Bidirectional transceiver circuits

• US 10,256,865 B2
• Filed: 10/28/2016
• Issued: 04/09/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 05/17/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Avago Technologies International Sales Pte Limited (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Avago Technologies International Sales Pte Limited (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Inventors: Perumana, Bevin George, Sowlati, Tirdad, Sarkar, Saikat, Yoon, Seunghwan
• Primary Examiner(s): Chan, Sai Ming
• Application Number:
  US15/338,231
• Publication Number:
  US 20170338854A1
• Time in Patent Office: 893 Days
• Field of Search: 370280
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 3/62 Two-way amplifiers
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/56 with provision for simultaneous communication in two directions
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/1469 using time-sharing

Abstract

A bidirectional time-division duplexing transceiver circuit includes a first and a second bidirectional phase-shift circuit, and a bidirectional amplifier circuit including a first amplifier circuit and a second amplifier circuit. The first amplifier circuit and the second amplifier circuit are coupled via double-pole-double-throw (DPDT) switches to radio-frequency (RF) antennas and the first and the second bidirectional phase-shift circuits. The (DPDT) switches enable the first amplifier circuit and the second amplifier circuit to be operable simultaneously as transmit (TX) path amplifiers in a first time slot and as a receive (RX) path amplifiers in a second time slot.

Claims

1. A bidirectional time-division duplexing transceiver circuit, the transceiver circuit comprising:

a first and a second bidirectional phase-shift circuit; and

a bidirectional amplifier circuit including a first amplifier circuit and a second amplifier circuit, wherein the first amplifier circuit and the second amplifier circuit are connected to double-pole-double-throw (DPDT) switches, wherein a first DPDT switch is configured to connect the first amplifier circuit to a first radio-frequency (RF) antenna and a second DPDT switch is configured to connect the second amplifier circuit to a second RF antenna, and wherein the first and the second bidirectional phase-shift circuit and the DPDT switches are configured to enable the first amplifier circuit and the second amplifier circuit to be operable simultaneously as transmit (TX) path amplifiers in a first time slot and as a receive (RX) path amplifiers in a second time slot.

2. The transceiver circuit of claim 1, wherein the first amplifier circuit is coupled via a first DPDT switch to the first bidirectional phase-shift circuit, wherein the first and second DPDT switches are implemented using four single pole-double-throw (SPDT) switches and a plurality of transmission line stubs.

3. The transceiver circuit of claim 1, the second amplifier circuit is coupled via a second DPDT switch to the second bidirectional phase-shift circuit, wherein the first and second DPDT switches are implemented using four SPDT switches using plurality of inductors, and wherein each of the plurality of inductors is realized using a transmission line stub.

4. The transceiver circuit of claim 1, further comprising a first and a second splitter-combiner circuits coupled to the first and the second bidirectional phase-shift circuit, respectively, and wherein the first splitter-combiner circuit is configured to couple the transceiver circuit to a main active power combiner-divider circuit.

5. The transceiver circuit of claim 4, wherein the second splitter-combiner circuit is configured to couple the transceiver circuit to a similar bidirectional time-division duplexing transceiver circuit, and wherein the main active power combiner-divider circuit is configured to configured to couple a plurality of the similar bidirectional time-division duplexing transceiver circuits to a mixer block.

6. The transceiver circuit of claim 5, wherein the main active power combiner-divider circuit comprises a Wilkinson power combiner-divider, one or more single pole-double-throw (SPDT) switches, a pre-power-amplifier (prePA) stage, a post-combiner low-noise-amplifier (pcLNA), and a flip-chip input-output (I/O) port.

7. The transceiver circuit of claim 5, wherein the mixer block comprises a bidirectional heterodyne mixer, and wherein the bidirectional heterodyne mixer uses a single mixer circuit and a single local oscillator generator (LOGEN) circuit for both TX and RX modes of operation.

8. The transceiver circuit of claim 5, wherein the mixer block comprises a bidirectional direct-conversion mixer, wherein the bidirectional direct-conversion mixer uses a single in-phase (I) mixer circuit, a single quadrature (Q) mixer circuit, and a single LOGEN circuit for both TX and RX modes of operation, and wherein mixer block further comprises a 3-coil transformer configured to couple the I and Q mixer circuits to the main active power combiner-divider circuit.

9. The transceiver circuit of claim 8, wherein the bidirectional direct-conversion mixer further comprises a plurality of transistor switches configured to enable changing bias voltage connection of the I and Q mixer circuits.

10. A bidirectional time-division duplexing transceiver circuit, the transceiver circuit comprising:

a plurality of double-slice transceiver circuits; and

a main active power combiner-divider circuit, wherein a double-slice transceiver circuit of the plurality of double-slice transceiver circuits comprises;

a first and a second splitter-combiner circuit;

a first bidirectional phase-shift circuit coupled to the first splitter-combiner circuit;

a second bidirectional phase-shift circuit coupled to the second splitter-combiner circuit;

a first amplifier circuit coupled via a first double-pole-double-throw (DPDT) switch to the first bidirectional phase-shift circuit and coupled via a second DPDT switch to a first radio-frequency (RF) antenna; and

a second amplifier circuit coupled via the first DPDT switch to a second RF antenna and coupled via the second DPDT switch to the second bidirectional phase-shift circuit, wherein the first and the second splitter-combiner circuits are configured to couple the double-slice transceiver circuit and another double-slice transceiver circuit of the plurality of double-slice transceiver circuits to the main active power combiner-divider circuit.

11. The transceiver circuit of claim 10, wherein the main active power combiner-divider circuit comprises a Wilkinson power combiner-divider, one or more single pole-double-throw (SPDT) switches, a pre-power-amplifier (prePA) stage, a post-combiner low-noise-amplifier (pcLNA), and a flip-chip input-output (I/O) port.

12. The transceiver circuit of claim 10, wherein the main active power combiner-divider circuit and is configured to couple the plurality of double-slice transceiver circuits to a mixer block.

13. The transceiver circuit of claim 12, wherein the mixer block comprises a bidirectional heterodyne mixer, and wherein the bidirectional heterodyne mixer uses a single mixer circuit and a single local oscillator generator (LOGEN) circuit for both TX and RX modes of operation.

14. The transceiver circuit of claim 12, wherein the mixer block comprises a bidirectional direct-conversion mixer, wherein the bidirectional direct-conversion mixer uses a single in-phase (I) mixer circuit, a single quadrature (Q) mixer circuit, and a single LOGEN circuit for both TX and RX modes of operation.

15. The transceiver circuit of claim 12, wherein the mixer block further comprises a 3-coil transformer configured to couple the single I mixer circuit and the single Q mixer circuit to the main active power combiner-divider circuit.

16. The transceiver circuit of claim 14, wherein the bidirectional direct-conversion mixer further comprises a plurality of transistor switches configured to enable changing bias voltage connection of the single I mixer circuit and the single Q mixer circuit.

17. A method of providing a bidirectional time-division duplexing transceiver circuit, the method comprising:

providing a first and a second bidirectional phase-shift circuit;

providing a bidirectional amplifier circuit including a first amplifier circuit and a second amplifier circuit;

connecting the first amplifier circuit and the second amplifier circuit via double-pole-throw (DPDT) switches to radio-frequency (RF) antennas and the first and the second bidirectional phase-shift circuit by configuring a first DPDT switch to connect the first amplifier circuit to a first radio-frequency (RF) antenna and configuring a second DPDT switch to connect the second amplifier circuit to a second RF antenna; and

configuring the DPDT switches to enable the first amplifier circuit and the second amplifier circuit to be operable simultaneously as transmit (TX) power amplifiers and receive (RX) low-noise amplifiers (LNAs) in two different time slots.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising coupling the first amplifier circuit via a first DPDT switch to the first bidirectional phase-shift circuit.

19. The method of claim 17, further comprising coupling the second amplifier circuit via a second DPDT switch to the second bidirectional phase-shift circuit.

20. The method of claim 17, further comprising coupling a first and a second splitter-combiner circuits to the first and the second bidirectional phase-shift circuits, respectively, and configuring the first splitter-combiner circuit to couple the transceiver circuit to a main active power combiner-divider circuit, wherein the main active power combiner-divider circuit is configured to couple a plurality of similar bidirectional time-division duplexing transceiver circuits to a mixer block.