the other end of the first capacitor C1, and the other end is connected in series with the second capacitor C2 and then grounded to form a second secondary branch, wherein the grounding mode of the radio frequency switch module K is ac grounding.
The rf switch module K is used to select a transmission mode or a reception mode, and may be implemented by using a device having an on-off characteristic. In this embodiment, the rf switch module K includes an rf switch transistor M1, and the rf switch transistor M1 is a rf NMOS transistor. The gate terminal G of the rf switch M1 forms a first control terminal through the first resistor R1 and is connected to the first control signal SW, the drain terminal D of the rf switch M1 is connected to the other terminal of the first capacitor C1, the source terminal S of the rf switch M1 is connected to one terminal of the second capacitor C2, and the source terminal S of the rf switch M1 also forms a second control terminal through the second resistor R2 connected in parallel to the second capacitor C2 and is connected to the second control signal VB.
As shown in fig. 4, when the rf transceiving switch is in the transmitting mode, the rf switch module K is closed, which is equivalent to the closed switch K1. At this time, the gate terminal G of the rf switch M1 is connected in series with the first resistor R1 and then connected to a high potential (1.3V), the source terminal S of the rf switch M1 is connected in series with the second resistor R2 and then connected to a low potential (0V), that is, the first control signal SW is a high potential signal, the second control signal VB is a low potential signal, and the potential connected to the first control terminal is higher than the potential connected to the second control terminal. The signal to be transmitted is transmitted between the transmitting end and the antenna end.
As shown in fig. 5, when the rf transceiver switch is in the receiving mode, the rf switch module K is turned off, which is equivalent to the turned-off switch K2. At this time, the gate terminal G of the rf switch M1 is serially connected to the first resistor R1 and then connected to a low potential (0V), the source terminal S of the rf switch M1 is serially connected to the second resistor R2 and then connected to a potential not lower than 0V, that is, the first control signal SW is a low potential signal, and the potential connected to the first control terminal is lower than the potential connected to the second control terminal. The signal to be received is transmitted between the antenna end and the receiving end.
As shown in fig. 6, the method for operating the rf transceiver switch in the transmitting mode includes: the power amplifier PA works, the low noise amplifier LNA is turned off, an output signal of the power amplifier PA is coupled to an antenna end through a transmitting end converter balun, and the transmitting end converter balun and a first capacitor C1 are used as a transmitting matching network to carry out transmitting power matching, so that radio frequency signal transmitting is achieved. At this time, the rf switch tube M1 is equivalent to a closed switch, the rf switch tube M1 equivalent to a closed switch is connected in series with one end of the second capacitor C2, and the other end of the second capacitor C2 is grounded, which is equivalent to connecting one end of the first capacitor C1 to the ac ground, so that the signal in the antenna coil is coupled to the receiving end of the low noise amplifier LNA as little as possible, and the rf signal is transmitted between the output end of the power amplifier PA and the antenna end. The power amplifier PA, the transmitting end converter balun, the first capacitor C1, the second capacitor C2 and the antenna end form a transmitting path.
As shown in fig. 7, the method for operating the rf transceiver switch in the receiving mode includes: the low noise amplifier LNA is active and the power amplifier PA is switched off. The antenna is connected with one end of a first capacitor C1, the other end of the first capacitor C1 is connected with an inductor L1 in series, the other end of the inductor L1 is connected with the input end of a Low Noise Amplifier (LNA), and the first capacitor C1 and the inductor L1 are connected in series to serve as a receiving matching network for receiving impedance matching, so that radio frequency signal receiving is achieved. The radio frequency switch tube M1 is equivalent to an open switch, the radio frequency switch tube M1 equivalent to an open switch is connected in series with one end of a second capacitor C2, the other end of the second capacitor C2 is grounded, which is equivalent to eliminating the influence of the second capacitor C2 on the receiving impedance matching, the source end S bias of the radio frequency switch tube M1 is greater than 0V (the bias voltage of a low noise amplifier LNA), the linearity when a large signal is received can be improved, and the radio frequency signal is transmitted between an antenna end and the input end of the low noise amplifier LNA. The antenna end, the first capacitor C1, the inductor L1, and the low noise amplifier LNA form a receive path.
Example two: as shown in fig. 8, a radio frequency transceiving switch includes an antenna terminal, a transmitting terminal converter balun, a first capacitor C1, a receiving matching sub-network formed by a second capacitor C2 and an inductor L1, a receiving terminal, and a radio frequency switch module K. The radio frequency transceiving switch has two working modes, namely a transmitting mode and a receiving mode.
The antenna end is used for signal transmission in a transmitting mode and for signal reception in a receiving mode, and a connecting node of the antenna end is divided into two primary branches which are connected in parallel. The transmitting terminal is used for inputting a signal to be transmitted into the radio frequency transceiving switch, and may be connected to other devices, such as a power amplifier PA for amplifying the signal to obtain the signal to be transmitted, and the transmitting terminal converter balun is used for coupling the signal to be transmitted obtained after amplification to the antenna terminal. The transmitting terminal and the transmitting terminal converter balun are connected in series and connected with a connection node of an antenna terminal to form a first primary branch, that is, two output terminals of the power amplifier PA respectively form a transmitting terminal P and a transmitting terminal N, the two transmitting terminals P, N are input terminals of the radio frequency transceiving switch in a transmitting mode, and an output terminal of the transmitting terminal converter balun is connected to the connection node and connected with the antenna terminal.
The transmitting-end converter balun comprises a transmitting coil and an antenna coil coupled to each other. Both ends of the transmitting coil are connected to the transmitting end, one end of the antenna coil is connected with the connecting node of the antenna end, and the other end of the antenna coil is grounded.
One end of the first capacitor C1 is connected to the connection node of the antenna end to form a second primary branch, and the other end of the first capacitor C1 is divided into two secondary branches. The second capacitor C2 is connected in series with the inductor L1 and the receiving terminal, and is connected to the other end of the first capacitor C1 to form a first secondary branch, that is, one end of the second capacitor C2 is connected to the other end of the first capacitor C1, the other end of the second capacitor C2 is connected to one end of the inductor L1, and the other end of the inductor L1 is connected to the receiving terminal and then connected to the input terminal of the low noise amplifier LNA, that is, the input terminal of the low noise amplifier LNA forms the receiving terminal. The first capacitor C1 and the transmitting-side converter balun form a transmitting matching network in the transmitting mode, and the second capacitor C2 and the inductor L1 and the first capacitor C1 form a receiving matching network in the receiving mode. One end of the radio frequency switch module K is connected to the other end of the first capacitor C1, and the other end is grounded to form a second secondary branch, and the grounding mode of the radio frequency switch module K is dc grounding.
The radio frequency switch module K is used for selecting a transmitting mode or a receiving mode. The radio frequency switch module K comprises a radio frequency switch tube Q1, and the radio frequency switch tube Q1 is an NPN triode. The base B of the radio frequency switch tube Q1 forms a first control end through a first resistor R1 and is connected with a first control signal SW, the collector C of the radio frequency switch tube Q1 is connected with the other end of a first capacitor C1, the collector C of the radio frequency switch tube Q1 also forms a second control end through a second resistor R2 and is connected with a second control signal VB, and the emitter E of the radio frequency switch tube Q1 is grounded.
As shown in fig. 9, when the rf transceiving switch is in the transmitting mode, the rf switch module K is closed, which is equivalent to the closed switch K1. At this time, the base B of the rf switch Q1 is connected in series with the first resistor R1 and then connected to the first high potential (VH 1), the collector C of the rf switch Q1 is connected in series with the second resistor R2 and then connected to the second high potential (VH 2), that is, the first control signal SW is a first high potential signal (the specific potential is higher than 0V according to the actual situation), the second control signal VB is a second high potential signal (the specific potential is higher than 0V according to the actual situation), and the potentials connected to the first control terminal and the second control terminal are both high potentials. The signal to be transmitted is transmitted between the transmitting end and the antenna end.
As shown in fig. 10, when the rf transceiving switch is in the receiving mode, the rf switch module K is turned off, which is equivalently an off switch K2. At this time, the base B of the rf switch Q1 is serially connected to the first resistor R1 and then connected to a low potential (0V), the collector C of the rf switch Q1 is serially connected to the second resistor R2 and then connected to a low potential (0V), that is, the first control signal SW is a low potential signal, the second control signal VB is a low potential signal, and the potentials connected to the first control terminal and the second control terminal are both low potentials. The signal to be received is transmitted between the antenna end and the receiving end.
As shown in fig. 11, the method for operating the rf transceiver switch in the transmitting mode includes: the power amplifier PA works, the low noise amplifier LNA is turned off, an output signal of the power amplifier PA is coupled to an antenna end through a transmitting end converter balun, and the transmitting end converter balun and a first capacitor C1 are used as a transmitting matching network to carry out transmitting power matching, so that radio frequency signal transmitting is achieved. At this time, the rf switch Q1 is equivalent to a closed switch, and one end of the rf switch Q1, which is equivalent to a closed switch, is connected to the first capacitor C1, and the other end is grounded, which is equivalent to grounding the other end of the first capacitor C1, so that the signal in the antenna coil is coupled to the receiving end of the low noise amplifier LNA as little as possible, and the transmission of the rf signal between the output end of the power amplifier PA and the antenna end is realized. The power amplifier PA, the transmitting end converter balun, the first capacitor C1 and the antenna end form a transmitting path.
As shown in fig. 12, the method for operating the rf transceiver switch in the receiving mode includes: the low noise amplifier LNA is active and the power amplifier PA is switched off. The antenna is connected with one end of a first capacitor C1, the other end of the first capacitor C1 is connected with a second capacitor C2 in series, the other end of the second capacitor C2 is connected with an inductor L1 in series, the other end of the inductor L1 is connected with the input end of a low noise amplifier LNA, the first capacitor C1, the second capacitor C2 and the inductor L1 are connected in series to serve as a receiving matching network to carry out receiving impedance matching, and radio frequency signals are transmitted between the antenna end and the input end of the low noise amplifier LNA. The antenna end, the first capacitor C1, the second capacitor C2, the inductor L1 and the low noise amplifier LNA form a receiving path.
In the two embodiments, the rf transceiver switch circuit and its sub-circuits are located in the same chip, so that the rf signal transmission path can be switched between the PA output terminal and the antenna terminal or between the antenna terminal and the LNA input terminal.
In the two embodiments, the transmitting end power matching network and the receiving end impedance matching network, that is, the first capacitor C1, the second capacitor C2, the inductor L1, and the transmitting end converter balun, are all implemented by using on-chip inductors and on-chip capacitors in a standard CMOS process, which can greatly reduce the use of discrete components outside a chip, effectively reduce the cost and the PCB area, and simultaneously implement high performance, high integration and low cost.
In the two embodiments, besides the above-mentioned passive devices such as inductors and capacitors, all other circuits and active devices can also be manufactured by adopting a standard CMOS process, and since the radio frequency NMOS transistor and the NPN transistor in the standard CMOS process are limited in their own characteristics and performance and are not suitable for being directly used as a radio frequency switch, in the present invention, only the radio frequency NMOS transistor (radio frequency switch transistor M1) and the NPN transistor (radio frequency switch transistor Q1) are used for signal bypass, and do not appear on a direct path of a radio frequency signal, thereby avoiding the system performance degradation that may be caused.
In the above two embodiments, the bias voltages connected to the first control signal SW and the second control signal VB of the rf switch module K may be provided by the band gap, the LDO, the inverter, or even an external power supply.
The rf transceiving switch may be implemented by using a diode, for example, an anode of the diode forms a first control terminal through a first resistor, the anode of the diode is connected to the first capacitor, and a cathode of the diode is grounded, in addition to the rf switch tube M1 or the rf switch tube Q1 provided in the above embodiments. When the first control end is connected with a high potential, the radio frequency transceiving switch is in a transmitting mode, and when the first control end is connected with a low potential, the radio frequency transceiving switch is in a receiving mode.
The embodiments have fully disclosed the working principle of the high performance rf transceiver switch of the present invention, and it should be noted that the specific embodiments described in the embodiments are only for facilitating the understanding of the contents and spirit of the present invention, and the purpose of the present invention is to enable those skilled in the art to understand the contents of the present invention and to implement the same, but not to limit the present invention. All equivalent changes and modifications made according to the spirit of the present invention should be covered within the protection scope of the present invention.