Radio-frequency switch circuit and semiconductor device

• US 20060103448A1
• Filed: 11/17/2005
• Published: 05/18/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 11/17/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Collabo Innovations, Inc. (Wi-LAN Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Nakatsuka, Tadayoshi, Miyagi, Masashi
• Granted Patent: US 7,391,282 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 327/430
• CPC Class Codes: H01P 1/15 by semiconductor devices
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 17/6871 the output circuit comprising more than one controlled field-effect transistor
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 17/693 Switching arrangements with several input- or output-terminals, e.g. multiplexers, distributors logic circuits H03K19/00; code converters H03M5/00, H03M7/00

Abstract

Switch sections composed of a plurality of FETs 111 to 118 and 121 to 128 connected in series are provided between input/output terminals 161 and 162 and ground terminals 181 and 182, and between the input/output terminals 161 to 163. A plurality of gate bias resistors 131 to 138, 141 to 148 are also provided. One terminal of each gate bias resistor is connected to a gate electrode of a corresponding one of the FETs 111 to 118 and 121 to 128, while a control voltage 171 and 172 for switching an ON state and an OFF state of the switch section is applied to the other terminal. Among the FETs included in each switch section, concerning the FETs 114, 115, 124, and 125 to which signal power is applied when the switch section is in the OFF state, the gate bias resistors 134, 135, 144, and 145 connected to the gate electrodes are set to have a highest resistance value.

Claims

1. A radio-frequency switch circuit for controlling flow of a radio-frequency signal, comprising:

a plurality of field-effect transistors inserted between an input/output terminal and a ground terminal and connected in series, a radio-frequency signal being input and output through the input/output terminal; and

a plurality of resistance elements, wherein each of the plurality of resistance elements has two terminals, one of the two terminals is connected to a gate electrode of a corresponding one of the plurality of field-effect transistors, and a control voltage for switching an ON state and an OFF state of the corresponding field-effect transistor is applied to the other of the two terminals,

wherein one of the plurality of resistance elements connected to a gate electrode of one of the plurality of field-effect transistors connected to the input/output terminal has a highest resistance value among the plurality of resistance elements.

2. The radio-frequency switch circuit according to claim 1, wherein:

first to n-th (n is an integer of 2 or more) field-effect transistors are connected in series and in order of first to n-th between from the input/output terminal to the ground terminal; and

resistance values Rgs(1) to Rgs(n) of first to n-th resistance elements connected to gate electrodes of the first to n-th field-effect transistors are set based on the following expression;

Rgs(1)>

Rgs(2)≧

. . . ≧

Rgs(n−

1)≧

Rgs(n).

13. A semiconductor device in which a radio-frequency switch circuit according to any one of claims 1 to 12 is integrated on a semiconductor substrate.

3. A radio-frequency switch circuit for controlling flow of a radio-frequency signal, comprising:

a plurality of field-effect transistors inserted between two input/output terminals and connected in series, a radio-frequency signal being input and output through the input/output terminals; and

a plurality of resistance elements, wherein each of the plurality of resistance elements has two terminals, one of the two terminals is connected to a gate electrode of a corresponding one of the plurality of field-effect transistors, and a control voltage for switching an ON state and an OFF state of the corresponding field-effect transistor is applied to the other of the two terminals,

wherein one of the plurality of resistance elements connected to a gate electrode of one of the plurality of field-effect transistors connected to an OFF active input/output terminal has a highest resistance value among the plurality of resistance elements, the OFF active input/output terminal being one of the two input/output terminals to which signal power is input when the plurality of field-effect transistors are in an OFF state.

4. The radio-frequency switch circuit according to claim 3, wherein:

first to m-th (m is an integer of 2 or more) field-effect transistors are connected in series and in order of first to m-th between from the OFF active input/output terminal to the other input/output terminal; and

resistance values Rg(1) to Rg(m) of first to m-th resistance elements connected to gate electrodes of the first to m-th field-effect transistors are set based on the following expression;

Rg(1)>

Rg(2)≧

. . . ≧

Rg(m−

1)≧

Rg(m).

5. A radio-frequency switch circuit for controlling flow of a radio-frequency signal, comprising:

a multigate field-effect transistor inserted between an input/output terminal and a ground terminal, a radio-frequency signal being input and output through the input/output terminal; and

a plurality of resistance elements, wherein each of the plurality of resistance elements has two terminals, one of the two terminals is connected to a corresponding gate electrode of the multigate field-effect transistor, and a control voltage for switching an ON state and an OFF state of the multigate field-effect transistor is applied to the other of the two terminals,

wherein one of the plurality of resistance elements connected to a gate electrode closest to the input/output terminal has a highest resistance value among the plurality of resistance elements.

6. The radio-frequency switch circuit according to claim 5, wherein:

the multigate field-effect transistor has first to n-th (n is an integer of 2 or more) gate electrodes arranged in order of first to n-th between from the input/output terminal to the ground terminal; and

resistance values Rgs(1) to Rgs(n) of first to n-th resistance elements connected to the first to n-th gate electrodes of the multigate field-effect transistor are set based on the following expression;

Rgs(1)>

Rgs(2)≧

. . . ≧

Rgs(n−

1)≧

Rgs(n).

7. A radio-frequency switch circuit for controlling flow of a radio-frequency signal, comprising:

a multigate field-effect transistor inserted between two input/output terminals, a radio-frequency signal being input and output through the input/output terminals; and

a plurality of resistance elements, wherein each of the plurality of resistance elements has two terminals, one of the two terminals is connected to a corresponding gate electrode of the multigate field-effect transistor, and a control voltage for switching an ON state and an OFF state of the multigate field-effect transistor is applied to the other of the two terminals,

wherein one of the plurality of resistance elements connected to a gate electrode closest to an OFF active input/output terminal has a highest resistance value among the plurality of resistance elements, the OFF active input/output terminal being one of the two input/output terminals to which signal power is input when the multigate field-effect transistor is in an OFF state.

8. The radio-frequency switch circuit according to claim 7, wherein:

the multigate field-effect transistor has first to m-th (m is an integer of 2 or more) gate electrodes arranged in order of first to m-th between from the OFF active input/output terminal to the other input/output terminal; and

resistance values Rg(1) to Rg(m) of first to m-th resistance elements connected to the first to m-th gate electrodes of the multigate field-effect transistor are set based on the following expression;

Rg(1)>

Rg(2)≧

. . . ≧

Rg(m−

1)≧

Rg(m).

9. A radio-frequency switch circuit for controlling flow of a radio-frequency signal, comprising:

a plurality of field-effect transistors A inserted between a first input/output terminal and a third input/output terminal and connected in series, a radio-frequency signal being input and output through the first input/output terminal and the third input/output terminal;

a plurality of field-effect transistors B inserted between a second input/output terminal and the third input/output terminal and connected in series, a radio-frequency signal being input and output through the second input/output terminal;

a plurality of field-effect transistors C inserted between the first input/output terminal and a ground terminal and connected in series;

a plurality of field-effect transistors D inserted between the second input/output terminal and a ground terminal and connected in series;

a plurality of resistance elements A, wherein each of the plurality of resistance elements A has two terminals, one of the two terminals is connected to a gate electrode of a corresponding one of the plurality of field-effect transistors A, and a first control voltage for switching an ON state and an OFF state of the corresponding field-effect transistor A is applied to the other of the two terminals;

a plurality of resistance elements B, wherein each of the plurality of resistance elements B has two terminals, one of the two terminals is connected to a gate electrode of a corresponding one of the plurality of field-effect transistors B, and a second control voltage for switching an ON state and an OFF state of the corresponding field-effect transistor B is applied to the other of the two terminals;

a plurality of resistance elements C, wherein each of the plurality of resistance elements C has two terminals, one of two terminals is connected to a gate electrode of a corresponding one of the plurality of field-effect transistors C, and the second control voltage for switching an ON state and an OFF state of the corresponding field-effect transistor C is applied to the other of the two terminals; and

a plurality of resistance elements D, wherein each of the plurality of resistance elements D has two terminals, one of the two terminals is connected to a gate electrode of a corresponding one of the plurality of field-effect transistors D, and the first control voltage for switching an ON state and an OFF state of the corresponding field-effect transistor D is applied to the other of the two terminals;

wherein one of the plurality of resistance elements A connected to a gate electrode of one of the plurality of field-effect transistors A connected to the third input/output terminal has a highest resistance value among the plurality of resistance elements A,

one of the plurality of resistance elements B connected to a gate electrode of one of the plurality of field-effect transistors B connected to the third input/output terminal has a highest resistance value among the plurality of resistance elements B,

one of the plurality of resistance elements C connected to a gate electrode of one of the plurality of field-effect transistors C connected to the first input/output terminal has a highest resistance value among the plurality of resistance elements C, and

one of the plurality of resistance elements D connected to a gate electrode of one of the plurality of field-effect transistors D connected to the second input/output terminal has a highest resistance value among the plurality of resistance elements D.

10. The radio-frequency switch circuit according to claim 9, wherein:

first to m-th (m is an integer of 2 or more) field-effect transistors A are connected in series and in order of first to m-th between from the third input/output terminal to the first input/output terminal;

first to m-th field-effect transistors B are connected in series and in order of first to m-th between from the third input/output terminal to the second input/output terminal;

first to n-th (n is an integer of 2 or more) field-effect transistors C are connected in series and in order of first to n-th between from the first input/output terminal to a ground terminal;

first to n-th field-effect transistors D are connected in series and in order of first to n-th between from the second input/output terminal to a ground terminal;

resistance values Rg(1) to Rg(m) of first to m-th resistance elements A connected to gate electrodes of the first to m-th field-effect transistors A and resistance values Rg(1) to Rg(m) of first to m-th resistance elements B connected to gate electrodes of the first to m-th field-effect transistors B are set based on expression 1 below; and

resistance values Rgs(1) to Rgs(n) of first to n-th resistance elements C connected to gate electrodes of the first to n-th field-effect transistors C and resistance values Rgs(1) to Rgs(n) of first to n-th resistance elements D connected to gate electrodes of the first to n-th field-effect transistors D are set based on expression 2 below,

Rg(1)>

Rg(2)≧

. . . ≧

Rg(m−

1)≧

Rg(m) 

 

expression 1
Rgs(1)>

Rgs(2)≧

. . . ≧

Rgs(n−

1)≧

Rgs(n) 

 

expression 2.

11. A radio-frequency switch circuit for controlling flow of a radio-frequency signal, comprising:

a multigate field-effect transistor A inserted between a first input/output terminal and a third input/output terminal, a radio-frequency signal being input and output through the first input/output terminal and the third input/output terminal;

a multigate field-effect transistor B inserted between a second input/output terminal and the third input/output terminal, a radio-frequency signal being input and output through the second input/output terminal;

a multigate field-effect transistor C inserted between the first input/output terminal and a ground terminal;

a multigate field-effect transistor D inserted between the second input/output terminal and a ground terminal;

a plurality of resistance elements A, wherein each of the plurality of resistance elements A has two terminals, one of the two terminals is connected to a corresponding gate electrode of the multigate field-effect transistor A, and a first control voltage for switching an ON state and an OFF state of the multigate field-effect transistor A is applied to the other of the two terminals;

a plurality of resistance elements B, wherein each of the plurality of resistance elements B has two terminals, one of the two terminals is connected to a corresponding gate electrode of the multigate field-effect transistor B, and a second control voltage for switching an ON state and an OFF state of the multigate field-effect transistor B is applied to the other of the two terminals;

a plurality of resistance elements C, wherein each of the plurality of resistance elements C has two terminals, one of the two terminals is connected to a corresponding gate electrode of the multigate field-effect transistor C, and the second control voltage for switching an ON state and an OFF state of the multigate field-effect transistor C is applied to the other of the two terminals; and

a plurality of resistance elements D, wherein each of the plurality of resistance elements D has two terminals, and one of the two terminals is connected to a corresponding gate electrode of the multigate field-effect transistor D, and the first control voltage for switching an ON state and an OFF state of the multigate field-effect transistor D is applied to the other of the two terminals,

wherein one of the plurality of resistance elements A connected to one gate electrode of the multigate field-effect transistor A closest to the third input/output terminal has a highest resistance value among the plurality of resistance elements A,

one of the plurality of resistance elements B connected to one gate electrode of the multigate field-effect transistor B closest to the third input/output terminal has a highest resistance value among the plurality of resistance elements B,

one of the plurality of resistance elements C connected to one gate electrode of the multigate field-effect transistor C closest to the first input/output terminal has a highest resistance value among the plurality of resistance elements C, and

one of the plurality of resistance elements D connected to one gate electrode of the multigate field-effect transistor D closest to the second input/output terminal has a highest resistance value among the plurality of resistance elements D.

12. The radio-frequency switch circuit according to claim 11, wherein:

the multigate field-effect transistor A has first to m-th (m is an integer of 2 or more) gate electrodes arranged in order of first to m-th between from the third input/output terminal to the first input/output terminal;

the multigate field-effect transistor B has first to m-th gate electrodes arranged in order of first to m-th between from the third input/output terminal to the second input/output terminal;

the multigate field-effect transistor C has first to n-th (n is an integer of 2 or more) gate electrodes arranged in order of first to n-th between from the first input/output terminal to a ground terminal;

the multigate field-effect transistor D has first to n-th gate electrodes arranged in order of first to n-th between from the second input/output terminal to a ground terminal;

resistance values Rg(1) to Rg(m) of first to m-th resistance elements A connected to the first to m-th gate electrodes of the multigate field-effect transistor A and resistance values Rg(1) to Rg(m) of first to m-th resistance elements B connected to the first to m-th gate electrodes of the multigate field-effect transistor B are set based on expression 1 below; and

resistance values Rgs(1) to Rgs(n) of first to n-th resistance elements C connected to the first to n-th gate electrodes of the multigate field-effect transistor C and resistance values Rgs(1) to Rgs(n) of first to n-th resistance elements D connected to the first to n-th gate electrodes of the multigate field-effect transistor D are set based on expression 2 below,

Rg(1)>

Rg(2)≧

. . . ≧

Rg(m−

1)≧

Rg(m) 

 

expression 1
Rgs(1)>

Rgs(2)≧

. . . ≧

Rgs(n−

1)≧

Rgs(n) 

 

expression 2.