Radio frequency integrated circuit

• US 20080161073A1
• Filed: 08/10/2007
• Published: 07/03/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 08/14/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: GCT Semiconductor Incorporated
• Original Assignee: GCT Semiconductor Incorporated
• Inventors: Lee, Jeong Woo, Lee, Kyeongho, Park, Joonbae, Koo, Yido
• Granted Patent: US 7,945,208 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/574
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/1607 Supply circuits converters H02M; filters therefor H02M1/14; voltage stabilisers G05F1/46

Abstract

Embodiments of an RFIC and methods for same and mobile terminals can internally reduce an input voltage to provide a prescribed voltage to a radio frequency transceiver. Embodiments of an RFIC can have a high efficiency and/or a low noise. In one embodiment, a device can include a PMIC and an RFIC. The RFIC can include an RF transceiver to carry out an RF transmission and an RF reception, a DC-DC converter to lower a voltage provided by the PMIC, and an LDO regulator to regulate the lowered voltage to a fixed voltage used by the RF transceiver.

Claims

1. A radio frequency integrated circuit, comprising:

an RF transceiver to perform an RF transmission and an RF reception;

a DC-DC converter to reduce a voltage provided by a power management integrated circuit; and

an LDO regulator to receive a voltage from the DC-DC converter and output a regulated voltage to the RF transceiver.

2. The circuit in accordance with claim 1, wherein the regulated voltage output by the LDO regulator is smaller than the received voltage from the DC-DC converter and larger than zero.

3. The circuit in accordance with claim 1, wherein the power management integrated circuit is coupled to an input of the DC-DC converter and manufactured via high voltage process and the RF transceiver, the DC-DC converter and the LDO regulator are manufactured via a standard CMOS process.

4. The circuit in accordance with claim 1, wherein the DC-DC converter is inductorless.

5. The circuit in accordance with claim 4, wherein a ratio of an input voltage and an output voltage of the DC-DC converter is 0.5.

6. The circuit in accordance with claim 5, wherein the voltage provided by the power management integrated circuit to the DC-DC converter is between 2.4V and 3.3V.

7. The circuit in accordance with claim 6, wherein the voltage provided by the power management integrated circuit to the DC-DC converter is 2.8V.

8. The circuit in accordance with claim 1, wherein the power management integrated circuit and the radio frequency integrated circuit are manufactured in separate chips.

9. The circuit in accordance with claim 1, wherein the power management integrated circuit and the radio frequency integrated circuit are manufactured on separate dies.

10. A mobile terminal, comprising:

an antenna;

a power management integrated circuit (PMIC) to receive an input voltage and output a first reduced voltage; and

a radio frequency integrated circuit (RFIC) coupled to the PMIC and the antenna, the RFIC comprising,

an RF transceiver to perform an RF transmission or an RF reception,

a DC-DC converter to receive the first reduced voltage provided by the PMIC to output a second reduced voltage, and

an LDO regulator to receive the second reduced voltage from the DC-DC converter and output a third reduced voltage to the RF transceiver.

11. The mobile terminal in accordance with claim 10, wherein the mobile terminal is a mobile phone.

12. A method, comprising:

receiving and transmitting signals using an antenna in a mobile terminal;

receiving an input voltage and outputting a first reduced voltage using a power management integrated circuit (PMIC); and

performing an RF transmission or an RF reception using a radio frequency integrated circuit (RFIC) and said signals, wherein said performing comprises,

converting the first reduced voltage provided by the PMIC and outputting a second reduced voltage using a DC-DC converter,

regulating the second reduced voltage from the DC-DC converter and outputting a third reduced voltage to a RF transceiver using an LDO regulator, and

performing the RF transmission or the RF reception using the RF transceiver and the third reduced voltage.

13. The method in accordance with claim 12, wherein the PMIC is manufactured using a high voltage process and the RF transceiver, the DC-DC converter and the LDO regulator are on the RFIC and manufactured using a standard CMOS process, and wherein the mobile terminal is a mobile phone.

14. The method in accordance with claim 13, comprising:

replacing the RFIC with a replacement RFIC by coupling the replacement RFIC to the PMIC; and

performing the RF transmission or the RF reception in the mobile phone using a replacement RF transceiver in the replacement RFIC that operates using a supply voltage having a voltage value different from the third reduced voltage.