JP2011171805A - Transmitter and receiver module - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To protect large power input to a reception system from a transmission system by suppressing degradation of a noise factor of a transmitter and receiver module. <P>SOLUTION: The transmitter and receiver module includes a directionality-variable circulator 14 having directionality changed over in synchronization with a transmission/reception changeover signal in an input part of a low-noise amplifier 13 of a reception system; when receiving a weak reception signal from an antenna 10, the directionality-variable circulator 14 is connected to the low-noise amplifier 13 to transmit the signal to the low-noise amplifier 13 in low loss; the directionality-variable circulator 14 is connected to a termination resistor 15 in transmission to absorb large power input to the reception system by the termination resistor 15; and the low-noise amplifier 13 is protected against breakage. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a transmission / reception module for transmitting / receiving a microwave or millimeter wave high-frequency signal.

  In the case of a phased array antenna configured using a large number of transmission / reception modules, high power during transmission is input to the reception system by mutual coupling (active impedance) of the transmission / reception modules. Conventionally, for the purpose of protecting the low-noise amplifier of the receiving system from such a large power input to the receiving system, a high power-resistant switch, a limiter, and the like have been arranged at the input part of the low-noise amplifier (for example, patents) Reference 1).

JP 2004-153653 A

  In a conventional transmission / reception module, when a protection circuit such as a high power resistant switch or limiter is employed, the noise figure at the time of reception is degraded due to the passage loss (about 1 dB) of the high power resistant switch or limiter. There was a problem.

  The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to protect the large power input from the transmission system to the reception system by suppressing the deterioration of the noise figure of the transmission / reception module.

  A transmission / reception module according to the present invention includes a transmission high-power amplifier connected to an antenna via a circulator, a reception low-noise amplifier connected to the antenna via the circulator, and the circulator and low-noise amplifier. A directional variable circulator having a first terminal connected to the circulator, a second terminal connected to the low noise amplifier, and a third terminal; and a first terminal of the directional variable circulator. The directional variable circulator is connected between the first and second terminals at the time of reception, and connected between the first and third terminals at the time of transmission. Is.

  According to the present invention, signal transmission is performed to the low noise amplifier with low loss at the time of reception, and a large amount of power that is input to the reception system at the time of transmission is absorbed by the termination resistor 15, so that the low noise amplifier is destroyed. Can be protected, and since the directionally variable circulator has a small passage loss, it is possible to suppress the deterioration of the noise figure at the time of reception.

It is a figure which shows the circuit structure of the transmission / reception module by Embodiment 1 which concerns on this invention. It is a figure which shows the structure of the circulator of the transmission / reception module by Embodiment 1 which concerns on this invention.

Embodiment 1 FIG.
1 is a diagram showing a circuit configuration of a transmission / reception module according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the structure of the circulator of the transmission / reception module according to the first embodiment.
In the figure, the transmission / reception module of the first embodiment includes an antenna 10, a circulator 11, a high-power amplifier 12 for transmission signals, a low-noise amplifier 13 for reception signals, a directional variable circulator 14, and a terminator 15. A transmission / reception changeover switch 16, a phase shifter 17, and a power supply terminal 18.

In the antenna 10, transmission power is input to the power supply terminal, and a transmission radio wave is radiated by the antenna element. The antenna 10 receives a received radio wave at the antenna element and outputs received power from a power feeding terminal.
The power supply terminal of the antenna 10 is connected to the input / output terminal of the circulator 11. The circulator 11 has a transmission-side terminal connected to the output terminal of the high-power amplifier 12 and a reception-side terminal connected to the first terminal 14 a of the directional variable circulator 14. The circulator 11 outputs a transmission signal output from the high-power amplifier 12 to the antenna 10 at the time of transmission, and sends a reception signal received by the antenna 10 to the first terminal 14a at the time of reception.

  The second terminal 14 b of the directional variable circulator 14 is connected to the input terminal of the low noise amplifier 13. The third terminal 14 c of the directional variable circulator 14 is connected to one end of the terminator 15. The other end of the terminator 15 is connected to the ground (ground plane). The directional variable circulator 14 outputs a signal input to the first terminal 14a during transmission to the third terminal 14c, and outputs a signal input to the first terminal 14a during reception to the second terminal 14b. .

  The transmission / reception change-over switch 16 has either the first terminal or the second terminal connected to the third terminal. A first terminal of the transmission / reception changeover switch 16 is connected to an input terminal of the high-power amplifier 12. The second terminal of the transmission / reception changeover switch 16 is connected to the output terminal of the low noise amplifier 13. A third terminal of the transmission / reception changeover switch 16 is connected to one terminal of the phase shifter 17. The transmission / reception changeover switch 16 is composed of a single-circuit double-contact single-pole double-throw RF (Radio Frequency) switch. The transmission / reception selector switch 16 is controlled by an external control device (not shown) in a first state in which the first terminal and the third terminal are connected, and in a second state in which the second terminal and the third terminal are connected. The state is switched. The other terminal of the phase shifter 17 is connected to the power supply terminal 18.

Next, the operation will be described.
At the time of reception, a weak reception signal input from the antenna 10 passes through the circulator 11 and the variable directionality circulator 14 and is input to the low noise amplifier 13. In this case, the direction variable circulator 14 passes from the first terminal 14a to the second terminal 14b (low loss) when a signal for switching to reception is generated as a transmission / reception switching signal from an external control device (not shown). ing.

  The received signal input to the low noise amplifier 13 is subjected to processing such as signal amplification or waveform shaping in the low noise amplifier 13, passes through the transmission / reception changeover switch 16 and the phase shifter 17, and is supplied to the power supply terminal 18. Is output. At this time, the transmission / reception changeover switch 16 receives a signal for switching to reception as a transmission / reception switching signal from an external control device (not shown), and is switched so that the third terminal is connected to the second terminal. The phase shifter 17 shifts the phase of the received signal to a desired phase based on a set phase command set by an external control device (not shown).

  At the time of transmission, the transmission signal input from the power supply terminal 18 passes through the phase shifter 17 and the transmission / reception changeover switch 16 and is input to the high output amplifier 12. At this time, the transmission / reception selector switch 16 is switched so that the third terminal is connected to the first terminal in response to a signal for switching to transmission as a transmission / reception switching signal from an external control device (not shown). Further, the phase shifter 17 shifts the phase of the transmission signal to a desired phase based on a set phase command set by an external control device (not shown). The high-power amplifier 12 amplifies the transmission signal that has passed through the transmission / reception changeover switch 16 into a high-power signal and sends the amplified signal to the circulator 11. The high power signal sent to the circulator 11 is sent to the antenna 10, and the antenna 10 radiates transmission radio waves toward the air.

At the time of transmission, a part of the large power signal input to the antenna 10 is reflected by the antenna 10 and input to the circulator 11 again. The high power signal input from the antenna 10 passes through the circulator 11 and is input to the first terminal 14 a of the directional variable circulator 14.
In this case, the direction variable circulator 14 is in a passing state from the first terminal 14a to the third terminal 14c when a signal for switching to transmission is generated as a transmission / reception switching signal from an external control device (not shown). The high power signal input to the first terminal 14a of the variable direction circulator 14 is absorbed by the terminator 15 connected to the third terminal 14c. Therefore, a high power signal is not input to the low noise amplifier 13, and the variable directionality circulator 14 serves as a protection circuit for the reception system.

Next, the multilayer substrate structure and operation principle of the variable direction circulator 14 will be described.
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the structure of the circulator of the transmission / reception module according to the first embodiment.
In the figure, the multilayer substrate structure of the directional variable circulator 14 includes ferrite materials 2a to 2d, conductor wirings 3a to 3d having a coil shape for generating a magnetic field, and high-frequency signal transmission conductors on the inner layers of the multilayer ceramic substrates 1a to 1f. It is configured by forming the wiring 4. The multilayer ceramic substrates 1a to 1f are constituted by low temperature co-fired ceramics (LTCC) in which a plurality of green sheets on which circuit wiring is printed with a conductor paste are stacked and integrated by sintering. Here, the multilayer ceramic substrates 1a to 1f are laminated and integrally formed as follows. The conductor wirings 3a to 3d are disposed so as to surround the periphery of the ferrite materials 2a to 2d in a spiral manner, and are provided so as not to be connected to the ferrite materials 2a to 2d.

The multilayer ceramic substrate 1a is laminated on the multilayer ceramic substrate 1b.
A lump of rectangular plate-like ferrite 2a is embedded in the multilayer ceramic substrate 1b, and a part of the loop-shaped conductor wiring 3a is disposed so as to surround the periphery of the ferrite 2a. One end of the conductor wiring 3 a is drawn toward the side end of the multilayer ceramic substrate 1 b and connected to the voltage terminal 5. The other end of the conductor wiring 3a is connected to a conductor via (or conductor through hole) provided perpendicular to the substrate thickness direction in the inner layer of the multilayer ceramic substrate 1b. The multilayer ceramic substrate 1b is laminated on the multilayer ceramic substrate 1c.

  A block of ferrite 2b having a rectangular plate shape is embedded in the multilayer ceramic substrate 1c, and a part of the loop-shaped conductor wiring 3b is disposed so as to surround the periphery of the ferrite 2b. One end of the conductor wiring 3b is connected to a conductor via (or conductor through hole) provided in the inner layer of the multilayer ceramic substrate 1b, and is connected to the other end of the conductor wiring 3a. The other end of the conductor wiring 3b is connected to a conductor via (or conductor through-hole) provided perpendicular to the substrate thickness direction in the inner layer of the multilayer ceramic substrate 1c. The multilayer ceramic substrate 1c is laminated on the multilayer ceramic substrate 1d.

On the surface layer of the multilayer ceramic substrate 1d, which is a high-frequency signal transmission conductor wiring layer, three high-frequency signal transmission conductor wirings 4a to 4c having different orientations are arranged radially around the circular conductor plate 4d. A high-frequency signal transmission conductor wiring 4 is formed together with the plate 4d. The high-frequency signal transmission conductor wiring 4a, the high-frequency signal transmission conductor wiring 4b, and the high-frequency signal transmission conductor wiring 4c are connected to the conductor plate 4d at the center of the multilayer ceramic substrate 1d. The conductor plate 4d of the high-frequency signal transmission conductor wiring 4 is disposed so as to face the upper layer ferrite 2b and the lower layer ferrite 2c.
One end of the high-frequency signal transmission conductor wire 4a and one end of the high-frequency signal transmission conductor wire 4b are opposed to each other, and the high-frequency signal transmission conductor wire 4c is perpendicular to the virtual straight line passing through the high-frequency signal transmission conductor wires 4a and 4b. It is oriented in the direction formed (the direction perpendicular to the virtual straight line in the substrate plane). The other end of the high-frequency signal transmission conductor wiring 4a becomes the second terminal 14b, and the other end of the high-frequency signal transmission conductor wiring 4b becomes the first terminal 14a. The conductor plate 4d in the high-frequency signal transmission conductor wiring 4c The end on the opposite side to the connecting portion is the third terminal 14c.
In the inner layer of the multilayer ceramic substrate 1d, conductor vias (or conductor through holes) are provided perpendicular to the thickness direction of the substrate, not connected to the high-frequency signal transmission conductor wiring 4, and connected to the conductor vias of the multilayer ceramic substrate 1c. Then, it is connected to the other end of the conductor wiring 3b. The multilayer ceramic substrate 1d is laminated on the multilayer ceramic substrate 1e.

  A block of ferrite 2c having a rectangular plate shape is embedded in the multilayer ceramic substrate 1e, and a part of the loop-shaped conductor wiring 3c is disposed so as to surround the periphery of the ferrite 2c. One end of the conductor wiring 3c is connected to a conductor via (or conductor through hole) provided in the inner layer of the multilayer ceramic substrate 1d, and is connected to the other end of the conductor wiring 3b. The other end of the conductor wiring 3c is connected to a conductor via (or conductor through hole) provided perpendicular to the substrate thickness direction in the inner layer of the multilayer ceramic substrate 1e. The multilayer ceramic substrate 1e is laminated on the multilayer ceramic substrate 1f.

  A single piece of rectangular plate-like ferrite 2d is embedded in the multilayer ceramic substrate 1f, and a part of the loop-shaped conductor wiring 3d is disposed so as to surround the periphery of the ferrite 2d. One end of the conductor wiring 3d is connected to a conductor via (or conductor through hole) provided in the inner layer of the multilayer ceramic substrate 1e. The other end of the conductor wiring 3d is drawn toward the side end of the multilayer ceramic substrate 1f and connected to the voltage terminal 6.

Next, the operation of the variable direction circulator 14 will be described.
When a signal for switching to reception is generated as a transmission / reception switching signal from an external control device (not shown), the external control device simultaneously applies a positive voltage to the voltage terminal 5 which is a control voltage terminal of the direction variable circulator 14 and a negative voltage to the voltage terminal 6. When a voltage is applied and a current is passed through the conductor wirings 3a to 3d, a magnetic field is generated in the direction of arrow A (first state).
In this first state, the high-frequency signal input from the terminal 14a of the high-frequency signal transmission conductor wiring 4b is generated by the action of the magnetic field in the direction of the arrow A passing through the conductor plate 4d of the high-frequency signal transmission conductor wiring 4 It passes with low loss to the terminal 14b of the signal transmission conductor wiring 4a, and almost no high frequency signal is output to the terminal 14c of the high frequency signal transmission conductor wiring 4c.

On the other hand, when a signal for switching to transmission is generated from an external control device (not shown) as a transmission / reception switching signal, the external control device simultaneously applies a negative voltage to the voltage terminal 5 of the directional variable circulator 14 and a positive voltage to the voltage terminal 6. When a current is passed through the conductor wirings 3a to 3d in the direction opposite to the first state, a magnetic field is generated in the direction of arrow A (second state).
In this second state, the high-frequency signal input from the terminal 14a of the high-frequency signal transmission conductor wiring 4b is generated by the action of the magnetic field in the direction of the arrow a passing through the conductor plate 4d of the high-frequency signal transmission conductor wiring 4 It passes through the terminal 14c of the signal transmission conductor wiring 4c with low loss, and almost no high frequency signal is output to the terminal 14b of the high frequency signal transmission conductor wiring 4a.
In this way, by switching the polarity of voltage application in synchronization with the transmission / reception switching signal, the signal transmission direction of the directional variable circulator 14 can be switched.

  As described above, the transmission / reception module according to the first embodiment includes the transmission high-output amplifier 12 connected to the antenna 10 via the circulator 11 and the reception system connected to the antenna 10 via the circulator 11. A low-noise amplifier 13, a first terminal 14 a connected between the circulator 11 and the low-noise amplifier 13, connected to the circulator 11, a second terminal 14 b connected to the low-noise amplifier, and 3 directional variable circulators 14 having a terminal 14c and a terminator 15 connected to the third terminal of the directional variable circulator 14. The directional variable circulator 14 receives the first, The second terminals 14a and 14b are connected, and the first and third terminals 14a and 14c are connected during transmission. It constituted by the Rukoto.

  Further, the directional variable circulator 14 includes conductor wirings 3a, 3b that spirally surround the upper and lower ferrites 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d and the upper and lower ferrites 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d. 3c, 3d, laminated between the upper ferrites 2a, 2b and the lower ferrites 2c, 2d, and the first, second and third terminals 14a, 14b, 14c are arranged in a radial pattern for high frequency transmission It is composed of a multilayer substrate on which a conductor wiring layer 4 is laminated.

  With this configuration, the input unit of the low-noise amplifier 13 of the reception system includes the variable directionality circulator 14 whose directionality is switched in synchronization with the transmission / reception switching signal, and receives a weak reception signal from the antenna 10. In this case, the directional variable circulator 14 is connected to the low noise amplifier 13, and signal transmission is performed to the low noise amplifier 13 with low loss. At the time of transmission, the directional variable circulator 14 is connected to the terminating resistor 15, The large power that is input is absorbed by the termination resistor 15, and the destruction of the low noise amplifier 13 can be protected. In addition, the variable directionality circulator 14 has a small passage loss as compared with a protection circuit such as a high power resistant switch or a limiter, so that it is possible to suppress degradation of a noise figure during reception.

  In addition, since the directionally variable circulator 14 can be formed of a multilayer substrate, a small-sized or low-cost high-power protection circuit for a receiving system can be obtained by forming the directional variable circulator 14 integrally with a package on which the transceiver module is mounted. .

  2a-2d ferrite, conductor wiring 3a-3d, 4 high-frequency signal transmission conductor wiring, 10 antenna, 11 circulator, 12 high power amplifier, 13 low noise amplifier, 14 direction variable circulator, 15 terminator, 16 transmission / reception switch, 17 Phase shifter, 18 Power supply terminal.

Claims (2)

A high-power amplifier for a transmission system connected to an antenna via a circulator;
A low-noise amplifier of a receiving system connected to the antenna via the circulator;
A directional variable circulator connected between the circulator and a low noise amplifier, having a first terminal connected to the circulator, a second terminal connected to the low noise amplifier, and a third terminal;
A terminator connected to the third terminal of the directional variable circulator;
With
The directional variable circulator is a transmission / reception module in which the first and second terminals are connected during reception, and the first and third terminals are connected during transmission.   The variable direction circulator includes an upper layer and a lower layer ferrite, a conductor wiring that spirally surrounds the upper layer and the lower layer ferrite, and a laminate between the upper layer ferrite and the lower layer ferrite, and the first, second, and third terminals. The transmission / reception module according to claim 1, wherein the transmission / reception module comprises a multi-layer substrate laminated with high-frequency transmission conductor wiring layers arranged radially.

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