LOW-LOSS HIGH-ISOLATION SWITCHING ARCHITECTURE
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A switching circuit comprising:
- a first signal path between a transmit terminal and a first antenna terminal;
a second signal path between the transmit terminal and a second antenna terminal, the switching circuit configured to be capable of operating in a first mode in which the transmit terminal is provided with access to the first antenna terminal through the first signal path with a first insertion loss or the second antenna terminal through the second signal path with a second insertion loss, the first insertion loss substantially matching the second insertion loss; and
a third signal path between a transceiver terminal and the second antenna terminal, the switching circuit further configured to be capable of operating in a second mode in which the transmit terminal is provided with access to the first antenna terminal and the transceiver terminal is concurrently provided with access to the second antenna terminal.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Disclosed are switching circuits and methods that enable a device to switch between two wireless protocols with antenna sharing. In some implementations, the device may use two different wireless protocols concurrently and with high isolation. In some implementations, the device can be provided with insertion loss matched transmission diversity for one of the wireless protocols. In some embodiments, various signal paths and related switches that allow such functionalities can be implemented on a single die such as a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) die.
54 Citations
21 Claims
-
1. A switching circuit comprising:
-
a first signal path between a transmit terminal and a first antenna terminal; a second signal path between the transmit terminal and a second antenna terminal, the switching circuit configured to be capable of operating in a first mode in which the transmit terminal is provided with access to the first antenna terminal through the first signal path with a first insertion loss or the second antenna terminal through the second signal path with a second insertion loss, the first insertion loss substantially matching the second insertion loss; and a third signal path between a transceiver terminal and the second antenna terminal, the switching circuit further configured to be capable of operating in a second mode in which the transmit terminal is provided with access to the first antenna terminal and the transceiver terminal is concurrently provided with access to the second antenna terminal. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
-
-
19. A die having a switching circuit, the die comprising:
-
a substrate that includes a semiconductor material; a transmit terminal, a transceiver terminal, a first antenna terminal, and a second antenna terminal, each formed on the substrate; a first signal path formed on the substrate, the first signal path configured to allow the transmit terminal to be in communication with the first antenna terminal with a first insertion loss; a second signal path formed on the substrate, the second signal path configured to allow the transmit terminal to be in communication with the second antenna terminal with a second insertion loss, the first insertion loss substantially matching the second insertion loss; and a third signal path formed on the substrate, the third signal path configured to allow the transceiver terminal to be in communication with the second antenna terminal. - View Dependent Claims (20)
-
-
21. A wireless device comprising:
-
a plurality of antennas; a first radio-frequency (RF) circuit capable of being in communication with one or more of the plurality of antennas, the first RF circuit configured to operate with a first communication protocol; a second RF circuit capable of being in communication with one or more of the plurality of antennas, the second RF circuit configured to operate with a second communication protocol; and a switching module having a switching circuit implemented on a common die, the switching circuit configured to allow antenna-sharing and antenna-diversity among the first and second radio-frequency circuits operating with their respective communication protocols.
-
Specification