Wireless power transfer—near field communication enabled communication device

• US 10,135,259 B2
• Filed: 01/19/2016
• Issued: 11/20/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 08/27/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NXP USA, Inc. (NXP Semiconductors NV)
• Original Assignee: NXP USA, Inc. (NXP Semiconductors NV)
• Inventors: Smith, Aaron
• Primary Examiner(s): Shin, Jeffrey
• Application Number:
  US15/000,859
• Publication Number:
  US 20160141890A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,036 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/00 Near-field transmission systems, e.g. inductive or capacitive transmission systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/48 Transceivers
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/79 for data transfer in combination with power transfer

Abstract

Various configurations and arrangements of various communication devices are disclosed. Various integrated circuits that form these communication devices can be fabricated onto one or more semiconductor substrates, chips, and/or dies using a high voltage semiconductor process, a low voltage semiconductor process, or any combination thereof. Some of these high voltage and/or low voltage semiconductor process integrated circuits can be fabricated along with other high voltage and/or low voltage semiconductor process integrated circuits of other modules onto a single semiconductor substrate, chip, and/or die. This allows the low voltage semiconductor process integrated circuits and/or high voltage semiconductor process integrated circuits of one module to be combined with low voltage semiconductor process integrated circuits and/or high voltage semiconductor process integrated circuits of another module of the communication device.

Claims

1. A front end module (FEM) that is implemented as part of a wireless power transfer (WPT) enabled communication device, comprising:

an antenna module configured to inductively receive a near field communication (NPC) signal and a WPT signal;

a first power harvesting module configured to derive a first harvested power from the NFC signal, wherein the first power harvesting module is further configured to provide the first harvested power to another module of the WPT enable communication device; and

a second power harvesting module configured to derive a second harvested power from the WPT signal, wherein the second power harvesting module is further configured to provide the second harvested power to the other module of the WPT enabled communication device.

2. The FEM of claim 1, wherein the antenna module comprises:

a first inductive coupling element configured to be tuned to receive the NFC signal; and

a second inductive coupling element configured to be tuned to receive the WPT signal.

3. The FEM of claim 1, wherein the antenna module comprises:

a single inductive coupling element configured to be tuned to receive the NPC signal and the WPT signal.

4. The FEM of claim 3, wherein the single inductive coupling element is configured to resonate at a first frequency to receive the NFC signal and a second frequency to receive the WPT signal.

5. The FEM of claim 1, wherein the first power harvesting module or the second power harvesting module comprises:

a rectifier configured to rectify the NFC signal to provide a rectified NFC power or the WPT signal to provide a rectified WPT power, respectively; and

a regulator to regulate the rectified NFC power to provide the first harvested power or the rectified WPT power to provide the second harvested power, respectively.

6. The FEM of claim 1, further comprising:

a modulator configured to modulate information in accordance with a modulation technique to provide a modulated information signal; and

a demodulator configured to demodulate the NFC signal in accordance with a demodulation technique to recover information from the NFC signal,

wherein the antenna module is further configured to use the modulated information signal to generate a magnetic field to provide a transmitted communication signal.

7. The FEM of claim 1, wherein the WPT enabled communication device comprises:

one or more first semiconductor substrates, chips, and/or dies fabricated using a low voltage semiconductor process; and

one or more second semiconductor substrates, chips, and/or dies fabricated using a high voltage semiconductor process,

wherein the FEM is fabricated onto the one or more second semiconductor substrates, chips, and/or dies.

8. The FEM of claim 7, wherein the FEM is coupled to an NFC controller, the NFC controller being fabricated onto the one or more second semiconductor substrates, chips, and/or dies.

9. A wireless power transfer (WPN) enabled communication device, comprising:

one or more first semiconductor substrates, chips, and/or dies fabricated using a low voltage semiconductor process, the one or more first semiconductor substrates, chips, and/or dies comprising a near field communication (NFC) controller; and

one or more second semiconductor substrates, chips, and/or dies fabricated using a high voltage semiconductor process, the one or more second semiconductor substrates, chips, and/or dies comprising a front end module (FEM), the FEM comprising;

an antenna module configured to inductively receive an NFC signal and a WPT signal;

a first power harvesting module configured to derive a first harvested power from the NFC signal; and

a second power harvesting module configured to derive a second harvested power from the WPT signal.

10. The WPT enabled communication device of claim 9, wherein the antenna module comprises:

a first inductive coupling element configured to be tuned to receive the NFC signal; and

a second inductive coupling element configured to be tuned to receive the WPT signal.

11. The WPT enabled communication device of claim 9, wherein the antenna module comprises:

a single inductive coupling element configured to be tuned to receive the NFC signal and the WPT signal.

12. The WPT enabled communication device of claim 11, wherein the single inductive coupling element is configured to resonate at a first frequency to receive the NFC signal and a second frequency to receive the WPT signal.

13. The WPT enabled communication device of claim 9, wherein the first power harvesting module or the second power harvesting module comprises:

a rectifier configured to rectify the NFC signal to provide a rectified NFC power or the WPT signal to provide a rectified WPT power, respectively and

a regulator to regulate the rectified NFC power to provide the first harvested power or the rectified WPT power to provide the second harvested power, respectively.

14. The WPT enabled communication device of claim 13, wherein the first power harvesting module is further configured to provide the first harvested power to another module of the WPT enabled communication device, and

wherein the second power harvesting module is further configured to provide the second harvested power to the other module of the WPT enabled communication device.

15. The WPT enabled communication device of claim 9, further comprising:

a modulator configured to modulate information in accordance with a modulation technique to provide a modulated information signal; and

a demodulator configured to demodulate the NFC signal in accordance with a demodulation technique to recover information from the NFC signal,

wherein the antenna module is further configured to use the modulated information signal to generate a magnetic field to provide a transmitted communication signal.

16. A semiconductor substrate, chip, and/or die, comprising:

a front end module (FEM), the FEM comprising;

an antenna module configured to inductively receive a near field communication (NFC) signal and a wireless power transfer (WPT) signal;

a first power harvesting module configured to derive a first harvested power from the NFC signal, wherein the first power harvesting module is further configured to provide the first harvested power to another module of the semiconductor substrate, chip, and/or die; and

a second power harvesting module configured to derive a second harvested power from the WPT signal, wherein the second power harvesting module is further configured to provide the second harvested power to the other module of the the semiconductor substrate, chip, and/or die; and

an NFC controller.

17. The semiconductor substrate, chip, and/or die of claim 16, wherein the antenna module comprises:

a first inductive coupling element configured to be tuned to receive the NFC signal; and

a second inductive coupling element configured to be tuned to receive the WPT signal.

18. The semiconductor substrate, chip, and/or die of claim 16, wherein the antenna module comprises:

a single inductive coupling element configured to be tuned to receive the NFC signal and the WPT signal.

19. The semiconductor substrate, chip, and/or die of claim 18, wherein the single inductive coupling element is configured to resonate at a first frequency to receive the NFC signal and a second frequency to receive the WPT signal.