KR100381545B1 - Laminated directional coupler - Google Patents

Abstract

Disclosed is a laminated directional coupler which can easily control the coupler characteristics as the size of the laminated directional coupler applied to the high frequency communication device and the lamination method are changed. The laminated directional coupler of the present invention has an insertion loss of 0.5 Hz or less at a center frequency of 1.8 Hz and 2 Hz, and has a coupling ratio of 12.3 to 17.3 Hz and 11.6 to 1.8 Hz and 2 Hz for use in wireless communication terminal components, respectively. The stratum structure of the directional coupler was changed to be 16.3 kPa. That is, electromagnetically coupled inductor electrodes are symmetrical with each other in each dielectric layer, and ground electrodes are formed above and below the inductor electrode to block electromagnetic waves. According to the present invention, the pattern is designed so that the coupling ratio of the laminated directional coupler, which is an element of the high-frequency communication device circuit, is 12.3-17.3 ㏈ and 11.6-16.3 결합, respectively, at 1.8kW and 2kW without via holes. The thickness can be reduced, and the length of the inductor electrode pattern is about 1/20 of the wavelength used, so that the device can be reduced in size and lighter than the conventional quarter-type directional coupler, and the manufacturing process is simple. . In addition, the distance between the inductor electrode and the ground electrode is adjusted to control the characteristic value of the directional coupler required in the circuit design.

Description

Laminated directional coupler

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a directional coupler, and in particular, it is possible to easily control the coupler characteristics (insertion loss, coupling degree, isolation degree, voltage standing wave ratio) by changing the miniaturization and stacking method of the stacked directional coupler applied to a high frequency communication device. And a directional coupler that can be stacked.

Conventional high frequency components have mostly metal components, but new technologies using high frequency dielectric materials have been proposed to achieve miniaturization and light weight of components. Teflon, alumina, and high frequency dielectric ceramics may be representative examples of materials of such high frequency dielectrics. Such dielectrics may be directly component parts or may be applied to manufacturing a substrate using the same.

Among them, the most commonly used structure for high frequency components is a structure such as a substrate type, a laminate type, and a resonator type. High frequency dielectric ceramics for high frequency components are mostly used for miniaturization, weight reduction, and temperature stability of components.

These high frequency dielectric ceramics are mainly applied to high frequency components and are used for the purpose of miniaturization thereof. Examples of such high frequency components include filters, directional couplers, dielectric antennas, and the like, and have a wide range of applications. Let's look briefly at the directional coupler.

In general, in the circuits that process radio frequency (RF) and microwave signals such as mixers, power amplifiers, phase shifters, and the like, the operation of power distribution is a directional coupler. Directional Coupler). So far, various types of directional couplers have been proposed. Some examples are as follows.

Branch line type couplers, rat-race type couplers, and Wilkinson power dividers have been proposed. The above-described couplers are typical power combiners, and have a disadvantage in that they are large in area because they are implemented in a continuous conductor pattern type, and the bandwidth provided by the couplers is very narrow.

A quarter-wavelength distributed coupling type coupler has been proposed to compensate for the shortcomings of the narrow bandwidth, but it has the advantage of providing a relatively wide bandwidth, but a low degree of coupling) and the design of this coupler is disadvantageous.

1 is an exploded perspective view of each layer schematically showing the structure of a conventional high-frequency directional coupler. Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional directional coupler basically consists of a first dielectric layer 10, a second dielectric layer 20, and a protective dielectric layer 30.

An upper surface of the first dielectric layer 10 is formed with a patterned first electrode pattern 12 after applying a conductive material. In addition, a second electrode pattern 22 formed by applying a conductive material to the upper surface of the second dielectric layer 20 and then patterning is formed. In addition, a protective dielectric layer 30 is provided to protect the second electrode pattern 22 to face the second dielectric layer 20. In this case, the first electrode pattern 12 and the second electrode pattern 22 are symmetrical with respect to a-a '.

As described above, after the respective dielectric layers are sequentially laminated and sintered into the first dielectric layer 10, the second dielectric layer 20, and the protective dielectric layer 30, the external connection electrodes P1, P2, P3, and P4 are printed. Laminated directional couplers are completed.

In the conventional stacked directional coupler configured as described above, when signal power is input and output through the second electrode pattern, electromagnetically coupled power is induced to the first electrode pattern. Specifically, for example, when the signal power input to P1 is sequentially output through the second electrode pattern and P2, the signal power is induced by electromagnetic coupling to the first electrode pattern and output to P3. At this time, the input / output of signal power does not appear in P4.

As described above, the conventional laminated directional coupler has to be designed such that the length of the first electrode pattern and the second electrode pattern has a quarter length of the used wavelength as described above, thereby limiting the size reduction. This may interfere with the recent trend of miniaturization of communication terminals. On the other hand, when the via hole is used to solve this problem, an increase in thickness is inevitable, thereby increasing the manufacturing cost and increasing the probability of a defect occurring during the organic material removal process. If the dielectric material is used to reduce the size, the circuit line width becomes thin for the 50 Ω impedance matching, so careful attention is required during the process. In addition, the conventional stacked directional coupler has a problem in that the port of the second electrode pattern, which is the main circuit line, and the port of the first electrode pattern, which is the subcircuit line, exist on the same side of the coupler, so that it is difficult to cope with various requirements in circuit construction.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to increase the miniaturization and stacking method of a stacked directional coupler applied to a high frequency communication device, and to easily control the coupler characteristics (insertion loss, coupling, isolation, voltage standing wave ratio). To provide a directional coupler.

1 is an exploded perspective view of each layer schematically showing the structure of a conventional high-frequency directional coupler;

2 is an exploded perspective view of each layer of the directional coupler according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

3 is a vertical sectional view of the directional coupler according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

4 is an exploded perspective view of each layer of the directional coupler according to the second embodiment of the present invention;

5 to 9 are graphs showing the characteristics of the directional coupler according to the frequency shown by changing the distance between the inductor electrodes, the inductor electrode and the ground electrode.

Explanation of symbols on the main parts of the drawings

100: first ground electrode dielectric layer 110: first ground electrode

200: first inductor electrode dielectric layer 210: first inductor electrode

300: second inductor electrode dielectric layer 310: second inductor electrode

400: second ground electrode dielectric layer 410: second ground electrode

500: protective dielectric layer

120, 120 ', 220, 220', 320, 320 ', 420, 420', 520, 520 ': electrode for external connection

130, 230, 330, 430, 530: grounding electrode

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is applied to a laminated directional coupler in which a dielectric layer having a conductive pattern is laminated and electromagnetic coupling is performed. And a first ground electrode dielectric layer formed by connecting the grounding electrode and the first grounding electrode to each other by forming a first grounding electrode and patterning the grounding electrode and the external connection electrode on both sides of the grounding electrode. ; Disposed on the first ground electrode dielectric layer, the first inductor electrode is patterned on an upper surface thereof, and an external connection electrode and a ground electrode are formed on both ends of an external connection electrode of the first ground electrode dielectric layer and an extension line of the ground electrode. A first inductor electrode dielectric layer formed by patterning an electrode to connect one external connection electrode and the first inductor electrode to each other; Patterning the second inductor electrode symmetrically with respect to the imaginary line connecting the grounding electrode to generate electromagnetic coupling with the first inductor electrode, and the external connection electrode and the grounding electrode on both sides of the extension line A second inductor electrode dielectric layer formed by patterning and connecting the other external connection electrode and the second inductor electrode to each other; A conductive material is coated on a predetermined portion of the upper surface of the dielectric layer to form second ground electrodes, and the external connection electrode and the ground electrode are patterned on both side surfaces of the extension line to connect the ground electrode and the second ground electrode to each other. A second ground electrode dielectric layer; A protective dielectric layer disposed opposite to the second ground electrode dielectric layer and patterning an external connection electrode and a grounding electrode on both end sides of the extension line; and sequentially forming and compressing the external connection electrode and ground It is characterized by consisting of the electrodes for interconnection.

In this case, the application area of the first ground electrode and the second ground electrode is preferably larger than the area of the region where the first inductor electrode and the second inductor electrode are patterned.

In addition, the length of the first inductor electrode and the second inductor electrode has a length in the range of 1/15 to 1/25 at the frequency provided.

The lengths of the first inductor electrode and the second inductor electrode may be different from each other. At this time, it is preferable that the length of the first inductor electrode is shorter than the length of the second inductor electrode.

On the other hand, when the frequency applied to the first and second inductor electrodes is 1.7 to 1.9 kHz, the insertion loss is 0.1 to 0.4 kHz, the coupling degree is 12.3 to 17.3 kHz, the isolation degree is 17.8 to 24.1 kHz, and the voltage standing wave ratio is 1.09 to The thickness of the second ground electrode dielectric layer is set within the range of 0.18 to 0.28 mm, and the thickness of the second inductor electrode dielectric layer is set within the range of 0.03 to 0.09 mm to have an arbitrary value within the range of 1.28 kV. The thickness of the first inductor electrode dielectric layer is set within the range of 0.18 to 0.26 mm.

When the frequency applied to the first and second inductor electrodes is 1.9 to 2.1 kHz, the insertion loss is 0.1 to 0.5 kHz, the coupling degree is 11.6 to 16.3 kHz, the isolation degree is 17.5 to 23.4 kHz, and the voltage standing wave ratio is 1.1. The thickness of the second ground electrode dielectric layer is set within the range of 0.18 mm to 0.28 mm, and the thickness of the second inductor electrode dielectric layer is set within the range of 0.03 mm to 0.09 mm to have any value within the range of ˜1.3 dB. More preferably, the thickness of the first inductor electrode dielectric layer is set within the range of 0.18 to 0.26 mm.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings will be described a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

[First Embodiment]

2 is an exploded perspective view of each layer of the directional coupler according to the first embodiment of the present invention. 2, the directional couplers according to the first embodiment are all composed of five dielectric layers. That is, the first ground electrode dielectric layer 100, the first inductor electrode dielectric layer 200, the second inductor electrode dielectric layer 300, the second ground electrode dielectric layer 400, and the protective dielectric layer 500 are sequentially stacked. It is.

The first ground electrode dielectric layer 100 is formed thereon with a first ground electrode 110 coated with a conductive metal material to minimize external electromagnetic influence. In addition, the external connection electrodes 120 and 120 'and the grounding electrode 130 are printed on both end surfaces of the first ground electrode dielectric layer 100. The first ground electrode 110 and the ground electrode 130 are connected to each other. In the present embodiment, two external connection electrodes 120 and 120 'are printed, but are electrically disconnected from each other, and are positioned at both sides of the ground electrode 130.

The first inductor electrode dielectric layer 200 is patterned with a first inductor electrode (subcircuit line 210) through which power can be conducted, and the first inductor electrode 210 has a line width satisfying a 50 kΩ impedance match. It has a length of 1/20 of the signal wavelength. In addition, the same external connection electrodes 220 and 220 'and the grounding electrode 230 are printed on both side surfaces of the first inductor electrode dielectric layer 200. In this case, the first inductor electrode 210 is connected to one side external connection electrode 220 provided on both side surfaces.

On the other hand, in order to maximize the shielding effect from the external electromagnetic through the first ground electrode 110, the first inductor electrode 210 is preferably formed in the inner region of the opposed first ground electrode 110.

The second inductor electrode dielectric layer 300 is patterned with a second inductor electrode (main circuit line 310) through which power can be conducted. The second inductor electrode dielectric layer 300 is formed to be symmetrical with the first inductor electrode 210 and has the same length. Pattern to have. In this embodiment, it can be seen that the left and right symmetry around the imaginary line connecting the ground electrode 130. As the second inductor electrode 320 is symmetrically formed, it can be seen that the second inductor electrode 320 is connected to the other external connection electrode 320 ′. Hereinafter, since the components of the second inductor electrode dielectric layer 300 (the outer connecting electrodes 320 and 320 'and the grounding electrode 330) are the same as those of the first inductor electrode dielectric layer 200, a detailed description thereof will be omitted. do.

The second ground electrode dielectric layer 400 has the same type of components as the first ground electrode dielectric layer 100 (ground electrode 410, external connection electrodes 420 and 420 ′, and ground electrode 430). ), So the detailed description is omitted.

Lastly, a protective dielectric layer 500 is positioned to protect the printed electrode on the uppermost surface facing the second ground electrode dielectric layer 400, and external connection electrodes 520 and 520 ′ are formed at both ends of the protective dielectric layer 500. ) And ground electrode 530 are formed in the same manner as the respective dielectric layers.

Each of the above dielectric layers uses a ceramic green sheet having a high dielectric constant capable of low temperature firing, and the conductive metal applied or patterned thereon uses a low resistivity material such as silver or copper. After that, each dielectric layer is electrically connected to the external connection electrode and the ground electrode through a pressure lamination process. As a result, a first inductor electrode and a second inductor electrode are present between the first ground electrode and the second ground electrode. The laminated directional coupler is completed.

3 is a vertical sectional view schematically showing an electrode cross section of the directional coupler according to the first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 3, the reference symbol A is the distance between the second ground electrode 410 and the second inductor electrode 310, and the reference symbol B is the second inductor electrode 310 and the first inductor electrode 210. The reference symbol C represents the distance between the first inductor electrode 210 and the first ground electrode 110.

At this time, the characteristics of the laminated directional coupler is changed by changing the intervals of A, B, and C. The variation of the intervals of A, B and C can be achieved by adjusting the thickness of the ceramic green sheet.

In this embodiment, the thickness of the ceramic green sheet is changed to adjust the intervals of A, B, and C, and characteristics change of the directional coupler that is changed when the frequency of the input signal is 1.8 kHz and 2 ㎓ is shown in Table 1 below. And [Table 2], respectively.

TABLE 1

TABLE 2

Here, the symbols of the characteristic values shown according to the frequency indicate □: reverse loss, Δ: insertion loss, X: coupling degree, O: isolation degree, respectively. Meanwhile, the voltage standing wave ratio inserted in the table is

(x = reverse loss) shows a calculated value.

5 to 9 are graphs illustrating the characteristics of the directional coupler according to the frequency appearing as the distance between the inductor electrodes and the inductor electrode and the ground electrode is changed.

Specifically, FIG. 5 illustrates characteristics of the directional coupler according to frequency when the distances of A, C, and B are 0.22 mm, 0.22 mm, and 0.06 mm, respectively, in the stacked directional coupler according to the first embodiment of the present invention. 6 is a diagram showing the characteristics of the directional coupler according to frequency when the distances A, C, and B are 0.23 mm, 0.23 mm, and 0.04 mm, respectively, and FIG. In the case where the distances are 0.21 mm, 0.21 mm, and 0.04 mm, the characteristics of the directional coupler according to frequency are shown.

8 is a diagram showing the characteristics of the directional coupler according to frequency when the distances of A, C, and B are 0.2 mm, 0.24 mm, and 0.06 mm, respectively, and FIG. 9 is a distance of A, C, and B. FIG. Is a figure showing the characteristics of the directional coupler according to the frequency when is 0.26 mm, 0.2 mm, 0.04 mm, respectively.

As a result, in the case where the interval of B is changed as in Nos. 2 and 3 in the present embodiment, No. 2, which has a smaller gap than No. 1, has a low bonding degree, and relatively B as in No. 3. In the case of wide spacing, the degree of bonding was large. The characteristics according to the frequency change of No. 1, No. 2, and No. 3 directional coupler are shown in FIGS. 5, 6, and 7, respectively. In case of No. 3, the reverse loss decreased to -50㏈ below 1㎓.

No. 4 had the same interval between No. 1 and B, but set the interval between A and C differently. The characteristic value according to the frequency is shown in FIG. In this case, there was no significant difference between No. 1 and the characteristic value. In No. 5, the distance between No. 2 and B was the same, but the distance between A and C was wide. The characteristic value measurement results according to frequency are shown in FIG. 9.

Second Embodiment

4 is an exploded perspective view of each layer of the directional coupler according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

Here, in the drawings according to the second embodiment of the present invention, the same reference numerals are assigned to the same components as those of the first embodiment of the present invention. In addition, duplicate descriptions of components that perform the same operations as those of the first embodiment will be omitted.

Referring to FIG. 4, the stacked directional coupler shown in the second embodiment is different from the stacked directional coupler shown in the first embodiment, so that the first inductor electrode and the second inductor electrode are not arranged in a symmetrical form. In addition, each length is different.

In the case of manufacturing the stacked directional coupler according to the second embodiment as described above, for example, at a frequency of 1.8 kHz, the characteristic values are insertion loss 0.2 kHz, coupling 15.4 kHz, isolation 27.4 kHz, and voltage standing wave ratio 1.13. Confirmed.

As described above, the laminated directional coupler according to the present invention has a coupling ratio of 1.8 Ω and 2 kHz without via holes, respectively, in the coupling ratio of the laminated directional coupler, which is an element of a high frequency communication device circuit, of 12.3 to 17.3 ㏈ and 11.6 각각, respectively. Since the pattern is designed to be ~ 16.3㏈, the thickness can be reduced, and the length of the inductor electrode pattern is about 1/20 of the wavelength used, so that the device can be reduced and lighter than the conventional 1/4 type directional coupler. In addition, the manufacturing process is simple. In addition, the distance between the inductor electrode and the ground electrode is adjusted to control the characteristic value of the directional coupler required in the circuit design.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and it will be apparent that many modifications are possible by those skilled in the art within the technical spirit of the present invention.

Claims (7)

In a stacked directional coupler in which a dielectric layer having a (corrected) conductive pattern is laminated to form electromagnetic coupling, A conductive material is coated on a predetermined portion of the upper surface of the dielectric layer to form a first ground electrode, and the grounding electrode and the first grounding electrode are patterned on both ends of the grounding electrode and the external connection electrode on both sides of the grounding electrode. A first ground electrode dielectric layer connected to each other; Disposed on the first ground electrode dielectric layer, the first inductor electrode is patterned on an upper surface thereof, and an external connection electrode and a ground electrode are formed on both ends of an external connection electrode of the first ground electrode dielectric layer and an extension line of the ground electrode. A first inductor electrode dielectric layer formed by patterning an electrode to connect one external connection electrode and the first inductor electrode to each other; Patterning the second inductor electrode symmetrically with respect to the imaginary line connecting the grounding electrode to generate electromagnetic coupling with the first inductor electrode, and the external connection electrode and the grounding electrode on both sides of the extension line A second inductor electrode dielectric layer formed by patterning and connecting the other external connection electrode and the second inductor electrode to each other; A conductive material is coated on a predetermined portion of the upper surface of the dielectric layer to form second ground electrodes, and the external connection electrode and the ground electrode are patterned on both side surfaces of the extension line to connect the ground electrode and the second ground electrode to each other. A second ground electrode dielectric layer; A protective dielectric layer disposed opposite to the second ground electrode dielectric layer and patterning an external connection electrode and a ground electrode on both end surfaces of the extension line; By sequentially stacking and pressing the interconnecting electrodes and the grounding electrodes formed on each layer, The length of the first inductor electrode is shorter than the length of the second inductor electrode, When the frequency applied to the first and second inductor electrodes is 1.7 to 1.9 Hz, the insertion loss is 0.1 to 0.4 Hz, the coupling degree is 12.3 to 17.3 Hz, the isolation degree is 17.8 to 24.1 Hz, and the voltage standing wave ratio is 1.09 to 1.28 Hz. In order to have any value within a range, the thickness of the second ground electrode dielectric layer is set within a range of 0.18 to 0.28 mm, the thickness of the second inductor electrode dielectric layer is set within a range of 0.3 to 0.9 mm, and the first A laminated directional coupler, wherein the thickness of the inductor electrode dielectric layer is set within the range of 0.18 to 0.26 mm. The multilayer directional coupler of claim 1, wherein an application area of the first ground electrode and the second ground electrode is larger than an area of the patterned area of the first inductor electrode and the second inductor electrode. The directional coupler of claim 1, wherein the lengths of the first inductor electrode and the second inductor electrode have a length in a range of 1/15 to 1/25 at a frequency provided. (delete) (delete) (delete) 2. The method of claim 1, wherein when the frequency applied to the first and second inductor electrodes is 1.9 to 2.1 Hz, the insertion loss is 0.1 to 0.5 Hz, the coupling degree is 11.6 to 16.3 Hz, and the isolation degree is 17.5 to 23.4 Hz. In order for the voltage standing wave ratio to have any value within the range of 1.1 to 1.3 kW, the thickness of the second ground electrode dielectric layer is set within the range of 0.18 to 0.28 mm, and the thickness of the second inductor electrode dielectric layer is within the range of 0.3 to 0.9 mm. And a thickness of the first inductor electrode dielectric layer set within a range of 0.18 to 0.26 mm.