WO2017215103A1

WO2017215103A1 - Transceiver of ka-band very small aperture terminal

Info

Publication number: WO2017215103A1
Application number: PCT/CN2016/094685
Authority: WO
Inventors: 陈家诚; 姚建可; 丁庆
Original assignee: 深圳市华讯方舟卫星通信有限公司; 华讯方舟科技有限公司
Priority date: 2016-06-13
Filing date: 2016-08-11
Publication date: 2017-12-21
Also published as: CN105933028A

Abstract

The present invention relates to a transceiver of a Ka-band very small aperture terminal, comprising an up-converter module and a down-converter module. Both the up-converter module and the down-converter module are connected between a modem and an antenna assembly. The up-converter module is used for carrying out up-conversion to signals sent by the modem and sending the signals after the up-conversion to the antenna assembly. The down-converter module is used for carrying out down-conversion to signals sent by the antenna assembly and sending the signals after the down-conversion to the modem. The up-converter module or the down-converter module comprises several System In a Package (SIP) chips produced by the SIP technology. Each SIP chip is integrated with several functional chips which are electrically connected and are produced using a semiconductor technique. By means of the transceiver of the Ka-band very small aperture terminal, the number of chips is greatly reduced using the SIP technology, the number of copper wires or microstrip lines among the chips is also reduced, and thus the occupied area of the transceiver of the Ka-band very small aperture terminal is reduced, thereby facilitating realizing miniaturization design of products.

Description

Ka-band satellite station transceiver

[Technical Field]

The invention relates to the field of Ka-band satellite communication technology, in particular to a Ka-band satellite small station transceiver.

【Background technique】

In early satellite communications, major communication needs were primarily achieved through several primary stations. The main station is distributed to different areas by means of a wired connection, so the main station is mainly distributed in the urban area of the city. The wired connection of the primary station makes the architecture of the entire satellite communication system inconvenient and expensive.

VSAT (Very Small Aperture Terminal, satellite station) satellite communication system can overcome the above problems. In the VSAT satellite communication system, the small satellite stations (VSATs) can be widely distributed in different areas, in addition to urban areas, and can also be distributed in mountainous areas. At the same time, the VSAT satellite communication system can meet the different communication needs of Internet services, voice/fax services, and data services, and thus has been widely used.

As shown in Figure 1, the VSAT satellite communication system typically includes a primary station 12, a satellite transponder 13 and satellite stations 11 distributed throughout the area. The satellite transponders 13 are typically distributed in geosynchronous orbits of 36,000 kilometers above the equator. The primary station 12 is the central communication and monitoring terminal in the entire VSAT satellite communication system and typically requires 24/7 operation. The primary station 12 controls and communicates with the satellite stations 11 by directly transmitting signals to satellite stations 11 distributed in different areas. As shown in FIG. 2, the satellite station 11 includes an outdoor unit 15 and an indoor unit 14. The indoor unit 14 includes devices for interaction, such as a modem, a computer device, and the indoor unit 14 is connected to the outdoor unit 15 by wire. The outdoor unit 15 includes an antenna assembly 17, a transceiver 16, and other accessories. The antenna assembly 17 includes a reflector, a feed, a mounting base, and the like. The transceiver 16 includes an upconversion module (BUC, block) Up converter), down converter module (LNB, low noise block) and other transceiver components.

In addition, based on the advantages of large bandwidth transmission capacity and market demand, the demand for the Ka-band communication satellite market is increasing, and the Ka-band is mainly 26.5 to 40 GHz. According to statistics, among the more than 30 satellite operators in the world, there are more than 20 Ka-band satellite projects that have started or are starting. Correspondingly, the terrestrial terminal market will also achieve greater development, and the use of satellite terminals will reach a million-level level, so the pace of the global satellite industry entering the Ka era is accelerating. In the VSAT satellite communication system, the transceiver is the communication core of the satellite station 11. For the shorter wavelength Ka-band, there are more stringent requirements for the processing of PCB boards in transceivers. Therefore, how to improve the performance of the transceiver and reduce the cost is a key step for the transceiver product to be commercialized.

However, in the conventional Ka-band satellite station transceiver, the up-conversion module and the down-conversion module both include more functional chips and transistors, and the functional chips and transistors are separately arranged on the corresponding PCB circuit boards, The discrete functional chips and transistors are connected by copper traces or microstrip lines. Therefore, the traditional Ka-band satellite station transceiver occupies a large area, so that the size of the entire product cannot be reduced.

[Summary of the Invention]

Based on this, it is necessary to provide a Ka-band satellite small station transceiver for the problem that the traditional Ka-band satellite small station transceiver has a large occupied area.

A Ka-band satellite small station transceiver includes an up-conversion module and a down-conversion module, and the up-conversion module and the down-conversion module are connected between the modem and the antenna assembly;

The up-conversion module is configured to up-convert a signal sent by the modem, and send the up-converted signal to the antenna component; the down-conversion module is configured to perform a signal sent by the antenna component Frequency conversion, and the down-converted signal is sent to the modem; at the same time, the up-conversion module or the down-conversion module includes a plurality of SIP chips manufactured by using system-level packaging technology, and each of the SIP chips is integrated with a plurality of electrical properties. Functional chips that are connected and fabricated using a semiconductor process.

In one embodiment, the up-conversion module includes a first SIP chip, and the first SIP chip is integrated with a first local oscillator signal generator and a first local oscillator signal amplifier.

In one embodiment, the up-conversion module further includes a connected second SIP chip and a third SIP chip;

The second SIP chip is integrated with a first amplifier and a first mixer, and the first mixer is used to connect the modem; the third SIP chip is integrated with a second amplifier and a third amplifier.

In one embodiment, the up-conversion module further includes a microstrip line filter and a first power amplifier; the microstrip line filter is coupled between the first SIP chip and the second SIP chip; The third SIP chip is also coupled to the first power amplifier; the first power amplifier is further configured to connect the antenna assembly.

In one embodiment, the down conversion module includes a fourth SIP chip; the fourth SIP chip is integrated with a second local oscillator signal generator and a second local oscillator signal amplifier.

In one embodiment, the down conversion module further includes a fifth SIP chip and a sixth SIP chip that are connected;

The fifth SIP chip is integrated with a plurality of stages of amplifiers, and the fifth SIP chip is further configured to connect the antenna components; the sixth SIP chip is integrated with a plurality of stages of filters.

In one embodiment, the down conversion module further includes a local oscillator signal filter, a second mixer, a mixed signal filter, and a second power amplifier;

The local oscillator signal filter is connected between the fourth SIP chip and the second mixer; the second mixer is further connected to the sixth SIP chip and the mixed signal filter respectively Connected; the mixing signal filter is also coupled to the second power amplifier; the second power amplifier is further configured to connect to the modem.

In one embodiment, the SIP chip includes a substrate, and each of the functional chips is integrated on the substrate in a stacked or side-by-side manner.

In one embodiment, each of the SIP chips is mounted on a PCB board corresponding to the up-conversion module or the down-conversion module by a surface mount technology.

In one embodiment, the up-conversion module and the down-conversion module are mounted together on the same PCB board.

The above Ka-band satellite station transceiver has the beneficial effects that in the Ka-band satellite station transceiver, the up-conversion module or the down-conversion module includes a plurality of SIP chips manufactured by system-level packaging technology, and each SIP chip is integrated A number of functional chips that are electrically connected and fabricated using a semiconductor process. Therefore, the Ka-band satellite station transceiver utilizes system-level packaging technology to greatly reduce the number of chips, and also reduces the number of copper traces or microstrip lines between chips, thereby reducing the transmission and reception of the entire Ka-band satellite station. The occupied area of the machine facilitates the miniaturization of the product.

[Description of the Drawings]

In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings used in the embodiments or the description of the prior art will be briefly described below. Obviously, the drawings in the following description are only It is a certain embodiment of the present invention, and those skilled in the art can obtain drawings of other embodiments according to the drawings without any creative work.

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram showing the structure of a VSAT satellite communication system;

2 is a schematic diagram showing the structure of a satellite station in the VSAT satellite communication system shown in FIG. 1;

3 is a schematic structural diagram of a related structure of a Ka-band satellite small station transceiver according to an embodiment;

4 is a schematic diagram showing the electrical connection structure of the up-conversion module in the Ka-band satellite station transceiver of the embodiment shown in FIG. 3;

5 is a schematic diagram showing the electrical connection structure of a down conversion module in a Ka-band satellite station transceiver of the embodiment shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a SIP chip package structure in a Ka-band satellite small station transceiver of the embodiment shown in FIG. 3. FIG.

【detailed description】

In order to facilitate the understanding of the present invention, the present invention will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings. Preferred embodiments of the invention are shown in the drawings. However, the invention may be embodied in many different forms and is not limited to the embodiments described herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that the understanding of the present disclosure will be more fully understood.

Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning meaning meaning The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing the particular embodiments, The term "and/or" as used herein includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

An embodiment provides a Ka-band satellite station transceiver, as shown in FIG. 3, including an up-conversion module 100 and a down-conversion module 200. The up-conversion module 100 and the down-conversion module 200 are both connected between the modem 300 and the antenna assembly 400. The antenna assembly 400 includes an antenna, a feed, and the like for transmitting or receiving a Ka-band high frequency signal. It should be noted that the Ka-band satellite station transceiver includes at least the up-conversion module 100 and the down-conversion module 200, and may also include other structures, such as a quadrature-mode converter.

The up-conversion module 100 is configured to upconvert the signal transmitted by the modem 300 and transmit the up-converted signal to the antenna assembly 400. The signal sent by the modem 300 is usually an intermediate frequency signal, and after being passed through the up-conversion module 100, the intermediate frequency signal is up-converted into a Ka-band high-frequency transmission signal, and finally transmitted through the antenna assembly 400.

The down conversion module 200 is configured to downconvert the signal transmitted by the antenna assembly 400 and transmit the downconverted signal to the modem 300. The signal sent by the antenna assembly 400 to the down-conversion module 200 is a Ka-band high-frequency received signal, and the Ka-band high-frequency received signal is down-converted to the intermediate frequency signal by the down-conversion module 200 and finally enters the modem 300 for subsequent Demodulation and other corresponding processing.

In this embodiment, the up-conversion module 100 or the down-conversion module 200 includes a plurality of SIP (System In) manufactured by system-level packaging technology. a Package system level package) chip. System-in-package technology refers to the integration of multiple functional chips into one package to achieve a substantially complete function, namely the SIP chip. At the same time, each SIP chip integrates a plurality of functional chips which are electrically connected and both are manufactured by a semiconductor process. A semiconductor process refers to a technology in which a semiconductor is used as a component and an integrated circuit, such as a silicon germanium process. The function chip refers to each functional chip that is discretely arranged in the conventional up-conversion module or the down-conversion module, such as a filter, a mixer, and the like.

Above In the manufacturing process, the SIP chip packages the die corresponding to different functional chips through system-level packaging technology, thereby forming a corresponding SIP chip. At the same time, since the functional chips packaged together are electrically connected and the manufacturing process is the same (that is, both are fabricated by a semiconductor process), it is easy to implement in process manufacturing.

In summary, in the embodiment, the different functional chips in the upper conversion module 100 or the down conversion module 200 that are electrically connected and manufactured in the semiconductor manufacturing process are packaged together, thereby reducing the number of chips and reducing the number of chips. The number of copper traces or microstrip lines between the chips reduces the footprint of the entire Ka-band satellite station transceiver, reduces the cost of components, facilitates miniaturization of the product, and simplifies the high frequency band. Construction and commissioning.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 4, the up-conversion module 100 includes three SIP chips, namely, a first SIP chip 110, a second SIP chip 120, and a third SIP chip 130. At the same time, the up-conversion module 100 further includes a microstrip line filter 140 and a first power amplifier 150. Upconversion module 100 also includes other devices 306, such as peripheral devices, matching devices, and the like. The second SIP chip 120 is connected to the third SIP chip 130. The microstrip line filter 140 is connected between the first SIP chip 110 and the second SIP chip 120. The third SIP chip 130 is also connected to the first power amplifier 150. The first power amplifier 150 is also used to connect the antenna assembly 400.

The first SIP chip 110 is configured to generate and amplify a first local oscillator signal corresponding to the up-conversion. The first SIP chip 110 integrates two functional chips, a first local oscillator signal generator 111 and a first local oscillator signal amplifier 112, which are electrically connected. The first local oscillator signal generator 111 is configured to generate a first local oscillator signal and transmit it to the first local oscillator amplifier 112. The first local oscillator signal amplifier 112 is configured to amplify the first local oscillator signal and transmit the amplified first local oscillator signal to the microstrip line filter 140.

The microstrip line filter 140 is configured to filter the amplified first local oscillation signal and send the filtered first local oscillation signal to the second SIP chip 120. Specifically, the microstrip line filter 140 is a band pass filter, and the microstrip line filter 140 is formed by a copper plating or a copper plating and a silver plating process, and has a thickness of 17 μm to 34 μm. Among them, the immersion silver can prevent oxidation of copper, thereby improving the reliability of the microstrip line filter 140. In addition, since the microstrip line filter 140 is different from the manufacturing process of the first local oscillation signal generator 111 and the first local oscillation signal amplifier 112, the microstrip line filter 140 is individually set to one stage in this embodiment.

The second SIP chip 120 is configured to implement a mixing function to upconvert the intermediate frequency signal transmitted by the modem 300 into a Ka-band high frequency signal. The second SIP chip 120 is integrated with two functional chips, a first amplifier 121 and a first mixer 122 that are electrically connected. The first amplifier 121 is connected to the microstrip line filter 140, and the first amplifier 121 is configured to amplify the first local oscillation signal filtered by the microstrip line filter 140. The first mixer 121 is configured to connect to the modem 300, and the first mixer 121 is configured to mix the first local oscillator signal amplified by the first amplifier 121 with the intermediate frequency signal transmitted from the modem 300, thereby obtaining a Ka. Band high frequency signal. The Ka-band high frequency signal is transmitted through the microstrip line and transmitted to the third SIP chip 130. Among them, the microstrip patch antenna 170 is used to transmit and receive high frequency signals. In this embodiment, the Ka-band high-frequency signal output by the second SIP chip 120 is transmitted to the third SIP chip 130 through the microstrip patch antenna 170.

The third SIP chip 130 is configured to amplify the Ka-band high-frequency signal, and the third SIP chip 130 is integrated with the two functional chips of the second amplifier 131 and the third amplifier 132 that are electrically connected. The second amplifier 131 is a low noise amplifier. The third amplifier 132 is a variable gain amplifier. In addition, a corresponding matching circuit is further included in the third SIP chip 130 to achieve the effect of impedance matching. Therefore, after the Ka-band high-frequency signal passes through the third SIP chip 130, a corresponding multi-stage amplification process is performed, and is transmitted to the first power amplifier 150 through the microstrip patch antenna 170.

The first power amplifier 150 is configured to perform power amplification so that the amplified Ka-band high-frequency signal sent by the third SIP chip 130 generates sufficient power to be wirelessly transmitted. Since the first power amplifier 150 has a high power characteristic, significant heat generation is generated, so the first power amplifier 150 is individually set to one stage in this embodiment.

Therefore, in the up-conversion module 100 provided in this embodiment, the functional modules of the conventional up-conversion modules are arranged in an electrical connection relationship by the first SIP chip 110, the second SIP chip 120, and the third SIP chip 130. The process is packaged accordingly, thereby reducing the number of chips in the entire upconversion module 100 and the number of copper traces or microstrip lines between the chips.

It can be understood that the structure of the up-conversion module 100 is not limited to the above one, as long as the miniaturization requirement of the product can be satisfied. For example, in other embodiments, the second SIP chip 120 may be integrated with each functional chip in the third SIP chip 130; other stages of amplifiers may be integrated into the third SIP chip 130.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 5, the down conversion module 200 includes a fourth SIP chip 210, a fifth SIP chip 220, a sixth SIP chip 230, a local oscillator signal filter 240, a second mixer 250, and a mixed signal filter. The device 260 and the second power amplifier 270. The fifth SIP chip 220 is connected to the sixth SIP chip 230. The fifth SIP chip 220 is also used to connect the antenna assembly 400. The local oscillator signal filter 240 is connected between the fourth SIP chip 210 and the second mixer 250. The second mixer 250 is also connected to the sixth SIP chip 230 and the mixed signal filter 260, respectively. The mixing signal filter 260 is also coupled to a second power amplifier 270. The second power amplifier 270 is also used to connect to the modem 300.

The fourth SIP chip 210 is configured to generate and amplify a second local oscillation signal corresponding to the down conversion. At the same time, the fourth SIP chip 210 integrates two functional chips of the second local oscillator signal generator 211 and the second local oscillator signal amplifier 212 that are electrically connected. The second local oscillator signal generator 211 is configured to generate a second local oscillator signal corresponding to the down-conversion and send the signal to the second local oscillator amplifier 212. The second local oscillator signal amplifier 212 is a low noise amplifier for amplifying the second local oscillator signal and transmitting the amplified second local oscillator signal to the local oscillator signal filter 240. The local oscillator signal filter 240 transmits the filtered second local oscillator signal to the second mixer 250.

The fifth SIP chip 220 is integrated with a plurality of stages of amplifiers and is used to amplify the Ka-band received signals transmitted by the antenna assembly 400. Specifically, the fifth SIP chip 220 is integrated with a three-stage low noise amplifier to improve the signal to noise ratio of the signal. At the same time, the fifth SIP chip 220 receives the Ka band reception signal through the patch antenna 280.

The sixth SIP chip 230 is integrated with a plurality of stages of filters, and is configured to filter the amplified Ka-band received signal sent by the fifth SIP chip 220, and then send the filtered Ka-band received signal to the second mixer 250. Specifically, the sixth SIP chip 230 is integrated with three filters.

The second mixer 250 is configured to mix the filtered second local oscillator signal with the filtered Ka-band received signal to form a corresponding intermediate frequency signal, and send the signal to the mixing signal filter 260. The mixing signal filter 260 filters the intermediate frequency signal and transmits the filtered intermediate frequency signal to the second power amplifier 270. The second power amplifier 270 is for performing power amplification and will transmit the amplified intermediate frequency signal to the modem 300.

Therefore, in the down conversion module 200 provided in this embodiment, the discrete functional modules in the conventional down conversion module are electrically connected and processed according to the fourth SIP chip 210, the fifth SIP chip 220, and the sixth SIP chip 230. Packaged together, thereby reducing the number of chips in the entire downconversion module 200 and the number of copper traces or microstrip lines between the chips.

It can be understood that the structure of the down conversion module 200 is not limited to the above one, as long as the miniaturization requirement of the product can be satisfied.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 6, each of the foregoing SIP chips (including the first SIP chip 110, the second SIP chip 120, the third SIP chip 130, the fourth SIP chip 210, the fifth SIP chip 220, and the sixth SIP chip 230) The specific package structure principle is as follows.

Each SIP chip includes a substrate 510, and the functional chips within the SIP chip are integrated on the substrate 510 in a stacked or side-by-side manner. For example, the function chip 520 and the function chip 530 are integrated on the substrate 510 in a stacked manner, and this laminated structure can further reduce the area of the entire SIP chip. The functional chips that are not suitable for being stacked together are integrated on the substrate 510 in a side-by-side manner. For example, the functional chip 560 is integrated on the substrate 510 in a side-by-side manner with respect to the functional chip 520 and the functional chip 530. In addition, the functional chip leads the leads through a bonding process to achieve electrical connection. Other components 550 are also integrated on substrate 510, such as matched resistors, capacitors, or microstrip lines.

It can be understood that the package structure of the SIP chip is not limited to the above one case, as long as the corresponding function chips can be packaged together.

Specifically, each SIP chip is mounted on the PCB board corresponding to the up-conversion module 100 or the down-conversion module 200 by surface mount technology, thereby further reducing the volume of the Ka-band satellite station transceiver. In addition, the PCB board after the installation is placed in the waveguide cavity housing, which has the functions of waveguide, heat dissipation and support.

At the same time, the up-conversion module 100 and the down-conversion module 200 are installed together on the same PCB board. At this time, the up-conversion module 100 and the down-conversion module 200 can share the local oscillator signal generator, thereby further reducing the number of chips, reducing the size of the product, and saving component costs.

The technical features of the above-described embodiments may be arbitrarily combined. For the sake of brevity of description, all possible combinations of the technical features in the above embodiments are not described. However, as long as there is no contradiction between the combinations of these technical features, All should be considered as the scope of this manual.

The above-described embodiments are merely illustrative of several embodiments of the present invention, and the description thereof is more specific and detailed, but is not to be construed as limiting the scope of the invention. It should be noted that a number of variations and modifications may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore, the scope of the invention should be determined by the appended claims.

Claims

A Ka-band satellite station transceiver includes an up-conversion module and a down-conversion module, wherein the up-conversion module and the down-conversion module are connected between the modem and the antenna assembly;

The up-conversion module is configured to up-convert a signal sent by the modem, and send the up-converted signal to the antenna component; the down-conversion module is configured to perform a signal sent by the antenna component Frequency conversion, and the down-converted signal is sent to the modem; at the same time, the up-conversion module or the down-conversion module includes a plurality of SIP chips manufactured by using system-level packaging technology, and each of the SIP chips is integrated with a plurality of electrical properties. Functional chips that are connected and fabricated using a semiconductor process.
The Ka-band satellite station transceiver according to claim 1, wherein the up-conversion module comprises a first SIP chip, and the first SIP chip is integrated with a first local oscillator signal generator and a first Vibration signal amplifier.
The Ka-band satellite station transceiver according to claim 2, wherein the up-conversion module further comprises a second SIP chip and a third SIP chip connected;

The second SIP chip is integrated with a first amplifier and a first mixer, and the first mixer is used to connect the modem; the third SIP chip is integrated with a second amplifier and a third amplifier.
The Ka-band satellite station transceiver according to claim 3, wherein the up-conversion module further comprises a microstrip line filter and a first power amplifier; the microstrip line filter is connected to the first Between the SIP chip and the second SIP chip; the third SIP chip is also connected to the first power amplifier; the first power amplifier is further configured to connect the antenna assembly.
The Ka-band satellite station transceiver according to claim 1, wherein the down-conversion module comprises a fourth SIP chip; the fourth SIP chip is integrated with a second local oscillator signal generator and a second local oscillator signal amplifier.
The Ka-band satellite station transceiver according to claim 5, wherein the down-conversion module further comprises a fifth SIP chip and a sixth SIP chip connected;

The fifth SIP chip is integrated with a plurality of stages of amplifiers, and the fifth SIP chip is further configured to connect the antenna components; the sixth SIP chip is integrated with a plurality of stages of filters.
The Ka-band satellite station transceiver according to claim 6, wherein the down-conversion module further comprises a local oscillator signal filter, a second mixer, a mixed-signal filter, and a second power amplifier;

The local oscillator signal filter is connected between the fourth SIP chip and the second mixer; the second mixer is further connected to the sixth SIP chip and the mixed signal filter respectively Connected; the mixing signal filter is also coupled to the second power amplifier; the second power amplifier is further configured to connect to the modem.
The Ka-band satellite station transceiver according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the SIP chip comprises a substrate, and each of the functional chips is integrated in the stacked or side by side manner On the substrate.
The Ka-band satellite station transceiver according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein each of the SIP chips is mounted on the PCB corresponding to the up-conversion module or the down-conversion module by surface mount technology. board.
The Ka-band satellite small station transceiver according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the up-conversion module and the down-conversion module are installed together on the same PCB board.