WO2020103709A1 - Commutateur d'émission-réception - Google Patents

Commutateur d'émission-réception

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Publication number
WO2020103709A1
WO2020103709A1 PCT/CN2019/116794 CN2019116794W WO2020103709A1 WO 2020103709 A1 WO2020103709 A1 WO 2020103709A1 CN 2019116794 W CN2019116794 W CN 2019116794W WO 2020103709 A1 WO2020103709 A1 WO 2020103709A1
Authority
WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
transformer
winding
transistor
gate
transistors
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/CN2019/116794
Other languages
English (en)
Inventor
Gerrit Groenewold
Original Assignee
Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. filed Critical Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.
Priority to CN201980076566.3A priority Critical patent/CN113169753B/zh
Publication of WO2020103709A1 publication Critical patent/WO2020103709A1/fr

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    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04B—TRANSMISSION
    • H04B1/00—Details of transmission systems, not covered by a single one of groups H04B3/00 - H04B13/00; Details of transmission systems not characterised by the medium used for transmission
    • H04B1/38—Transceivers, i.e. devices in which transmitter and receiver form a structural unit and in which at least one part is used for functions of transmitting and receiving
    • H04B1/40—Circuits
    • H04B1/44—Transmit/receive switching
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04B—TRANSMISSION
    • H04B1/00—Details of transmission systems, not covered by a single one of groups H04B3/00 - H04B13/00; Details of transmission systems not characterised by the medium used for transmission
    • H04B1/38—Transceivers, i.e. devices in which transmitter and receiver form a structural unit and in which at least one part is used for functions of transmitting and receiving
    • H04B1/40—Circuits
    • H04B1/54—Circuits using the same frequency for two directions of communication
    • H04B1/58—Hybrid arrangements, i.e. arrangements for transition from single-path two-direction transmission to single-direction transmission on each of two paths or vice versa
    • H04B1/581—Hybrid arrangements, i.e. arrangements for transition from single-path two-direction transmission to single-direction transmission on each of two paths or vice versa using a transformer

Definitions

  • the disclosure generally relates to switches for connecting both transmitting circuitry and receiving circuitry to an antenna.
  • Wireless radio-frequency (RF) communication systems such a cellular telephone or a base station, transmit and receive signals through antennas.
  • the receiver and the transmitter may have separate antennas, but it often saves cost to share an antenna between these two.
  • the part of the receiver that is connected to the antenna is often a low-noise amplifier (LNA) and the component in the transmitter chain connected to the antenna is the power amplifier (PA) .
  • LNA low-noise amplifier
  • PA power amplifier
  • One way to share an antenna between the PA and the LNA is to simply for them to both be connected to the same antenna, where if the system is in receive mode, the LNA is switched on, and the PA is switched off and the system is in the transmit mode, the PA is on and the LNA is off.
  • the PA and LNA not to interfere with each other, they should each be of infinite impedance when off, but this is impossible at RF frequencies. Consequently, such circuits could benefit from techniques to improve the common use of an antenna by both receive and transmit circuits.
  • a transmit-receive switch includes a first transformer, a second transformer, a plurality of transistors, and a control circuit.
  • the first transformer has a first winding and a second winding, the first winding configured to be connected to an antenna.
  • the second transformer has a first winding and a second winding, the first winding configured to be connected receive circuitry.
  • the plurality of transistors each have a gate and each have a channel coupled to the second windings of the first transformer and the second transformer.
  • the control circuit is configured to operate the transmit-receive switch in a transmit mode and in a receive mode, wherein the control circuit sets direct current (DC) bias levels on the gates of the transistors for the receive mode and applies an input waveform to the gates of the transistors for the transmit mode.
  • DC direct current
  • setting the direct current bias level on the gates of the transistors includes setting the gates of a first subset of the transistors to a low supply level and the gates of a second set of transistors to a positive bias voltage.
  • the input waveform includes a first input value and a second input value.
  • plurality of transistors includes a first transistor, a second transistor, a third transistor, and a fourth transistor.
  • the first transistor is connected between a first end tap of the second winding of the first transformer and a first end tap of the second winding of the second transformer.
  • the second transistor is connected between a second end tap of the second winding of the first transformer and a second end tap of the second winding of the second transformer.
  • the third transistor is connected between the first end tap of the second winding of the first transformer and the second end tap of the second winding of the second transformer.
  • the fourth transistor is connected between the second end tap of the second winding of the first transformer and the first end tap of the second winding of the second transformer.
  • control circuit in the receive mode is further configured to: set the gate of the third transistor, the gate of the fourth transistor and a center tap of the second winding of the first transformer to a low supply level; set the gate of the first transistor and the gate of the second transistor to a positive bias voltage; and setting a center tap of the second winding of the second transformer to a high supply level.
  • the input waveform includes a first input value and a second input value and in the transmit mode the control circuit is further configured to: apply the first input value to the gate of the first transistor and the gate of the third transistor; apply the second input value to the gate of the second transistor and the gate of the fourth transistor; set a center tap of the second winding of the first transformer to a high supply level; and set a center tap of the second winding of the second transformer to a low supply level.
  • the transmit-receive switch further includes a third transformer, comprising: a primary winding configured to receive the input waveform; a first secondary winding connected between the gate of the first transistor and the gate of the second transistor; and a second secondary winding connected between the gate of third transistor and the gate of the fourth transistor.
  • control circuit in the transmit mode is further configured to: set a center tap of the second winding of the first transformer to a high supply level; set a center tap of the second winding of the second transformer to a low supply level; and set a center tap of the first secondary winding of the third transformer and a center tap of the second secondary winding of the third transformer to a positive bias voltage.
  • control circuit in the receive mode is further configured to: set a center tap of the second winding of the first transformer and a center tap of the second secondary winding of the third transformer to a low supply level; set a center tap of the second winding of the second transformer to a high supply level; and set a center tap of the first secondary winding of the third transformer to a positive bias voltage.
  • a wireless communication device includes an antenna and a first transformer having a first winding and a second winding, the first winding connected to the antenna.
  • the receiver circuitry is configured to receive an input signal from the antenna.
  • a second transformer has a first winding and a second winding, the first winding connected to the receiver circuitry to provide the input signal thereto.
  • a plurality of transistors each have a gate and each have a channel through which the second winding of the first transformer is connected to the second winding of the second transformer.
  • Transmitter circuitry is configured to generate a transmit signal.
  • a control circuit is configured to operate a transmit mode and in a receive mode, the receive mode including setting direct current (DC) bias levels on the gates of the transistors and the transmit mode including applying the transmit signal to the gates of the transistors.
  • DC direct current
  • a method of operating a wireless communication device includes, in a receive mode: biasing a gate of each of a plurality of transistors to a set of direct current (DC) bias levels, where each of the transistors includes a channel through which a secondary winding of a first transformer is connected to a secondary winding of a second transformer; receiving an input signal from an antenna at a primary winding of the first transformer; and supplying the input signal to a receiver circuit from a primary winding of a second transformer.
  • DC direct current
  • the method also includes, in a transmit mode: receiving an input waveform from a transmitter circuit; applying the input waveform to the gates of the plurality of transistors; and supplying a transmission signal generated by the transistors from the input waveform to the antenna through the primary winding of the first transformer.
  • Embodiments of the present technology described herein provide improvements to existing transmit-receive switches. These include an integrated on-chip transmitter that can share one antenna and avoid signal loss by using the same set of transistors in both the transmit mode and the received mode by reconfiguring the circuit. Such embodiments avoid use of RF switches, reducing signal loss.
  • FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a wireless network for communicating data.
  • FIG. 2 illustrates an example of the details of an instance of user equipment (UE) introduced in FIG. 1.
  • UE user equipment
  • FIG. 3 illustrates an example of the details of an instance of a base station (BS) introduced in FIG. 1.
  • BS base station
  • FIG. 4 illustrates an example of the details of a receiver included in UE or a BS shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.
  • FIG. 5 illustrates an example of the details of a transmitter included in UE or a BS shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.
  • FIG. 6 illustrates a transmitter’s power amplifier and a receiver’s low noise amplifier connected to the same antenna.
  • FIG. 7 illustrate the inclusion of transmit and receive switches to the arrangement of FIG. 6.
  • FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of power amplifier having two transistors connected to the antenna through a transformer T.
  • FIG. 9 illustrates the circuit of FIG. 8 with the power supply inverted.
  • FIG. 10 adds an output for a low noise amplifier to the circuit of FIG. 9.
  • FIG. 11 introduces a switch into the circuit of FIG. 10, allowing one of the transformers to be short circuited.
  • FIG. 12 illustrates an embodiment of a transmit-receive switch that can implemented without RF switches and can act as a PA output stage or an LNA input stage.
  • FIG. 13A illustrates another embodiment for a transmit-receive switch, with the voltage levels applied by the control circuit in the transmit and receive modes shown in the table of FIG. 13B.
  • FIG. 13B is a table that shows transmit and receive mode settings.
  • FIG. 14 is a high-level flow diagram that is used to summarize methods for operating of a transmit-receive switch according to various embodiments of the present technology.
  • the present disclosure will now be described with reference to the figures, which in general relate to transmit-receive switches allowing a wireless communication device, such as a cellular telephone or a base station for a wireless communication network, to share the same antenna between the device’s receive circuitry and transmit circuitry.
  • the switch includes a set of transistors that can be configured to operate either in a transmit mode or a receive mode. In the receive mode, the antenna is connected to the switch configured as a low noise amplifier whose output is provided through the channels of the transistors. In the transmit mode, power amplifier inputs are applied to the gates of the transistors.
  • FIG. 1 is used to describe an example of a wireless network for communicating data
  • FIG. 2 is used to describe details of an example of user equipment (UE) introduced in FIG. 1
  • FIG. 3 is used to describe details of an example of a base station (BS) introduced in FIG. 1.
  • FIGS. 4 and 5 are respectively used to describe details of examples of a receiver and of a transmitter included a UE or a BS.
  • the communication system 100 includes, for example, user equipment 110A, 110B, and 110C, radio access networks (RANs) 120A and 120B, a core network 130, a public switched telephone network (PSTN) 140, the Internet 150, and other networks 160. Additional or alternative networks include private and public data-packet networks including corporate intranets. While certain numbers of these components or elements are shown in the figure, any number of these components or elements may be included in the system 100.
  • RANs radio access networks
  • PSTN public switched telephone network
  • the wireless network may be a fifth generation (5G) network including at least one 5G base station which employs orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) and/or non-OFDM and a transmission time interval (TTI) shorter than 1 ms (e.g. 100 or 200 microseconds) , to communicate with the communication devices.
  • 5G fifth generation
  • a base station may also be used to refer any of the eNB and the 5G BS (gNB) .
  • the network may further include a network server for processing information received from the communication devices via the at least one eNB or gNB.
  • System 100 enables multiple wireless users to transmit and receive data and other content.
  • the system 100 may implement one or more channel access methods, such as but not limited to code division multiple access (CDMA) , time division multiple access (TDMA) , frequency division multiple access (FDMA) , orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA) , or single-carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA) .
  • CDMA code division multiple access
  • TDMA time division multiple access
  • FDMA frequency division multiple access
  • OFDMA orthogonal FDMA
  • SC-FDMA single-carrier FDMA
  • the user equipment (UE) 110A, 110B, and 110C which can be referred to individually as an UE 110, or collectively as the UEs 110, are configured to operate and/or communicate in the system 100.
  • a UE 110 can be configured to transmit and/or receive wireless signals or wired signals.
  • Each UE 110 represents any suitable end user device and may include such devices (or may be referred to) as a user equipment/device, wireless transmit/receive unit (UE) , mobile station, fixed or mobile subscriber unit, pager, cellular telephone, personal digital assistant (PDA) , smartphone, laptop, computer, touchpad, wireless sensor, wearable devices or consumer electronics device.
  • PDA personal digital assistant
  • the RANs 120A, 120B include one or more base stations (BSs) 170A, 170B, respectively.
  • the RANs 120A and 120B can be referred to individually as a RAN 120, or collectively as the RANs 120.
  • the base stations (BSs) 170A and 170B can be referred individually as a base station (BS) 170, or collectively as the base stations (BSs) 170.
  • Each of the BSs 170 is configured to wirelessly interface with one or more of the UEs 110 to enable access to the core network 130, the PSTN 140, the Internet 150, and/or the other networks 160.
  • the base stations (BSs) 170 may include one or more of several well-known devices, such as a base transceiver station (BTS) , a Node-B (NodeB) , an evolved NodeB (eNB) , a next (fifth) generation (5G) NodeB (gNB) , a Home NodeB, a Home eNodeB, a site controller, an access point (AP) , or a wireless router, or a server, router, switch, or other processing entity with a wired or wireless network.
  • BTS base transceiver station
  • NodeB Node-B
  • eNB evolved NodeB
  • 5G next (fifth) generation
  • gNB next (fifth) generation
  • gNB next (fifth) generation
  • gNB next (fifth) generation
  • gNB next (fifth) generation
  • gNB next (fifth) generation
  • gNB next (fifth) generation
  • the BS 170A forms part of the RAN 120A, which may include one or more other BSs 170, elements, and/or devices.
  • the BS 170B forms part of the RAN 120B, which may include one or more other BSs 170, elements, and/or devices.
  • Each of the BSs 170 operates to transmit and/or receive wireless signals within a particular geographic region or area, sometimes referred to as a “cell. ”
  • MIMO multiple-input multiple-output
  • the BSs 170 communicate with one or more of the UEs 110 over one or more air interfaces (not shown) using wireless communication links.
  • the air interfaces may utilize any suitable radio access technology.
  • the system 100 may use multiple channel access functionality, including for example schemes in which the BSs 170 and UEs 110 are configured to implement the Long Term Evolution wireless communication standard (LTE) , LTE Advanced (LTE-A) , and/or LTE Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service (MBMS) .
  • LTE Long Term Evolution wireless communication standard
  • LTE-A LTE Advanced
  • MBMS LTE Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service
  • the base stations 170 and user equipment 110A-110C are configured to implement UMTS, HSPA, or HSPA+ standards and protocols.
  • other multiple access schemes and wireless protocols may be utilized.
  • the RANs 120 are in communication with the core network 130 to provide the UEs 110 with voice, data, application, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) , or other services.
  • VoIP Voice over Internet Protocol
  • the RANs 120 and/or the core network 130 may be in direct or indirect communication with one or more other RANs (not shown) .
  • the core network 130 may also serve as a gateway access for other networks (such as PSTN 140, Internet 150, and other networks 160) .
  • some or all of the UEs 110 may include functionality for communicating with different wireless networks over different wireless links using different wireless technologies and/or protocols.
  • the RANs 120 may also include millimeter and/or microwave access points (APs) .
  • the APs may be part of the BSs 170 or may be located remote from the BSs 170.
  • the APs may include, but are not limited to, a connection point (an mmW CP) or a BS 170 capable of mmW communication (e.g., a mmW base station) .
  • the mmW APs may transmit and receive signals in a frequency range, for example, from 24 GHz to 100 GHz, but are not required to operate throughout this range.
  • the term base station is used to refer to a base station and/or a wireless access point.
  • FIG. 1 illustrates one example of a communication system
  • the communication system 100 could include any number of user equipment, base stations, networks, or other components in any suitable configuration.
  • user equipment may refer to any type of wireless device communicating with a radio network node in a cellular or mobile communication system.
  • Non-limiting examples of user equipment are a target device, device-to-device (D2D) user equipment, machine type user equipment or user equipment capable of machine-to-machine (M2M) communication, laptops, PDA, iPad, Tablet, mobile terminals, smart phones, laptop embedded equipped (LEE) , laptop mounted equipment (LME) and USB dongles.
  • D2D device-to-device
  • M2M machine type user equipment or user equipment capable of machine-to-machine
  • laptops PDA, iPad, Tablet
  • smart phones laptop embedded equipped (LEE)
  • LME laptop mounted equipment
  • FIG. 2 illustrates example details of an UE 110 that may implement the methods and teachings according to this disclosure.
  • the UE 110 may for example be a mobile telephone, but may be other devices in further examples such as a desktop computer, laptop computer, tablet, hand-held computing device, automobile computing device and/or other computing devices.
  • the example UE 110 is shown as including at least one transmitter 202, at least one receiver 204, memory 206, at least one processor 208, and at least one input/output device 212.
  • the processor 208 can implement various processing operations of the UE 110.
  • the processor 208 can perform signal coding, data processing, power control, input/output processing, or any other functionality enabling the UE 110 to operate in the system 100 (FIG. 1) .
  • the processor 208 may include any suitable processing or computing device configured to perform one or more operations.
  • the processor 208 may include a microprocessor, microcontroller, digital signal processor, field programmable gate array, or application specific integrated circuit.
  • the transmitter 202 can be configured to modulate data or other content for transmission by at least one antenna 210.
  • the transmitter 202 can also be configured to amplify, filter and a frequency convert RF signals before such signals are provided to the antenna 210 for transmission.
  • the transmitter 202 can include any suitable structure for generating signals for wireless transmission.
  • the receiver 204 can be configured to demodulate data or other content received by the at least one antenna 210.
  • the receiver 204 can also be configured to amplify, filter and frequency convert RF signals received via the antenna 210.
  • the receiver 204 can include any suitable structure for processing signals received wirelessly.
  • the antenna 210 can include any suitable structure for transmitting and/or receiving wireless signals. The same antenna 210 can be used for both transmitting and receiving RF signals, or alternatively, different antennas 210 can be used for transmitting signals and receiving signals.
  • one or multiple transmitters 202 could be used in the UE 110, one or multiple receivers 204 could be used in the UE 110, and one or multiple antennas 210 could be used in the UE 110.
  • at least one transmitter 202 and at least one receiver 204 could be combined into a transceiver. Accordingly, rather than showing a separate block for the transmitter 202 and a separate block for the receiver 204 in FIG. 2, a single block for a transceiver could have been shown.
  • the UE 110 further includes one or more input/output devices 212.
  • the input/output devices 212 facilitate interaction with a user.
  • Each input/output device 212 includes any suitable structure for providing information to or receiving information from a user, such as a speaker, microphone, keypad, keyboard, display, or touch screen.
  • the UE 110 includes at least one memory 206.
  • the memory 206 stores instructions and data used, generated, or collected by the UE 110.
  • the memory 206 could store software or firmware instructions executed by the processor (s) 208 and data used to reduce or eliminate interference in incoming signals.
  • Each memory 206 includes any suitable volatile and/or non-volatile storage and retrieval device (s) . Any suitable type of memory may be used, such as random access memory (RAM) , read only memory (ROM) , hard disk, optical disc, subscriber identity module (SIM) card, memory stick, secure digital (SD) memory card, and the like.
  • RAM random access memory
  • ROM read only memory
  • SIM subscriber identity module
  • SD secure digital
  • FIG. 3 illustrates an example BS 170 that may implement the methods and teachings according to this disclosure.
  • the BS 170 includes at least one processor 308, at least one transmitter 302, at least one receiver 304, one or more antennas 310, and at least one memory 306.
  • the processor 308 implements various processing operations of the BS 170, such as signal coding, data processing, power control, input/output processing, or any other functionality.
  • Each processor 308 includes any suitable processing or computing device configured to perform one or more operations.
  • Each processor 308 could, for example, include a microprocessor, microcontroller, digital signal processor, field programmable gate array, or application specific integrated circuit.
  • Each transmitter 302 includes any suitable structure for generating signals for wireless transmission to one or more UEs 110 or other devices.
  • Each receiver 304 includes any suitable structure for processing signals received wirelessly from one or more UEs 110 or other devices. Although shown as separate blocks or components, at least one transmitter 302 and at least one receiver 304 could be combined into a transceiver.
  • Each antenna 310 includes any suitable structure for transmitting and/or receiving wireless signals. While a common antenna 310 is shown here as being coupled to both the transmitter 302 and the receiver 304, one or more antennas 310 could be coupled to the transmitter (s) 302, and one or more separate antennas 310 could be coupled to the receiver (s) 304.
  • Each memory 306 includes any suitable volatile and/or non-volatile storage and retrieval device (s) .
  • processor readable storage devices can include computer readable media such as volatile and non-volatile media, removable and non-removable media.
  • computer readable media may comprise computer readable storage media and communication media.
  • Computer readable storage media may be implemented in any method or technology for storage of information such as computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data.
  • Examples of computer readable storage media include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (DVD) or other optical disk storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium which can be used to store the desired information and which can be accessed by a computer.
  • a computer readable medium or media does (do) not include propagated, modulated or transitory signals.
  • Communication media typically embodies computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data in a propagated, modulated or transitory data signal such as a carrier wave or other transport mechanism and includes any information delivery media.
  • modulated data signal means a signal that has one or more of its characteristics set or changed in such a manner as to encode information in the signal.
  • communication media includes wired media such as a wired network or direct-wired connection, and wireless media such as RF and other wireless media. Combinations of any of the above are also included within the scope of computer readable media.
  • some or all of the software can be replaced by dedicated hardware logic components.
  • illustrative types of hardware logic components include Field-programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) , Application-specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs) , Application-specific Standard Products (ASSPs) , System-on-a-chip systems (SOCs) , Complex Programmable Logic Devices (CPLDs) , special purpose computers, etc.
  • FPGAs Field-programmable Gate Arrays
  • ASICs Application-specific Integrated Circuits
  • ASSPs Application-specific Standard Products
  • SOCs System-on-a-chip systems
  • CPLDs Complex Programmable Logic Devices
  • special purpose computers etc.
  • software stored on a storage device
  • the one or more processors can be in communication with one or more computer readable media/storage devices, peripherals and/or communication interfaces.
  • FIG. 4 illustrates details for an example of a receiver 404, which can be the receiver 204 included in the UE 110 (shown in FIG. 2) or the receiver 304 included in the BS 170 (shown in FIG. 3) , but is not limited thereto.
  • the receiver 404 is shown as including an input 406 at which is received as a radio frequency (RF) signal, and thus, the input 406 can also be referred to as the RF input 406.
  • the RF input 406 can be coupled to an antenna or a coupler, but is not limited thereto.
  • the RF signal received by the RF input 406 is provided to a low noise amplifier (LNA) 408, which may have an adjustable gain.
  • LNA low noise amplifier
  • the LNA 408 amplifies the relatively low-power RF signal it receives without significantly degrading the signal’s signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) .
  • the amplified RF signal that is output by the LNA 408 is provided to a mixer 410.
  • the mixer 410 in addition to receiving the amplifier RF signal from the LNA 408, also receives an oscillator signal LO from a local oscillator, and adjusts the frequency of the amplifier RF signal, e.g., from first frequency to a second frequency that is lower than the first frequency. More specifically, the mixer 410 can be a down-mixer (DN MIX) that frequency down-converts the amplified RF signal from a relatively high frequency to a baseband frequency, or an intermediate frequency (IF) that is offset from the baseband frequency.
  • DN MIX down-mixer
  • the frequency down-converted RF signal that is output from the mixer 410 is shown as being provided to a trans-impedance amplifier (TIA) 412.
  • the TIA 412 acts as a current buffer to isolate a multi-feedback (MFB) filter 414 that is downstream of the TIA 412, from the mixer 410 that is upstream of the TIA 412.
  • the MBF filter 414 low pass filters the frequency down-converted RF signal, to filter out high frequency signal components that are not of interest, such as HF noise.
  • the filtered RF signal that is output from the MBF filter 414 is provided to a variable gain amplifier (VGA) 416, which is used to amplify the RF signal before it provided to an analog-to-digital converter (A/D) 418, which converts the RF signal from an analog signal to a digital signal.
  • VGA variable gain amplifier
  • A/D analog-to-digital converter
  • the digital signal output from the A/D 418 is then provided to a digital filter 420, which performs additional filtering to remove out of band signal components and attenuates quantization energy from the A/D 418.
  • the filtered digital signal that is output by the digital filter 420 is then provided to further digital circuitry that is downstream from the digital filter 420.
  • Such further digital circuity can include, for example, a digital signal processor (DSP) , but is not limited thereto.
  • DSP digital signal processor
  • the same DSP, or a different DSP can be used to implement the digital filter 420.
  • the local oscillator signal LO in FIG. 4 can be provided by a voltage controlled oscillator VCO system 431, which is frequently incorporated into a phase locked loop.
  • the LO signal is provided to the mixer 410 for use in the down-conversion process.
  • the VCO system 431 can be formed on the same integrated circuit as one or more of the other elements in FIG. 4.
  • FIG. 5 illustrates details of one example of a transmitter 502, which can be the transmitter 202 included in the UE 110 (shown in FIG. 2) or the transmitter 302 included in the BS 170 (shown in FIG. 3) , but is not limited thereto.
  • the transmitter 502 is shown as including an output 518 at which is provided as a radio frequency (RF) signal, and thus, the output 518 can also be referred to as the RF output 518.
  • the RF output 518 can be coupled to an antenna or a coupler, but is not limited thereto.
  • the RF signal provided by the RF output 518 is provided from a power amplifier PA 514 though the bandpass or notch filter 516.
  • the filter 516 can, for example, be a duplex/SAW filter and is used to remove unwanted frequency components above and below the desired RF frequency range from the amplified RF output signal generated by PA 514.
  • the power amp PA 514 receives its input from a power pre-amplifier PPA 512, which initially receives the up-converted signal to be transmitted from the mixer 510.
  • the signal to be transmitted is received from the processor 208 of UE 110 of FIG. 2 or processor 308 of BS 170 of FIG. 3 at the digital to analog converter 506, with the digitized signal being filtered by low pass filter 508 to initially remove any high frequency noise before being up-converted at the mixer 510.
  • the mixer 510 in addition to receiving the analog version of the signal, typically an intermediate frequency (IF) signal, from the low pass filter 508, also receives an oscillator signal LO from a local oscillator VCO 531, and adjusts the received IF signal, e.g., from first frequency to a second frequency that is higher than the first frequency. More specifically, the mixer 510 can be an up-mixer (UP MIX) that frequency up-converts the IF signal to an RF signal.
  • UP MIX up-mixer
  • Wireless radio-frequency (RF) communication systems transmit and receive signals through antennas.
  • the receiver e.g. 404 of FIG. 4
  • the transmitter e.g. 502 of FIG. 5
  • the receiver and the transmitter may have separate antennas, but it often saves cost to share an antenna between these two.
  • both the transmitter 202/302 and the receiver 204/304 are connected to the shared antenna 210/310.
  • the part of the receiver that is connected to the antenna is often a low-noise amplifier, such as LNA 408 of FIG. 4.
  • the component in the transmitter chain connected to the antenna is the power amplifier, such as PA 514 of FIG. 5.
  • FIG. 6 shows an easy way to share an antenna 610 between PA 614 and LNA 608 by simply connecting them to the same antenna 610. Assume the system does not need to transmit and receive at the same time. This means that the PA 614 and LNA 608 are never active at the same time: If the system is in receive mode, the LNA 608 is switched on and the PA 614 is switched off; and in transmit mode, the PA 614 is on and the LNA 608 is off.
  • the PA 614 and LNA 608 should not interfere with each other.
  • receive mode the PA 614 is off, and all signal energy received by the antenna 610 should be delivered to the LNA 608.
  • the output impedance of the PA 614 in off mode should be infinite. If this is not the case, some received signal energy will be dissipated in the output stage of the PA 614. This portion of the signal energy will not make it to the LNA 608, so the LNA 608 will process a signal with reduced energy. This will decrease the received signal quality, specifically the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the signal.
  • SNR signal-to-noise ratio
  • the LNA 608 In transmit mode, the LNA 608 is off, and all signal power generated by the PA 614 will have to be radiated by the antenna 610. For this to happen, the input impedance of the LNA 608 in off mode should be infinite. If this is not the case, the LNA 608 will absorb some signal energy, which will reduce the power of the signal radiated by the antenna 610, so it will reduce the efficiency of the PA 614.
  • the LNA 608 is directly connected to the output of the PA 614.
  • the output signal voltage of the PA 614 can be very large and may damage the input component of the LNA 608, even if this LNA 608 is switched off and does not dissipate much power of the transmitted signal.
  • FIG. 7 illustrate the inclusion of transmit and receive switches S1 751 and S2 752, respectively, to the arrangement of FIG. 6 for connecting to the antenna 710.
  • Adding switches S1 751 and S2 752 in the PA 714 output and LNA 708 input, as in FIG. 7, may help to solve these problems.
  • the switches S1 751 and S2 752 will still cause signal loss in both transmit and receive mode, particularly when operating particularly high frequencies, such as 60GHz, for example. Also, it is hard to realize a switch that can handle the large signal coming from the PA. Therefore, it is better to avoid RF switches.
  • the LNA 608/708 and PA 614/714 should not dissipate signal energy when switched off, the LNA 608/708 should be protected from damage by large signals from the PA 614/714, and RF switches should be avoided to the extent practical as these can cause signal loss and cannot handle large signals.
  • embodiments described in the following implement the function of antenna switching without RF switches. These implementations contain only DC switches, which do not switch RF signals, avoiding the problems mentioned before.
  • certain embodiments presented here use a reconfigurable circuit that can act both as the output stage of the transmitter and as the input stage of the receiver. Reconfiguration is done by switching DC bias level voltages, not by changing circuit topology or through RF switches. To avoid signal loss, the block that is not in use should effectively vanish. One way to at least partially reach this goal is to repurpose components instead of switching them off. This can be illustrated by starting from the power amplifier in FIG. 8.
  • FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of a power amplifier including two transistors M 1 863 and M 2 865 that are connected to the antenna node through a transformer T 861.
  • the transistors M 1 863 and M 2 865 can be implemented as NMOSs, for example.
  • the drain terminals of the transistors M 1 863 and M 2 865 serve as a signal output, each being connected to an end tap of a second winding of the transformer T 861, which a center tap connected to high supply level VDD for the circuit.
  • the other end (source) of the channels of M 1 863 and M 2 865 are connected to the low supply level VSS (i.e. ground) .
  • VSS low supply level
  • the gates of M 1 863 and M 2 865 respectively receive the input +in and -in, which can be differential inputs of the PA.
  • the first winding of T 861 is connected between the low supply level VSS and the antenna. If somehow the circuit of FIG. 8 can also be used as an LNA while re-using all the components, there will be no PA component left to dissipate receive energy; but the circuit topology should remain unchanged to avoid RF switches.
  • the transformer T 861 works in two directions, so it can be used in receive and transmit mode.
  • the transistors M 1 863 and M 2 865 need to become the input transistors of the LNA.
  • the transformer is connected to the drain terminals of the transistors M 1 863 and M 2 865, so these same terminals should become input terminals.
  • a drain terminal does not work well as an input. It is possible to turn the drain into a source terminal by reversing the bias current in the transistors. This can be done by inverting the supply voltages, so that the VDD (high) and VSS (low or ground) connections are switched.
  • FIG. 9 the elements of FIG. 8 are repeated, but with the low supply level VSS and the high supply voltage VDD interchanged. This reverses the bias current in the transistors and turns the drain terminals into source terminals.
  • the antenna is now connected to the source terminals of M 1 963 and M 2 965, so the circuit can amplify the signal coming from the antenna through T 961.
  • the gates of the transistors M 1 963 and M 2 965 are connected to a DC bias level sufficient to have the current through M 1 963 and M 2 965 for operating as an LNA, such as could be set by a current mirror.
  • FIG. 10 adds an LNA output terminal to FIG. 9. More specifically, transistors M 1 1063 and M 2 1065 and transformer T 1 1061 are all connected as in FIG. 9, but the circuit in FIG. 10 has an output transformer T 2 1067 added.
  • the first winding of T 2 1067 is connected between the low supply level VSS and an LNA output terminal.
  • Each of the end taps of the second winding are connected to the channel of one of M 1 1063 and M 2 1065, with a center tap connected to the high supply level VDD.
  • the circuit of FIG. 10 now works as LNA, but the addition of T 2 1067 has a negative effect on the circuit’s operation as a PA. In PA mode (where the supply levels connected to the center taps of T 1 1061 and T 2 1067 are reversed) , T 2 1067 must be short circuited.
  • FIG. 11 introduces switch S 1 1169 into the circuit of FIG. 10, allowing T 2 1067 to be short circuited.
  • the M 1 1163 and M 2 1165 are connected between the second winding of T 1 1161 and the second winding of T 2 1167.
  • the first winding of T 1 1161 provides the LNA input, or, equivalently antenna output, and the first winding of T 2 1167 provides the LNA output.
  • switch S 1 1169 is closed, the circuit of FIG. 10 is equivalent to the circuit FIG. 8; and when switch S 1 1169 is open, the circuit of FIG. 10 is equivalent to the circuit of FIG. 10.
  • S 1 1169 is an RF switch, which would cause signal loss, so that this function is preferably implemented in a different way.
  • FIG. 12 illustrates a different implementation for the function of switch S 1 1169.
  • FIG. 12 illustrates an embodiment of a transmit-receive switch that can implemented without RF switches and can act as a PA output stage or an LNA input stage.
  • the antenna terminal is connected to a first winding of transformer T1 1201 and the LNA output terminal is connected to a first winding of the transformer T2 1202.
  • the transistor M 1 1211 is connected between a first end tap of the second winding of the first transformer T 1 1201 and a first end tap of the second winding of the second transformer T 2 1202.
  • the transistor M 2 1212 is connected between a second end tap of the second winding of the first transformer T 1 1201 and a second end tap of the second winding of the second transformer T 2 1202.
  • the transistor M 3 1212 is connected between the first end tap of the second winding of the first transformer T 1 1201 and second end tap of the second winding of the second transformer T 2 1202.
  • the transistor M 4 1214 is connected between the second end tap of the second winding of the first transformer T 1 1201 and first end tap of the second winding of the second transformer T 2 1202.
  • the transistors M 1 1211, M 2 1212, M 3 1213, and M 4 1214 can be implemented as NMOSs.
  • the gates of the transistors M 1 1211, M 2 1212, M 3 1213, and M 4 1214 and the center taps of the second windings of the transformers T 1 1201 and T 2 1202 are connected to a control circuit 1221.
  • the voltages applied to the transistors and transformers by the control circuit are represented in the block for the control circuit 1221, where in the transmit mode, where the transmit-receive switch is configured as a PA output stage and transmits, the values are shown in the TX column. In the receive mode, where the transmit-receive switch is configured as an LNA input stage and receives the values are shown in the RX column.
  • the center tap of the first transformer T 1 1201 is at the high voltage supply level VDD and the center tap of the second transformer T 2 1202 is set to the low voltage supply level VSS (i.e. ground) .
  • the transmit-receive switch is configured as a PA output stage and the gates of the transistors M 1 1211 and M 3 1213 both receive the + input of the PA output stage, +PAin, and the gates of the transistors M 2 1212 and M 4 1214 both receive the -input of the PA output stage, -PAin. All four transistors are active and transfer transmit power to the antenna in equal amounts and in the transmit mode the transmit-receive switch of FIG. 12 is equivalent to the circuit of FIG.
  • T 2 1202 As the center tap of T 2 1202 is at VSS, the current flowing through T 2 1202 is common-mode, and therefore it does not contain RF current. This makes T 2 1202 almost completely lossless and it does not affect gain or operation when the transmit-receive switch is transmitting in the transmit mode.
  • the supply is inverted relative to the transmit mode.
  • the control gates of M 3 1213 and M 4 1214 are at VSS and the two transistors M 3 1213 and M 4 1214 are powered down. Because of this change, T 2 1202 is no longer in the common-mode path and now conducts RF current and transfers the LNA output signal to the LNA output terminal. This reduces the transmit-receive switch of FIG. 12 to the topology of FIG. 10, where transistors M 1 1211and M 2 1212 of FIG. 12 corresponding to transistors M 1 1063 and M 2 1065 of FIG. 10. The gates of the transistors M 1 1211 and M 2 1212 are biased as discussed above with respect to transistors M 1 1063 and M 2 1065 of FIG. 10.
  • FIG. 13A illustrates another embodiment for a transmit-receive switch, with the DC bias voltage levels applied by the control circuit in the transmit and receive modes shown in the table of FIG. 13B.
  • FIG. 13A shows the same circuit as FIG. 12, but with an input transformer T 3 1303 for transmit, or PA, mode added.
  • Input transformer T 3 1303 has a primary winding connected to the + and –PA inputs.
  • a first secondary winding of T 3 1303 has its end taps connected to the gates of M 1 1311 and M 2 1312, with a center connected to receive the level V 3 .
  • a second secondary winding of T 3 1303 has its end taps connected to the gates of M 3 1313 and M 4 1314, with a center connected to receive the level V 4 .
  • the DC voltage levels are V 1 , V 2 , V 3 , and V 4 used to bias the center taps of the transformers T 1 1301, T 2 1302, and T 3 1303 are all DC voltages provided by the control circuit 1321, with FIG. 13B.
  • V1 VDD
  • V2 VSS
  • V3 and V4 are in a DC transmit bias level, TX bias.
  • the TX bias level is intermediate to VDD and VSS and is a voltage level to allow the transformer T 3 1203 accurately transmit the PA input values to the transistor gates across the full PA input range for the + and –values.
  • V2 VDD
  • V3 is set to a DC receiver bias level RX bias.
  • the circuit is switched from a PA function to an LNA function by changing these voltages.
  • setting V4 to VSS will apply VSS to the gates of M 3 1313 and M 4 1314, turning these transistors off.
  • setting V3 to the RX bias level will apply this bias level to the gates of M 1 1311 and M 2 1312, effectively reducing the circuit of FIG. 13 to that of FIG. 10.
  • the circuit in Figure 13A does not contain RF switches. Therefore, it avoids the problems associated with RF switches which are signal loss and difficulty of handling large signals. It also re-uses almost all of the components in both transmit mode and receive mode. Therefore, the number of unused components is small, so these do not cause signal loss.
  • FIG. 12 and FIGS. 13A and 13B used NMOS transistors. However, this is just one particular implementation. Other implementations can use different types of transistors, such as bipolar transistors or PMOS transistors.
  • alternate embodiments for FIG. 12 and FIGS. 13A and 13B can replace the shown NMOS devices with PMOS (or P-channel MOS) devices.
  • FIG. 14 is a high-level flow diagram that is used to summarize methods for operating of a transmit-receive switch according to various embodiments of the present technology.
  • the control circuit 1221 or 1321 of FIG. 12 or 13 determines whether the transmit-receive switch is to operate in the transmit mode or in the receive mode. This decision can be based on a control signal from the processor 208 or 308 of FIG. 2 or 3, for example, or determined by other factors, such as the signals on the PA input, antenna input, LNA output or some combination of these.
  • the flow goes to 1403.
  • the transmit mode the flow goes to 1413.
  • the gates of the transistors the transistors M 1 1211/1311, M 2 1212/1312, M 3 1213/1313, and M 4 1214/1214 and the center taps of the transformers T 1 1201/1301, T 2 1202/1302, and, for FIG. 13, T 3 1303 are biased by the control circuit 1221/1321 as shown in the RX column of FIG. 12 or FIG. 13B.
  • an input signal is received from the antenna node at the first winding of the transformer T 1 1201/1301 of the transmit-receive switch of FIG. 12 or 13.
  • the LNA output is then provided from the first winding of transformer T 2 1202 at 1407.
  • the input waveform from the transmitter circuitry of +PAin and –PAin is received.
  • the control circuit 1221 of FIG. 12 applies the proper voltages to the transistors M 1 1211, M 2 1212, M 3 1213, and M 4 1214.
  • the differential PA inputs are applied across the taps of the primary winding of the transformer T 3 1303 and, through the secondary windings of the transformer T 3 1303, to the gates of the transistors M 1 1311, M 2 1312, M 3 1313, and M 4 1314.
  • T 3 1303 are biased by the control circuit 1221/1321 as shown in the TX column of FIG. 12 or FIG. 13B. With the bias conditions established, at 1417 the transmission signal generated for the input signal waveform is supplied to the antenna node from the first winding of the transformer 1201/1301.
  • the embodiments described above allow for the transmit and receive circuits to share the same antenna, but without the use of RF switches.
  • This allows the transmit-receive switch to be realized as integrated on-chip transmitter and receiver that share one antenna and avoid she signal losses caused by antenna switches.
  • the elements of the transmit-receive switch circuit are reconfigurable so it can be used either as transmitter or receiver without RF switches.
  • the circuit can also be used for wired communication, in which case a cable replaces the antenna.
  • wireless communication devices such as cellular telephones
  • the embodiments described above can also be applied to applications such as virtual-reality headsets.
  • a connection may be a direct connection or an indirect connection (e.g., via one or more other parts) .
  • the element when an element is referred to as being connected or coupled to another element, the element may be directly connected to the other element or indirectly connected to the other element via intervening elements.
  • the element When an element is referred to as being directly connected to another element, then there are no intervening elements between the element and the other element.
  • Two devices are “in communication” if they are directly or indirectly connected so that they can communicate electronic signals between them.
  • the term “based on” may be read as “based at least in part on. ”

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Computer Networks & Wireless Communication (AREA)
  • Signal Processing (AREA)
  • Power Engineering (AREA)
  • Transceivers (AREA)
  • Transmitters (AREA)

Abstract

L'invention concerne une technologie destinée à des commutateurs d'émission-réception permettant à un dispositif de communication sans fil, tel qu'un téléphone cellulaire ou une station de base, de partager la même antenne entre la circuiterie de réception et la circuiterie d'émission du dispositif de communication. Le commutateur comprend un ensemble de transistors qui peuvent être configurés pour fonctionner soit dans un mode de transmission soit dans un mode de réception. Dans le mode de réception, l'antenne est connectée au commutateur configuré sous la forme d'un amplificateur à faible bruit dont la sortie traverse les canaux des transistors. Dans le mode de transmission, des entrées d'amplificateur de puissance sont appliquées aux grilles des transistors.
PCT/CN2019/116794 2018-11-20 2019-11-08 Commutateur d'émission-réception WO2020103709A1 (fr)

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Citations (5)

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US20070152904A1 (en) * 2003-10-10 2007-07-05 Broadcom Corporation, A California Corporation Impedance matched passive radio frequency transmit/receive switch
US20110081879A1 (en) * 2009-10-02 2011-04-07 Fujitsu Limited Amplifier circuit and communication device
US20110281531A1 (en) * 2010-05-14 2011-11-17 Issc Technologies Corp. Radio communication transceiver
CN103368601A (zh) * 2013-06-03 2013-10-23 深圳清华大学研究院 无线通信收发机前端
JP2015106906A (ja) * 2013-12-03 2015-06-08 日本電信電話株式会社 無線受信装置

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US6919858B2 (en) * 2003-10-10 2005-07-19 Broadcom, Corp. RF antenna coupling structure
US9379764B2 (en) * 2013-09-30 2016-06-28 Broadcom Corporation Transceiver front end with low loss T/R switch
US20180041244A1 (en) * 2016-08-05 2018-02-08 Qualcomm Incorporated Rf front end resonant matching circuit

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Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US20070152904A1 (en) * 2003-10-10 2007-07-05 Broadcom Corporation, A California Corporation Impedance matched passive radio frequency transmit/receive switch
US20110081879A1 (en) * 2009-10-02 2011-04-07 Fujitsu Limited Amplifier circuit and communication device
US20110281531A1 (en) * 2010-05-14 2011-11-17 Issc Technologies Corp. Radio communication transceiver
CN103368601A (zh) * 2013-06-03 2013-10-23 深圳清华大学研究院 无线通信收发机前端
JP2015106906A (ja) * 2013-12-03 2015-06-08 日本電信電話株式会社 無線受信装置

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