KR20190134435A - Phased array antenna module and communication device including the same - Google Patents

Abstract

According to exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, provided is an antenna module, which comprises first and second ports connecting with a back-end radio frequency integrated circuit (RFIC) processing or generating a base band signal, and a plurality of antennas. A phase array communicating with a first RF signal and a second RF signal polarized in different directions, a front-end RFIC including a first RF circuit processing or generating the first RF signal and a second RF circuit processing or generating a second RF signal, and a switch circuit connecting each of the first RF circuit and the second RF circuit to the first port or the second port in accordance with the control signal, respectively.

Description

PHASED ARRAY ANTENNA MODULE AND COMMUNICATION DEVICE INCLUDING THE SAME}

The technical idea of the present disclosure relates to wireless communication, and more particularly, to a phased array antenna module and a communication device including the same.

The wireless communication device may support MINO (Multiple-Input and Multiple-Output) for high throughput, and may include an antenna module including a plurality of antennas. In addition, in order to support a high frequency band having a strong straightness such as millimeter wave (mmWave), even if communication of the signal through some antenna module is hindered by obstacles or the direction of the radio communication device communication of the signal through the other antenna module Possible, the wireless communication device can include a plurality of antenna modules spaced apart from each other. Accordingly, a structure for efficiently processing signals received through the plurality of antenna modules and signals transmitted through the plurality of antenna modules is required.

SUMMARY The present disclosure provides an antenna module and a communication device including the same for efficiently processing signals transmitted or received through a plurality of antenna modules spaced apart from each other.

In order to achieve the above object, the antenna module according to an aspect of the present invention, the first port for connecting to a back-end Radio Frequency Integrated Circuit (RFIC) for processing or generating the baseband signal And a second port, a plurality of antennas, and a phased array for communicating a first RF signal and a second RF signal polarized in different directions; A front-end RFIC comprising a first RF circuit and a second RF circuit for processing or generating a second RF signal, and a first port or a second according to a control signal for each of the first RF circuit and the second RF circuit. And a switch circuit for connecting to the port.

According to an aspect of the inventive concept, a communication device includes a first line and a second line, a back-end radio frequency integrated circuit (RFIC) for processing or generating a baseband signal, and a first line and a first line. A first antenna module connected to the backside RFIC via two lines, the first antenna module comprising a phased array for communicating a first RF signal and a second RF signal polarized in different directions, the first antenna module May communicate with the backside RFIC such that each of the first internal signal corresponding to the first RF signal and the second internal signal corresponding to the second RF signal pass through the first line or the second line according to the control signal.

According to an aspect of the inventive concept, a communication device includes a back-end Radio Frequency Integrated Circuit (RFIC) for processing or generating a baseband signal, and a first RF signal and a second polarized wave in different directions. A first, second, and third antenna module, each comprising a phased array for communicating an RF signal, the backside RFIC being a first, second, third, and fourth four-way; And a first antenna module may be connected to a second port of the first four-way switch and a first port of the second four-way switch, respectively, and the second antenna module may include a second four May be connected to the second port of the -way switch and the first port of the third four-way switch, respectively, and the third antenna module is configured to include the second port of the third four-way switch and the fourth 4-way switch; Two ports can be connected respectively.

According to the antenna module and the communication device according to the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the communication device including the plurality of antenna modules may have a simple structure by reducing the number of connections for the plurality of antenna modules.

In addition, according to the antenna module and the communication device according to the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the communication device may support an increased number of MIMO streams, and thus a high transmission amount may be achieved.

The effects obtainable in the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to the above-mentioned effects, and other effects not mentioned above are common knowledge in the art to which the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure belong from the following description. Can be clearly derived and understood by those who have In other words, unintended effects of practicing exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure may also be derived by one of ordinary skill in the art from the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure.

The drawings attached herein may not be to scale, and may exaggerate or reduce the components shown for convenience of illustration.
1 is a block diagram illustrating a wireless communication system including a communication device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.
2 is a perspective view illustrating an antenna module according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.
3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a portion of an antenna module according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.
4 is a block diagram illustrating an antenna module and a back RFIC according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.
5A and 5B are diagrams illustrating examples of the operation of the switch circuit of FIG. 4 in accordance with exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure.
6A and 6B are block diagrams illustrating examples of an RF circuit included in a potential RFIC in accordance with exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure.
7A and 7B are block diagrams illustrating examples of a back-end RFIC and data processor that are different from example embodiments of the present disclosure.
8 is a block diagram illustrating backside RFIC and antenna modules according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.
9 is a block diagram illustrating a communication device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.
10 is a flowchart illustrating a method of operating a communication device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.
11 is a block diagram illustrating examples of a communication device including an antenna module according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a wireless communication system 5 including a communication device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. The wireless communication system 5 is, by way of non-limiting example, a 5th generation wireless (5G) system, a Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, an LTE-Advanced system, a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) system, a Global System for Mobile Communications It may be a wireless communication system using a cellular network such as a system), a wireless local area network (WLAN) system, or any other wireless communication system. In the following, the wireless communication system 5 will be described mainly with reference to a wireless communication system using a cellular network, but it will be understood that the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited thereto. As shown in FIG. 1, in the wireless communication system 5, the wireless communication devices 3, 100 may communicate with each other, and the wireless communication devices 3, 100 may be referred to herein as communication devices. have.

Base station (BS) 3 may generally refer to a fixed station that communicates with user equipment and / or other base stations, and communicates data and control information by communicating with user equipment and / or other base stations. Can be exchanged. For example, the base station 3 may be a Node B, an evolved-Node B (eNB), a sector, a site, a base transceiver system (BTS), an access pin (AP), a relay node, It may also be referred to as a remote radio head (RRH), a radio unit (RU), a small cell, or the like. In the present specification, the base station 3 or the cell is a generic meaning representing some areas or functions covered by a base station controller (BSC) in CDMA, a Node-B in WCDMA, an eNB or a sector (site) in LTE, and the like. It can be interpreted and can cover all of the various coverage areas such as megacell, macrocell, microcell, picocell, femtocell and relay node, RRH, RU, small cell communication range.

The user equipment (UE) 100 may be fixed or mobile and may refer to any device that can communicate with the base station 3 to transmit and receive data and / or control information. For example, the user device 100 may be a terminal device, a mobile station (MS), a mobile terminal (MT), a user terminal (UT), a subscriber station (SS), a wireless device, or a mobile device. (handheld device) and the like.

A wireless communication network between the user device 100 and the base station 3 may support multiple users communicating by sharing available network resources. For example, code division multiple access (CDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA), and single carrier frequency division multiple (SC-FDMA) in a wireless communication network Information may be transmitted in various multiple access schemes such as Access), OFDM-FDMA, OFDM-TDMA, OFDM-CDMA, and the like. As shown in FIG. 1, the user equipment 100 and the base station 3 may communicate with each other through uplink (UL) and downlink (DL). In some embodiments, user devices may communicate with each other via sidelinks, such as device-to-device (D2D).

As shown in FIG. 1, the user device 100 includes a plurality of antenna modules 110, 120, 130, and 140, a back-end Radio Frequency Integrated Circuit (RFIC) 150, and a data processor 160. ) May be included. The plurality of antenna modules 110, 120, 130, 140 may communicate with the backside RFIC 150, and the backside RFIC 150 may communicate with the data processor 160. Although the user device 100 includes four antenna modules 110, 120, 130, 140 in the example of FIG. 1, in some embodiments the user device 100 may have fewer than four or more than five devices. It is noted that it may include antenna modules.

In high frequency bands, such as millimeter waves (mmWave), short wavelength signals may have a strong straightness, and thus may be easily attenuated by obstacles and may provide a reduced reception rate along the direction of the antenna. The user device 100 is a plurality of antennas such that the transmission and reception of signals through some antenna module is blocked by an obstacle such as a user's body or communication with the base station 3 is possible despite the direction of the user device 100. Modules 110, 120, 130, 140 may be included. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the plurality of antenna modules 110, 120, 130, and 140 included in the user device 100 may be spaced apart from each other, and in some embodiments, the plurality of antenna modules The 110, 120, 130, and 140 may be spaced apart from each other at the edge of the user device 100.

Each of the plurality of antenna modules 110, 120, 130, and 140 may include a phased array. For example, the first antenna module 110 may include a phased array 111, and the phased array 111 may include a plurality of antennas. The plurality of antennas of the phased array 111 may be used to form a beam in some embodiments, and in some embodiments may be used for multi-input and multi-output (MIMO). Further, in some embodiments, the phased array 111 may include an antenna configured to transmit or receive a polarized signal in a predetermined direction, and simultaneously transmit signals polarized in two or more different directions. It may include an antenna configured to receive.

Each of the plurality of antenna modules 110, 120, 130, 140 may include a front-end RFIC 112. For example, the first antenna module 110 may include a potential RFIC 112, and the potential RFIC 112 may be coupled with a plurality of antennas of the phased array 111. The potential RFIC 112 may provide a signal generated by processing the signals received from the phased array 111 to the rear end RFIC 150 in a receive mode, and receive the signal received from the rear end RFIC 150 in a transmit mode. The signal generated by the processing can be provided to the phased array 111.

The backside RFIC 150 may process or generate a baseband signal. For example, the backside RFIC 150 may receive a baseband signal from the data processor 160, and output the signal generated by processing the baseband signal among the plurality of antenna modules 110, 120, 130, 140. At least one may be provided. The backside RFIC 150 may also provide the baseband signal generated by processing a signal received from at least one of the plurality of antenna modules 110, 120, 130, 140 to the data processor 160.

The data processor 160 may generate a baseband signal from the data to be transmitted to the base station 3 and provide the baseband signal to the rear RFIC 150, and provide the data received from the base station 3 from the rear RFIC 150. Can be extracted from the band signal. For example, data processor 160 may include at least one digital-to-analog converter (DAC), and at least one digital-to-analog converter (DAC) transmits to base station 3. The baseband signal can be output by converting the digital data modulated from the data to be processed. In addition, the data processor 160 may include at least one analog-to-digital converter (ADC), and the at least one analog-to-digital converter (ADC) converts the baseband signal to convert digital data. You can print In some embodiments, data processor 160 may include at least one core that executes a series of instructions and may be referred to as a modem.

As described above, the phase arrangement (eg, 111) included in one antenna module may correspond to a plurality of signals and the user device 100 includes a plurality of antenna modules 110, 120, 130, 140. As such, an increased number of connections between the plurality of antenna modules 110, 120, 130, 140 and the back RFIC 150 may be required. If the rear end RFIC 150 has an increased number of pins due to an increased number of connections, then the rear RFIC 150 not only increases in size, but also the rear end RFIC 150 corresponds to an increased number of connections. It may include any number of components. In addition, when the number of signal lines between the plurality of antenna modules 110, 120, 130, 140 and the rear RFIC 150 increases, not only the structure of the user device 100 is complicated, but also the arrangement of the signal lines Due to the space, the space efficiency of the user device 100 may be deteriorated, and the miniaturization of the user device 100 may be limited.

Some of the plurality of signals corresponding to the phase arrangements of the plurality of antenna modules 110, 120, 130, 140 may be used for communication with the base station 3. For example, an antenna module providing poor communication due to an obstacle and / or a direction of the user device 100 among the plurality of antenna modules 110, 120, 130, 140 may communicate with the base station 3. May be excluded. In addition, when communication through a signal polarized in a specific direction is not good, the transmission and / or reception of the signal can be excluded. As described below with reference to the drawings, a user device may process signals necessary for communication without dropping each of a plurality of signals corresponding to the plurality of antenna modules 110, 120, 130, and 140. At 100, the plurality of antenna modules 110, 120, 130, 140 and the back RFIC 150 may be interconnected. Accordingly, in the user device 100, the number of connections between the plurality of antenna modules 110, 120, 130, and 140 and the rear RFIC 150 may be reduced, and the user device 100 may have a simple structure. have. In addition, for a given number of connections, the user device 100 may support an increased number of MIMO streams, and as a result, the user device 100 may provide a high transmission amount. Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described below mainly with reference to the user equipment 100 as an example of a communication device, but also for a communication device different from the user device 100 such as the base station 3. It will be appreciated that embodiments may be applied.

2 is a perspective view illustrating an antenna module according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, and FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a part of an antenna module according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. Specifically, FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the antenna module 200 of FIG. 2 cut into a plane perpendicular to the Y axis. In this specification, the mutually orthogonal X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction may be referred to as the first horizontal direction and the second horizontal direction, respectively, and the plane consisting of the X and Y axes may be referred to as a horizontal plane. In addition, the direction perpendicular to the horizontal plane, that is, the Z-axis direction may be referred to as a vertical direction, and a component disposed in the + Z-axis direction relatively to other components may be referred to as being on another component, and another configuration. A component disposed in the -Z axis direction than the element may be referred to as being lower than other components. Also, among the surfaces of the component, the surface in the + Z axis direction may be referred to as the top surface of the component, and the surface in the −Z axis direction may be referred to as the bottom surface of the component. It is to be understood that the antenna modules shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 are merely examples, and that the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied to antenna modules having a structure different from those shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.

The antenna module 200 may include a phased array 220 and a potential RFIC 210 including a plurality of antennas, as described above with reference to FIG. 1. In some embodiments, antenna module 200 may be fabricated by a semiconductor process, and as shown in FIG. 2, phased array 220 may be disposed on potential RFIC 210. Since most loss parameters can be deteriorated in high frequency bands such as millimeter wave (mmWave), it may not be easy to adopt the layout of the antenna module used in low frequency bands, eg, bands below 6 GHz. . In particular, in order to reduce signal attenuation by a feed line that feeds signals to or extracts signals from the antenna, the phase arrangement 220 and the potential RFIC 210 can be placed adjacent to each other, as shown in FIG. have. As shown in FIG. 2, the structure in which the antennas, ie, the phased array 220, are disposed on the potential RFIC 210 may be referred to as a system-in-package (SiP) structure.

Referring to FIG. 2, the phased array 220 may include patches (eg, 222) and dipole antennas (eg, 221). For example, the patch (or patch antenna) 222 may provide radiation of electromagnetic waves in the + Z axis direction or absorb the electromagnetic waves in the -Z axis direction, while the dipole antenna 221 may be configured in the phase array 220. Coverage can be extended. The arrangement of the patch antennas and the dipole antenna shown in FIG. 2 is merely an example, and it is noted that the antennas may be arranged differently from that shown in FIG. 2.

Referring to FIG. 3, the phased array 220 may include a top patch 223 and a bottom patch 222 spaced apart in the Z-axis direction in parallel with each other and + Z. It is possible to provide radiation of electromagnetic waves in the axial direction. The upper patch 223 and the lower patch 222 may be made of a conductive material such as metal, may have a rectangular shape as shown in FIG. 2, and may have a circular or other shape. As shown in FIG. 3, the phased array 220 may further include a ground plate 224 under the lower patch 222, and in some embodiments the upper patch 223 may be omitted. The phased array 220 may also include a feed line 225 and a plurality of buried vias 226. The feed line 225 may be connected to the lower patch 222, while the plurality of buried vias 226 may be configured to apply an electrostatic potential, for example, with the ground plate 224 as shown in FIG. 3. Can be connected.

The potential RFIC 210 may be mounted on the bottom surface of the phase array 220, and the potential RFIC 210 may be electrically connected to the lower patch 222 through the feed line 225. In some embodiments, the phased array 220 and the potential RFIC 210 may be connected via a controlled collapse chip connection (C4). The structure of the antenna module 200 shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 is merely an example, and it will be understood that an antenna module having a structure different from that of FIG. 2 or 3 may be possible in some embodiments.

4 is a block diagram illustrating an antenna module 400 and a back RFIC 300 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 4, the antenna module 400 and the back RFIC 300 may communicate over a first line 301 and a second line 302, and in some embodiments the first line 301. And second line 302 may each be a differential line for transmitting a differential signal.

The antenna module 400 may include a first port 441 connected to the first line 301 and a second port 442 connected to the second line 302. The signal transmitted through the first port 441 and the first line 301 may be referred to as a first internal signal INT1, and the signal transmitted through the second port 442 and the second line 302. May be referred to as a second internal signal INT2. In some embodiments, each of the first internal signal INT1 and the second internal signal INT2 may be a differential signal, and each of the first port 441 and the second port 442 may also be a differential port for the differential signal. Can be. As described above with reference to FIG. 1, the antenna module 400 may include a phased array 410 and a potential RFIC 420, and may further include a switch circuit 430. In some embodiments, when the antenna module 400 has a SiP structure as described above with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3, the switch circuit 430 is in phase arrangement 220 with the potential RFIC 210 of FIG. 2. ) Can be placed below. In the present specification, the switch circuit 430 may be referred to as a switch. In addition, the antenna module 400 may include a first port 441 and a second port 442, and may be connected to the backside RFIC 300 through the first port 441 and the second port 442. Can be.

The phased array 410 may include a plurality of antennas and may communicate a first RF signal RF1 polarized in a first direction and a second RF signal RF2 polarized in a second direction. In the present specification, the first direction may be referred to as a horizontal direction, and the first RF signal RF1 may be referred to as a horizontal wave. Also, in the present specification, the second direction may be referred to as a vertical direction, and the second RF signal RF2 may be referred to as a vertical wave. Each of the first RF signal RF1 and the second RF signal RF2 may be in an RF band by a carrier.

The potential RFIC 420 may include a first RF circuit 421 and a second RF circuit 422. The first RF circuit 421 can generate the first potential signal FE1 by processing the first RF signal RF1 received from the phased array 410 in the receive mode, while the switch circuit 430 in the transmit mode. The first RF signal RF1 may be generated by processing the second potential signal FE2 received from the N-th signal. Similarly, the second RF circuit 422 can generate the second potential signal FE2 by processing the second RF signal RF2 received from the phased array 410 in the receive mode, while the switch in the transmit mode. The second RF signal RF2 may be generated by processing the second potential signal FE2 received from the circuit 430. An example of a potential RFIC 420 will be described below with reference to FIGS. 6A and 6B.

The switch circuit 430 may connect each of the first RF circuit 421 and the second RF circuit 422 to the first port 441 or the second port 442 according to a control signal. In some embodiments, the switch circuit 430 mutually exclusively connects the first RF circuit 421 and the second RF circuit 422 to the first port 441 and the second port 442 according to a control signal. You can. For example, the switch circuit 430 may comprise a four-way switch. Accordingly, the first potential signal FE1 provided to or output from the first RF circuit 421 may pass through the first port 441 or the second port 442. The second potential signal FE2 provided to the second RF circuit 422 or output from the second RF circuit 422 may pass through the second port 442 or the first port 441. Examples of the operation of the switch circuit 430 will be described below with reference to FIGS. 5A and 5B. In some embodiments, a four-way switch can include a plurality of two-way switches hierarchically connected.

As described above, a signal polarized in a specific direction may be transmitted through a different line according to a control signal instead of being transmitted through a predetermined line among the lines connected to the antenna module 400 and the rear RFIC 300, Accordingly, the antenna module 400 and the rear RFIC 300 can efficiently communicate with each other through a limited number of lines. The switch circuit 430 may include a plurality of transistors, and may have any structure that varies a path of a signal according to a control signal. As described below with reference to FIG. 9, a control signal for controlling the switch circuit 430 may be provided by a data processor (eg, 160 of FIG. 1).

In the example of FIG. 4, an antenna module 400 and a rearward RFIC 300 are shown that process a first RF signal RF1 and a second RF signal RF2 polarized in two different directions, respectively, but with some implementations. In examples, the antenna module 400 and the back RFIC 300 may process RF signals that are each polarized in three or more different directions. For example, to process RF signals each polarized in three different directions, potential RFIC 420 may include three RF circuits that are independent of each other, and switch circuit 430 may include three RF circuits. Each may be connected to one of three ports that are connected out of the back RFIC 300 in accordance with the control signal.

5A and 5B are diagrams illustrating examples of the operation of the switch circuit 430 of FIG. 4 in accordance with exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. Specifically, FIGS. 5A and 5B are diagrams illustrating signals passing through the switch circuit 430 according to a control signal. As described above with reference to FIG. 4, the switch circuit 430 connects each of the first RF circuit 421 and the second RF circuit 422 to the first port 441 or the second port 442 according to a control signal. Can be connected to In the following, FIGS. 5A and 5B will be described with reference to FIG. 4.

In some embodiments, the switch circuit 430 mutually exclusively connects the first RF circuit 421 and the second RF circuit 422 to the first port 441 and the second port 442 according to a control signal. You can. Referring to FIG. 5A, the switch circuit 430a may correspond to the first potential signal FE1 and the first internal signal INT1 and correspond to the second potential signal FE2 and the second internal signal INT2 according to the control signal. May correspond to form paths of signals. Accordingly, the first RF circuit 421 may be connected to the first port 441 while the second RF circuit 422 may be connected to the second port 442. On the other hand, referring to FIG. 5B, according to the control signal, the switch circuit 430b may correspond to the first potential signal FE1 and the second internal signal INT2 and correspond to the second potential signal FE2 and the first internal. In order for the signal INT1 to correspond, paths of the signals may be formed. Accordingly, by the switch circuit 430, the first potential signal FE1 may correspond to the first internal signal INT1 or may correspond to the second internal signal INT2. Similarly, by the switch circuit 430, the second potential signal FE2 may correspond to the second internal signal INT2 or may correspond to the first internal signal INT1.

6A and 6B are block diagrams illustrating examples of an RF circuit included in a potential RFIC in accordance with exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. Specifically, FIGS. 6A and 6B show examples of the first RF circuit 421 of FIG. 4 to process or generate a first RF signal RF1 polarized in a first direction. In some embodiments, the second RF circuit 422 of FIG. 4, which processes or generates the second RF signal RF2 polarized in the second direction, also has a structure similar to the structures shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B. Can have In the examples of FIGS. 6A and 6B, the first RF circuits 600a, 600b may be in communication with four antennas included in the phased arrangement such that the first RF signal RF1 is directed in the first direction. It may include four polarized RF signals RF11, RF12, RF13, and RF14. Hereinafter, FIGS. 6A and 6B will be described with reference to FIG. 4, and overlapping descriptions of the descriptions of FIGS. 6A and 6B will be omitted.

Referring to FIG. 6A, the first RF circuit 600a may include four potential RF circuits 610a, 620a, 630a, and 640a, buffers 650a and 660a, and a switch 670a. Four potential RF circuits 610a, 620a, 630a, 640a may process or generate four RF signals RF11, RF12, RF13, RF14, respectively, and may be connected to buffers 650a, 660a. . In some embodiments, the four potential RF circuits 610a, 620a, 630a, 640a may have the same structure, and the first potential RF circuit 610a will be described below with reference to FIG. 6A.

As shown in FIG. 6A, the first potential RF circuit 610a may transmit or receive an RF signal RF11 of one of the first RF signals RF1, and may include a switch 611a and a low noise amplifier. LNA 612a, an RX phase shifter 613a, a power amplifier (PA) 615a, and a TX phase shifter 616a. Although not shown, in some embodiments, the first potential RF circuit 610a may further include at least one filter.

The switch 611a may provide the RF signal RF11 to the low noise amplifier 612a in the receive mode, while outputting the output signal of the power amplifier 615a as the RF signal RF11 in the transmit mode. 6A illustrates an example of the switch 611a in transmission mode, and in some embodiments, the switch 611 may have a single pole double throw (SPDT) structure. In the receive mode, the low noise amplifier 612a can amplify the RF signal RF11 received from the switch 611, and the RX phase shifter 613a can shift the phase of the output signal of the low noise amplifier 612a. . The output signal of the RX phase shifter 613a may be provided to the TX buffer 650a. In transmit mode, TX phase shifter 616a may shift the phase of the signal received from TX buffer 660a and power amplifier 615a may amplify the output signal of TX phase shifter 616a. The output signal of the power amplifier 615a may be output as the RF signal RF11 through the switch 611a.

The RX buffer 650a may buffer (or amplify) the output signals provided from the four potential RF circuits 610a, 620a, 630a, 640a in a receive mode, and the output signal of the RX buffer 650a is switched ( 670a). TX buffer 660a may buffer (or amplify) the signal provided from switch 670a in transmit mode, and the output signal of TX buffer 660a is configured with four potential RF circuits 610a, 620a, 630a, 640a. Can be provided. The switch 670a may provide different signal paths according to the transmission mode and the reception mode, similar to the switch 611a included in the first potential RF circuit 610a. For example, the switch 670a may output the output signal of the RX buffer 650a as the first potential signal FE1 in the reception mode, while the switch 670a outputs the first potential signal FE1 in the transmission mode as the TX buffer 660a. ) Can be provided. 6A shows an example of the switch 670a in transmission mode.

The first RF circuit 600a may process or generate the first potential signal FE1 in the RF band, unlike the first RF circuit 600b described later with reference to FIG. 6B. For example, the first RF circuit 600a may generate the first potential signal FE1 in the RF band by processing the first RF signal RF1 in the RF band in the reception mode, while in the transmission mode. The first RF signal RF1 in the RF band may be generated by processing the first potential signal FE1 in the RF band. Accordingly, internal signals (eg, in FIG. 4) that travel between the antenna module (eg, 400 in FIG. 4) and the back RFIC (eg, 300 in FIG. 4) including the first RF circuit 600a in FIG. 6A. INT1, INT2) may be in the RF band.

Referring to FIG. 6B, the first RF circuit 600b may include four potential circuits 610b, 620b, 630b, and 640b, buffers 650b and 660b, and a switch 670b. The first potential RF circuit 610b may transmit or receive an RF signal RF11 of one of the first RF signals RF1, and may include a switch 611b, a low noise amplifier 612b, and an RX phase shifter 613b. RX mixer 614b, power amplifier 615b, TX phase shifter 616b, and TX mixer 617b. Compared to the first potential RF circuit 610a of FIG. 6A, the first potential RF circuit 610b of FIG. 6B may further include an RX mixer 614b and a TX mixer 617b. Although not shown, in some embodiments, the first potential RF circuit 610b may further include at least one filter.

In the receive mode, the RF signal RF11 can be provided to the low noise amplifier 612b via the switch 611b, and sequentially by the low noise amplifier 612b, the RX phase shifter 613b and the RX mixer 614b. Can be processed. In some embodiments, RX mixer 614b may down-convert the output signal of RX phase shifter 613b in the RF band to the signal in the intermediate frequency (IF) band. The IF band may refer to any band between the RF band and the baseband. The output signal of the RX mixer 614b may be provided to the RX buffer 650b, and the output signal of the RX buffer 650b may be output as the first potential signal FE1 through the switch 670b. Accordingly, in the reception mode, the first potential signal FE1 may be in the IF band.

In the transmit mode, the first potential signal FE1 may be provided to the TX mixer 617b of the first potential RF circuit 610b via the switch 670b, and the TX mixer 617b, the TX phase shifter 616b. ) And the power amplifier 615b may be processed sequentially. In some embodiments, the first potential signal FE1 provided to switch 670b may be in the IF band, and TX mixer 617b may output the output signal of TX buffer 660b in the IF band in the RF band. Up-conversion can be done with the signal. The output signal of the power amplifier 615b may be output as the RF signal RF11 by the switch 611b.

As described above, the first RF circuit 600b may process or generate the first potential signal FE1 in the IF band differently from the first RF circuit 600a of FIG. 6A. For example, the first RF circuit 600b may generate the first potential signal FE1 in the IF band by processing the first RF signal RF1 in the RF band in the reception mode, while in the transmission mode. The first RF signal RF1 in the RF band may be generated by processing the first potential signal FE1 in the IF band. Accordingly, internal signals (eg, FIG. 4 of FIG. 4) that move between an antenna module (eg, 400 of FIG. 4) and a back RFIC (eg, 300 of FIG. 4) that include the first RF circuit 600b of FIG. 6B. INT1, INT2) may be in the IF band.

7A and 7B are block diagrams illustrating examples of a back-end RFIC and data processor that are different from example embodiments of the present disclosure. In FIGS. 7A and 7B, the back RFICs 700a and 700b and the data processors 500a may transmit and receive baseband signals. In the following, overlapping contents of the description of FIGS. 7A and 7B will be omitted.

Referring to FIG. 7A, the back RFIC 700a may include four port pairs P10, P20, P30, and P40 for connecting with the antenna modules. For example, the first port pair P10 may include a first port P11 and a second port P12, and the first port P11 and the second port P12 of the rearward RFIC 700a. Each may be connected to ports (eg, 441 and 442 of FIG. 4) of the antenna module. In some embodiments, first port P11 and second port P12 may be differential ports for a differential signal. Similarly, the second port pair P20 may include two ports P21 and P22, and the third port pair P30 may include two ports P31 and P32. The four port pair P40 may include two ports P41 and P42.

The backside RFIC 700a may include four circuit groups corresponding to four port pairs P10, P20, P30, and P40. As shown in FIG. 7A, the backside RFIC 700a may include four switches 710a, 720a, 730a, and 740a, each connected with four port pairs P10, P20, P30, and P40, respectively. Circuits for processing signals between the switches 710a, 720a, 730a, 740a and the data processor 500a. For example, the baseband signal received from the digital-to-analog converter (DAC) 522a of the data processor 500a may be processed by the TX filter 711a, the TX mixer 712a and the amplifier 713a. The output signal of the amplifier 713a may be provided to the first switch 710a. In some embodiments, amplifier 713a may include a variable gain amplifier (VGA). In addition, the signal received from the first switch 710a may be processed by the RX mixer 714a and the RX filter 715a, and the output signal of the RX filter 715a is analog-digital of the data processor 500a. May be provided to a converter (ADC) 513a. Although not shown, in some embodiments the backside RFIC 700a may include circuitry to provide a vibration signal to the RX mixer 715a and the TX mixer 712a, such as a PLL (Phased Locked Loop).

In some embodiments, as described above with reference to FIG. 6A, when the backside RFIC 700a receives an internal signal of the RF band from the antenna module or provides an internal signal of the RF band to the antenna module, the TX mixer 712a ) May up-convert the signal in the baseband to the RF band, and the RX mixer 714a may down-convert the signal in the RF band to the baseband. On the other hand, in some embodiments, as described above with reference to FIG. 6B, when the backside RFIC 700a receives an internal signal of the IF band from the antenna module or provides an internal signal of the IF band to the antenna module, TX Mixer 712a may up-convert the signal in the baseband to the IF band, and RX mixer 714a may down-convert the signal in the IF band to baseband.

In some embodiments, each of the four switches 710a, 720a, 730a, 740a may be a four-way switch. For example, the first switch 710a may connect the first port P11 and the second port P12 to the amplifier 713a or the RX mixer 714a according to the control signal. In addition, in some embodiments, the first switch 710a is similar to the switch circuit 430 of FIG. 4 described above with reference to FIGS. 5A and 5B, and thus, the first port P11 and the second port P12. Can be mutually exclusively connected to the amplifier 713a and the RX mixer 714a according to the control signal. Accordingly, the signal received from the antenna module to the rear RFIC 700a can be processed even if passing through any of the first port P11 and the second port P12, and is transmitted from the rear RFIC 700a to the antenna module. The signal may also pass through any of the first port P11 and the second port P12. In some embodiments, a four-way switch can include a plurality of two-way switches hierarchically connected.

The data processor 500a may include a plurality of analog-to-digital converters 511a to 514a and a plurality of digital-to-analog converters 521a to 524a, and may include a controller 550a. Each of the plurality of analog-to-digital converters 511a to 514a may receive a baseband signal from the backside RFIC 700a and may convert the baseband signal into a digital signal. Each of the plurality of digital-to-analog converters 521a to 524a may generate a baseband signal by converting a digital signal, and may provide the baseband signal to a backside RFIC 700a. In the example of FIG. 7A, the data processor 500a includes four analog-to-digital converters 511a to 514a and four digital-to-analog converters 521a to 4 corresponding to four port pairs P10, P20, P30, and P40. 524a).

The controller 550a may generate at least one control signal, and may provide a control signal to a plurality of antenna modules (eg, 110, 120, 130, and 140 of FIG. 1) as well as the rear RFIC 700a. . For example, the controller 550a may generate a control signal indicating a transmission mode or a reception mode, and the switch of the antenna module (eg, 611a and 670a of FIG. 6A) may set a signal path in response to the control signal. have. In addition, the controller 550a may generate a control signal to form a signal path with an antenna module that provides good communication among the plurality of antenna modules, and may include a switch (eg, 430 of FIG. 4) and a rear RFIC of the antenna module. The switch (eg, 710a) of 700a may route the signal in response to the control signal. Examples of the operation of the controller 550a will be described later with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10.

Referring to FIG. 7B, the backside RFIC 700b may include four port pairs P10, P20, P30, and P40, similar to the backside RFIC 700a of FIG. 7A. In addition, the back RFIC 700b may include four switches 710b, 720b, 730b, and 740b respectively corresponding to four port pairs P10, P20, P30, and P40. Compared with the backside RFIC 700a of FIG. 7A, the backside RFIC 700b of FIG. 7B may further include an SPDT switch 750. As shown in FIG. 7B, the SPDT switch 750 may receive a baseband signal from the digital-to-analog converter 522b of the data processor 500b and convert the received baseband signal according to a control signal into a first port. The TX filter 711b corresponding to the pair P10 or the TX filter 741b corresponding to the fourth port pair P40 may be provided.

The data processor 500b may include four analog-to-digital converters 511b to 514b and a controller 550b, similar to the data processor 500a of FIG. 7A, while the data processor 500a of FIG. 7A. Differently) may include three digital-to-analog converters 521b to 523b. That is, the baseband signal output by the digital-to-analog converter 523b of FIG. 7B may be processed by the rear RFIC 700b and output through the first port pair P10 or the fourth port pair P40. In addition, the controller 550b may provide a control signal to the SPDT switch 750 of the rear RFIC 700b.

8 is a block diagram illustrating backside RFIC and antenna modules according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. Specifically, FIG. 8 shows a back-side RFIC 810 including three port pairs and three antenna modules 821, 822, 823, as described above with reference to FIGS. 7A and 7B, and a receive mode. In FIG. 4, four switches 811, 812, 813, and 814 in which signal paths are set according to control signals are illustrated.

Referring to FIG. 8, the backside RFIC 810 may include four port pairs, that is, eight ports P11, P12, P21, P22, P31, P32, P41, and P42, and four switches ( 811, 812, 813, 814. In some embodiments, each of the four switches 811, 812, 813, 814 can be referred to as a four-way switch and can be connected to a pair of ports. In the example of FIG. 8, eight ports P11, P12, P21, P22, P31, P32, P41, and P42 may include a first port P11 and a second port P12 of the first switch 811. The first port P21 and the second port P22 of the second switch 812, the first port P31 and the second port P32 of the third switch 813, and the first of the fourth switch 814. It may be referred to as a port P41 and a second port P42, respectively. In some embodiments, a four-way switch can include a plurality of two-way switches hierarchically connected.

Each of the three antenna modules 821, 822, 823 may comprise a phased array and a potential RFIC, where the phased array is polarized in a signal polarized in a first direction, i. The signal can be communicated. Accordingly, each of the three antenna modules 821, 822, 823 is connected via a line H for the signal polarized in the horizontal direction with the rear RFIC 810 and a line V for the signal polarized in the vertical direction. A backside RFIC 810 may be connected.

In some embodiments, each of the three antenna modules 821, 822, 823 may be connected with the backside RFIC 810 through ports of different port pairs. For example, as shown in FIG. 8, the first antenna module 821 may be connected to the second port P12 of the first switch 811 and the first port P21 of the second switch 812, respectively. The second antenna module 822 may be connected to the second port P22 of the second switch 812 and the first port P31 of the third switch 813, respectively. The 823 may be connected to the first port P31 of the third switch 813 and the second port P42 of the fourth switch 814. Accordingly, as illustrated in FIG. 8, signals horizontally polarized from the first antenna module 821 and the third antenna module 823 may be received, while the vertical direction from the second antenna module 822 is received. The polarized signal and the signal polarized in the horizontal direction can be received.

In some embodiments, each of the three antenna modules 821, 822, 823 may include a switch circuit (eg, 430 of FIG. 4). Accordingly, each of the three antenna modules 821, 822, and 823 has an internal signal corresponding to the horizontally polarized signal and an internal signal corresponding to the vertically polarized signal according to the control signal. May communicate with the backside RFIC 810 to pass through different switches.

9 is a block diagram illustrating a communication device 900 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 9, the communication device 900 may include a plurality of antenna modules 910, a back RFIC 920, and a data processor 930.

The plurality of antenna modules 910 may each include a phased array and a potential RFIC, as described above with reference to FIG. 1, and may be spaced apart from each other at the edge of the communication device 900. In addition, the plurality of antenna modules 910 may communicate with the backside RFIC 920 through a plurality of internal signals INTS. In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 9, each of the plurality of antenna modules 910 may include a power detector 911. The power detector 911 may be connected in parallel to a signal path in the antenna module, detect power of a signal moving through the signal path, and transmit the first detection signal DET1 based on the detected power to the data processor 930. ) Can be provided.

The backside RFIC 920 may communicate with the plurality of antenna modules 910 through a plurality of internal signals INTS, while communicating with the data processor 930 through a baseband signal BB. . In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 9, the backside RFIC 920 may include a power detector 921. The power detector 921 may be connected in parallel to a signal path in the backside RFIC 920, and may provide a second detection signal DET2 to the data processor 930 by detecting power of a signal traveling through the signal path. .

The data processor 930 may communicate with the backside RFIC 920 via a baseband signal BB, and may include a first detection signal DET1 and a second detection signal from the plurality of antenna modules 910 and the backside RFIC 920. Each of the detection signals DET2 may be received. The controller 931 may generate the control signal CTRL based on the first detection signal DET1 and the second detection signal DET2. An example of an operation in which the controller 931 generates a control signal will be described later with reference to FIG. 10.

In some embodiments, the control signal CTRL may be provided to the plurality of antenna modules 910 and the back RFIC 920 via a line through which the plurality of internal signals INTS and the baseband signal BB are transmitted. Can be. For example, the control signal CTRL is the back-end RFIC 920 on the same line as the base-band signal BB while no baseband signal BB is transmitted between the back-end RFIC 920 and the data processor 930. ) May be provided to the switches included in (eg, 710a of FIG. 7A). In addition, the control signal CTRL is transmitted to the rear RFIC 920 through the same line as the baseband signal BB, and then a plurality of internal signals between the plurality of antenna modules 910 and the rear RFIC 920. Switch (eg, 611a, etc. of FIG. 6A) and / or switch circuits included in the plurality of antenna modules 910 through the same line as the plurality of internal signals INTS while the INTS is not transmitted. For example, 430 of FIG. 4. For example, the switch circuit 430 included in the antenna module 400 of FIG. 4 may receive a control signal CTRL through the first port 441 and / or the second port 442.

In some embodiments, the first and second detection signals DET1 and DET2 are provided to the data processor 930 through a line through which the plurality of internal signals INTS and the baseband signal BB are transmitted. Can be. For example, the second detection signal DET2 generated by the power detector 921 included in the rear RFIC 920 is transmitted by the baseband signal BB between the rear RFIC 920 and the data processor 930. If not, the data processor 930 may be provided through the same line as the baseband signal BB. In addition, the first detection signal DET1 generated by the power detector 911 included in the antenna module transmits a plurality of internal signals INTS between the plurality of antenna modules 910 and the rear RFIC 920. May be provided to the backside RFIC 920 via the same line as the plurality of internal signals INTS, and the data through the same line as the baseband signal BB, such as the second detection signal DET2. It may be provided to the processor 930.

10 is a flowchart illustrating a method of operating a communication device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. Specifically, FIG. 10 illustrates a method of operating a communication device including a plurality of antenna modules and a back RFIC. For example, FIG. 10 may be performed by the communication device 900 of FIG. 9, and FIG. 10 will now be described with reference to FIG. 9.

Referring to FIG. 10, an operation of detecting powers of paths may be performed in step S20. For example, the power detector 911 included in the antenna module may include paths of signals in the antenna module, for example, a path in which the signal polarized in the first direction travels, a path in which the signal polarized in the second direction moves, and a phase arrangement. The powers of paths corresponding to the plurality of antennas of may be detected. In addition, the power detector 921 included in the back RFIC 920 may detect paths of signals in the back RFIC 920, for example, powers of paths corresponding to the plurality of antenna modules 910. Detection signals DET1 and DET2 generated by detecting powers may be provided to the controller 931 of the data processor 930.

In step S40, an operation of evaluating the quality of the signals may be performed. For example, the controller 931 can evaluate the qualities of the signals traveling through the paths based on the detection signals DET1 and DET2. In some embodiments, the controller 931 can calculate a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and determine which path through which the signal traveling through has a good quality based on the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). Can be.

In step S60, an operation of controlling the switches may be performed. For example, the controller 931 may generate at least one control signal such that communication is performed through a path through which a signal of good quality travels and communication is blocked through a path through which a signal of poor quality travels. . Accordingly, a switch (eg, 611a of FIG. 6A, etc.) and / or switch circuits (eg, 430 of FIG. 4) included in the plurality of antenna modules 910 may be controlled, and may be controlled by the rear RFIC 920. Included switches (eg, 710a of FIG. 7A, etc.) may be controlled.

11 is a block diagram illustrating examples of a communication device including an antenna module according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. Specifically, FIG. 11 illustrates an example in which various wireless communication devices communicate with each other in a wireless communication system using a WLAN. Unlike the wireless communication system 5 using the cellular network in FIG. 1, each of the wireless communication devices in FIG. 11 can communicate with each other via a WLAN.

In some embodiments, home appliance 31, home appliance 32, entertainment device 33, and AP 20 may form an Internet of Things (IoT) network system. Each of the home appliance 31, the home appliance 32, the entertainment device 33, and the access point 20 may include a plurality of antenna modules and a back RFIC according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. The household appliance 31, the household appliance 32, and the entertainment appliance 33 may communicate wirelessly with the AP 20, and the household appliance 31, the household appliance 32, and the entertainment appliance 33 may communicate wirelessly with each other. have.

As described above, exemplary embodiments have been disclosed in the drawings and the specification. Although embodiments have been described using specific terms in this specification, they are used only for the purpose of describing the technical spirit of the present disclosure and are not used to limit the scope of the present disclosure as defined in the meaning or claims. . Therefore, those skilled in the art will understand that various modifications and equivalent other embodiments are possible therefrom. Therefore, the true technical protection scope of the present disclosure will be defined by the technical spirit of the appended claims.

Claims (20)

A first port and a second port configured to connect with a back-end Radio Frequency Integrated Circuit (RFIC) that processes or generates a baseband signal;
A phased array comprising a plurality of antennas and configured to communicate a first RF signal and a second RF signal polarized in different directions;
A front-end RFIC comprising a first RF circuit configured to process or generate the first RF signal and a second RF circuit configured to process or generate the second RF signal; And
And a switch circuit configured to connect each of the first RF circuit and the second RF circuit to the first port or the second port according to a control signal. The method according to claim 1,
And the switch circuit is configured to mutually exclusively connect the first RF circuit and the second RF circuit to the first port and the second port according to the control signal. The method according to claim 1,
Each of the first RF circuit and the second RF circuit includes at least one of a power amplifier, a low noise amplifier, and a phase shifter. The method according to claim 1,
Each of the first RF circuit and the second RF circuit further includes at least one mixer configured to convert a signal between an RF band and an intermediate frequency (IF) band,
And the switch circuit is configured to pass a signal in an IF band. The method according to claim 1,
Each of the first RF circuit and the second RF circuit further comprises at least one switch connected to the switch circuit and configured to form a different path according to a transmission mode and a reception mode. The method according to claim 1,
And the switch circuit is configured to receive the control signal from the first port or the second port. The method according to claim 1,
The phased array is disposed on the potential RFIC,
And a plurality of feed lines through which the first RF signal and the second RF signal pass between the plurality of antennas and the potential RFIC. First and second lines;
A back-end Radio Frequency Integrated Circuit (RFIC) configured to process or generate a baseband signal; And
A first antenna module connected with the backside RFIC via the first and second lines, the first antenna module comprising a phased arrangement configured to communicate a first RF signal and a second RF signal polarized in different directions and,
The first antenna module may allow each of the first internal signal corresponding to the first RF signal and the second internal signal corresponding to the second RF signal to pass through the first line or the second line according to a control signal. And communicate with the backside RFIC. The method according to claim 8,
The first antenna module is configured to communicate with the backside RFIC such that the first internal signal and the second internal signal are mutually exclusively transmitted through the first line and the second line according to the control signal. Communication device. The method according to claim 8,
And the first antenna module comprises a four-way switch connected to the first line and the second line, respectively. The method according to claim 8,
The first antenna module further comprises a potential RFIC configured to process or generate the first RF signal and the second RF signal and to process or generate the first internal signal and the second internal signal. Communication device. The method according to claim 11,
The potential RFIC includes at least one mixer configured to convert a signal between an RF band and an intermediate frequency (IF) band,
And the backside RFIC comprises at least one mixer configured to convert signals between baseband and IF bands. The method according to claim 8,
The backside RFIC comprises a switch connected to the first line and the second line and configured to connect each of the first line and the second line to different paths according to a transmission mode and a reception mode. Communication device. The method according to claim 8,
And the backside RFIC comprises at least one mixer configured to convert signals between baseband and RF bands. The method according to claim 8,
And the first antenna module is configured to receive the control signal through the first line or the second line. The method according to claim 8,
And a data processor configured to receive the baseband signal from the backside RFIC or to provide the baseband signal to the backside RFIC and generate the control signal. The method according to claim 8,
At least one second antenna module comprising a phased array; And
And at least one line pair configured to transmit internal signals between the backside RFIC and the at least one second antenna module. The method according to claim 17,
And the first antenna module and the at least one second antenna module are spaced apart from each other at an edge of the communication device. A back-end Radio Frequency Integrated Circuit (RFIC) configured to process or generate a baseband signal; And
A first, second and third antenna module, each comprising a phased arrangement configured to communicate a first RF signal and a second RF signal polarized in different directions,
The backside RFIC comprises a first, second, third and fourth four-way switch;
The first antenna module is connected to the second port of the first four-way switch and the first port of the second four-way switch, respectively.
The second antenna module is connected to the second port of the second four-way switch and the first port of the third four-way switch, respectively.
And the third antenna module is connected to a second port of the third four-way switch and a second port of the fourth four-way switch, respectively. The method according to claim 19,
Each of the first, second and third antenna modules may include a four-way switch in which a first internal signal corresponding to the first RF signal and a second internal signal corresponding to the second RF signal are different according to a control signal. Communicate with the backside RFIC to pass through the network.

Images