DIFFERENTIAL SIGNALING OF ANTENNAS ON A SUBSTRATE

• US 20170179603A1
• Filed: 12/16/2016
• Published: 06/22/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 12/17/2015
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Humatics Corporation
• Original Assignee: Humatics Corporation
• Inventors: Charvat, Gregory L., Lee, Thomas H., Mindell, David A.
• Application Number:
  US15/382,573
• Publication Number:
  US 20170179603A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 11/02 using radio waves G01S19/00 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/878 Combination of several spaced transmitters or receivers of known location for determining the position of a transponder or a reflector G01S13/874 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0215 Interference
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0284 Relative positioning
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/14 Determining absolute distances from a plurality of spaced points of known location
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2223/6677 for antenna, e.g. antenna included within housing of semiconductor device antennas per se H01Q
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/16227 the bump connector connecting to a bond pad of the item
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/2216 used in interrogator/reader equipment
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/2283 mounted in or on the surface of a semiconductor substrate as a chip-type antenna or integrated with other components into an IC package
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/24 with receiving set
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/247 with frequency mixer, e.g. for direct satellite reception or Doppler radar
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/38 formed by a conductive layer on an insulating support patch antennas H01Q9/0407; microstrip dipole antennas H01Q9/065; microstrip slot antennas H01Q13/106; transmission line microstrip antennas H01Q13/206; manufacturing reflecting surfaces using insulating material for supporting the reflecting surface H01Q15/142
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/521 reducing the coupling between adjacent antennas
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/525 between emitting and receiving antennas
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 3/36 with variable phase-shifters
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 5/10 Resonant antennas
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 9/0428 radiating a circular polarised wave
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 9/0492 circularly polarised
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 9/26 with folded element or elements, the folded parts being spaced apart a small fraction of operating wavelength resonant loop antennas H01Q7/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 9/27 Spiral antennas
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/77 : for interrogation
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/023 : using mutual or relative location information between multiple location based services [LBS] targets or of distance thresholds
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 56/001 : Synchronization between nodes
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/003 : locating network equipment
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/006 : with additional information processing, e.g. for direction or speed determination

Abstract

A device comprising: a substrate; a transmit antenna fabricated on the substrate and configured to transmit radio-frequency (RF) signals; a receive antenna fabricated on the substrate and configured to receive RF signals; and circuitry, disposed on the substrate and differentially coupled to the transmit and receive antennas, and configured to provide to the transmit antenna RF signals to be transmitted by the transmit antenna and to process RF signals received by the receive antenna, wherein the substrate comprises material for reducing harmonic coupling between the transmit antenna and the receive antenna.

Claims

1. A device, comprising:

a substrate;

a transmit antenna fabricated on the substrate and configured to transmit radio-frequency (RF) signals;

a receive antenna fabricated on the substrate and configured to receive RF signals; and

circuitry, disposed on the substrate and differentially coupled to the transmit and receive antennas, and configured to provide to the transmit antenna RF signals to be transmitted by the transmit antenna and to process RF signals received by the receive antenna,

wherein the substrate comprises material for reducing harmonic coupling between the transmit antenna and the receive antenna.

2. The device of claim 1, further comprising:

a first line and a second line,

wherein the circuitry is differentially coupled to the transmit antenna using the first line and the second line.

3. The device of claim 2, wherein the circuitry is configured to:

generate a first signal;

generate a second signal out of phase with the first signal;

provide the first signal to the transmit antenna via the first line; and

provide the second signal to the transmit antenna concurrently via the second line and concurrently with providing the first signal to the transmit antenna.

4. The device of claim 3, wherein the circuitry is configured to generate the second signal by phase shifting the first signal by 180 degrees.

5. The device of claim 3, wherein the transmit antenna is configured to transmit a signal generated based on a difference between the first signal and the second signal.

6. The device of claim 2, further comprising:

a third line and a fourth line,

wherein the circuitry is differentially coupled to the receive antenna using the third line and the fourth line.

7. The device of claim 1, wherein the substrate comprises a frequency selective surface configured to reduce harmonic coupling between the transmit antenna and the receive antenna.

8. The device of claim 1, wherein at least a part of the substrate is coated with an absorbent coating configured to reduce harmonic coupling between the transmit antenna and the receive antenna.

9. The device of claim 1, further comprising:

a semiconductor die coupled to the substrate, wherein the circuitry is integrated with the semi-conductor die.

10. The device of claim 9, wherein the semiconductor die is flip-chip bonded to the substrate.

11. The device of claim 1, wherein the transmit antenna is configured to transmit signals circularly polarized in a first rotational direction and the receive antenna is configured to receive signals circularly polarized in a second rotational direction different from the first rotational direction.

12. The device of claim 1, wherein the transmit antenna is configured to transmit RF signals having a center frequency of f Gigahertz (GHz), and wherein the receive antenna is configured to receive at least RF signals having a center frequency of 2f.

13. The device of claim 1, wherein the transmit antenna is configured to transmit microwave linear frequency modulated RF signals.

14. The device of claim 1, wherein the transmit antenna is configured to transmit RF signals having a center frequency in a range of 50-70 GHz and the receiving antenna is configured to receive RF signals having a center frequency in a range of 100-140 GHz.

15. The device of claim 1, wherein the transmit antenna is configured to transmit RF signals having a center frequency in a range of 4-6 GHz and the receiving antenna is configured to receive RF signals having a center frequency in a range of 8-12 GHz.

16. A device, comprising:

a substrate;

a semiconductor die flip-chip bonded to the substrate;

a transmit antenna fabricated on the substrate and configured to transmit microwave radio-frequency (RF) signals; and

circuitry integrated with the semiconductor die, differentially coupled to the transmit antenna and configured to provide to the transmit antenna microwave RF signals to be transmitted by the transmit antenna.

17. The device of claim 16, further comprising:

a receive antenna fabricated on the substrate and configured to receive microwave RF signals,

wherein the circuitry is differentially coupled to the receive antenna.

18. The device of claim 17, wherein the substrate comprises material for reducing harmonic coupling between the transmit antenna and the receive antenna.

19. The device of claim 16, wherein the circuitry is configured to generate microwave linear frequency modulated RF signals to be transmitted by the transmit antenna.

20. A device, comprising:

a substrate;

a semiconductor die mounted on the substrate;

a transmit antenna fabricated on the substrate and configured to transmit microwave radio-frequency (RF) signals; and

circuitry integrated with the semiconductor die, differentially coupled to the transmit antenna and configured to provide to the transmit antenna microwave linear frequency modulated RF signals to be transmitted by the transmit antenna.