Diversity receiver front end system with post-amplifier filters

• US 10,050,694 B2
• Filed: 06/10/2015
• Issued: 08/14/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 10/31/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Skyworks Solutions Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Skyworks Solutions Incorporated
• Inventors: Wloczysiak, Stephane Richard Marie
• Primary Examiner(s): Ali, Shawkat M
• Application Number:
  US14/735,482
• Publication Number:
  US 20160127025A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,161 Days
• Field of Search: 34235772, 375219, 375267, 375316, 455 77, 455 78, 4551891, 4555521
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 2200/111 the amplifier being a dual or triple band amplifier, e.g. 900 and 1800 MHz, e.g. switched or not switched, simultaneously or not
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 2200/171 A filter circuit coupled to the output of an amplifier
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 2200/451 the amplifier being a radio frequency amplifier
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 2203/7209 the gated amplifier being switched from a first band to a second band
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 3/191 Tuned amplifiers H03F3/193, H03F3/195 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 3/72 Gated amplifiers, i.e. amplifiers which are rendered operative or inoperative by means of a control signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/0057 using diplexing or multiplexing filters for selecting the desired band
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/16 Circuits
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/08 at the receiving station
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0817 with multiple receivers and antenna path selection

Abstract

Diversity receiver front end system with post-amplifier filters. A receiving system can include a controller configured to selectively activate one or more of a plurality of paths between an input of a first multiplexer and an output of a second multiplexer. The receiving system can further include a plurality of amplifiers. Each one of the plurality of amplifiers can be disposed along a corresponding one of the plurality of paths and can be configured to amplify a signal received at the amplifier. The receiving system can include a first plurality of bandpass filters. Each one of the first plurality of bandpass filters can be disposed along a corresponding one of the plurality of paths at an output of a corresponding one of the plurality of amplifiers and can be configured to filter a signal received at the bandpass filter to a respective frequency band.

Claims

1. A receiving system comprising:

a controller configured to selectively activate one or more of a plurality of paths between an input of a first multiplexer and an output of a second multiplexer;

a plurality of amplifiers, each one of the plurality of amplifiers disposed along a corresponding one of the plurality of paths and configured to amplify a signal received at the amplifier;

a plurality of pre-amplifier bandpass filters, individual pre-amplifier bandpass filters disposed along a corresponding path of the plurality of paths at an input of a corresponding amplifier of the plurality of amplifiers, individual pre-amplifier bandpass filters configured to filter a signal received at the pre-amplifier bandpass filter to a respective frequency band resulting in out-of-band noise that is amplified by the corresponding amplifier; and

a plurality of post-amplifier bandpass filters, individual post-amplifier bandpass filters disposed along a corresponding path of the plurality of paths at an output of a corresponding amplifier of the plurality of amplifiers and configured to filter a signal received at the post-amplifier bandpass filter to a respective frequency band and to reduce the out-of-band noise amplified by the corresponding amplifier, an individual pre-amplifier bandpass filter of the plurality of pre-amplifer bandpass filters disposed along a first path of the plurality of paths phase-shifts a signal by a first phase shift and an individual post-amplifier bandpass filter of the plurality of post-amplifer bandpass filters disposed along the first path phase-shifts the signal by a second phase shift that is opposite to the first phase shift.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein one of the pre-amplifier bandpass filters or one of the post-amplifier bandpass filters disposed along the first path attenuates frequencies below a first frequency band more than frequencies above the first frequency band and another of the pre-amplifier bandpass filters or another of the post-amplifier bandpass filters disposed along the first path attenuates frequencies above the first frequency band more than frequencies below the first frequency band.

3. The system of claim 1, further comprising a transmission line coupled to the output of the second multiplexer and coupled to a downstream module including a downstream multiplexer.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the downstream module does not include a downstream bandpass filter.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the downstream multiplexer includes a sample switch.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein a number of the one or more downstream amplifiers is less than a number of the plurality of amplifiers.

7. The system of claim 3, wherein the downstream module includes one or more downstream amplifiers.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of amplifiers includes a low-noise amplifier.

9. The system of claim 1, further comprising one or more tunable matching circuits disposed at one or more of the input of the first multiplexer and the output of the second multiplexer.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to selectively activate the one or more of the plurality of paths based on a band select signal received by the controller.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to selectively activate the one or more of the plurality of paths by transmitting a splitter control signal to the first multiplexer and a combiner control signal to the second multiplexer.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein an individual pre-amplifier bandpass filter disposed along the first path attenuates frequencies below a first frequency band more than frequencies above the first frequency band and the individual post-amplifier bandpass filter disposed along the first path attenuates frequencies above the first frequency band more than frequencies below the first frequency band.

13. A radio-frequency (RF) module comprising:

a packaging substrate configured to receive a plurality of components; and

a receiving system implemented on the packaging substrate, the receiving system including a controller configured to selectively activate one or more of a plurality of paths between an input of a first multiplexer and an output of a second multiplexer, a plurality of amplifiers, each one of the plurality of amplifiers disposed along a corresponding one of the plurality of paths and configured to amplify a signal received at the amplifier, a first plurality of bandpass filters, each one of the first plurality of bandpass filters disposed along a corresponding one of the plurality of paths at an output of a corresponding one of the plurality of amplifiers and configured to filter a signal received at the bandpass filter to a respective frequency band, and a second plurality of bandpass filters, each one of the second plurality of bandpass filters disposed along a corresponding one of the plurality of paths at an input of a corresponding one of the plurality of amplifiers and configured to filter a signal received at the bandpass filter to a respective frequency band resulting in out-of-band noise that is amplified by the corresponding amplifier and that is reduced by a corresponding bandpass filter of the first plurality of bandpass filters, a first bandpass filter of the first plurality of bandpass filters disposed along a first path of the plurality of paths phase-shifts a signal by a first phase shift and a second bandpass filter of the second plurality of bandpass filters disposed along the first path phase-shifts the signal by a second phase shift that is opposite to the first phase shift.

14. The RF module of claim 13 wherein the RF module is a diversity receiver front-end module (FEM).

15. The RF module of claim 13, wherein the plurality of paths includes an off-module path including an off-module bandpass filter and one of the plurality of amplifiers.

16. The RF module of claim 13, wherein one of the bandpass filters disposed along the first path attenuates frequencies below a first frequency band more than frequencies above the first frequency band and another of the bandpass filters disposed along the first path attenuates frequencies above the first frequency band more than frequencies below the first frequency band.

17. A wireless device comprising:

a first antenna configured to receive a first radio-frequency (RF) signal;

a first front-end module (FEM) in communication with the first antenna, the first FEM including a packaging substrate configured to receive a plurality of components, the first FEM further including a receiving system implemented on the packaging substrate, the receiving system including a controller configured to selectively activate one or more of a plurality of paths between an input of a first multiplexer and an output of a second multiplexer, a plurality of amplifiers, each one of the plurality of amplifiers disposed along a corresponding one of the plurality of paths and configured to amplify a signal received at the amplifier, a first plurality of bandpass filters, each one of the first plurality of bandpass filters disposed along a corresponding one of the plurality of paths at an amplifier output of a corresponding one of the plurality of amplifiers and configured to filter a signal received at the bandpass filter to a respective frequency band, and a second plurality of bandpass filters, each one of the second plurality of bandpass filters disposed along a corresponding one of the plurality of paths at an input of a corresponding one of the plurality of amplifiers and configured to filter a signal received at the bandpass filter to a respective frequency band resulting in out-of-band noise that is amplified by the corresponding amplifier and that is reduced by a corresponding bandpass filter of the first plurality of bandpass filters, a first bandpass filter of the first plurality of bandpass filters disposed along a first path of the plurality of paths phase-shifts a signal by a first phase shift and a second bandpass filter of the second plurality of bandpass filters disposed along the first path phase-shifts the signal by a second phase shift that is opposite to the first phase shift; and

a communications module configured to receive a processed version of the first RF signal from the output of the second multiplexer via a transmission line and generate data bits based on the processed version of the first RF signal.

18. The wireless device of claim 17, further comprising a second antenna configured to receive a second radio-frequency (RF) signal and a second FEM in communication with the second antenna, the communications module being configured to receive a processed version of the second RF signal from an output of the second FEM and generate the data bits based on the processed version of the second RF signal.

19. The wireless device of claim 17, wherein one of the bandpass filters disposed along the first path attenuates frequencies below a first frequency band more than frequencies above the first frequency band and another of the bandpass filters disposed along the first path attenuates frequencies above the first frequency band more than frequencies below the first frequency band.