Multiband or multimode receiver with shared bias circuit

• US 7,729,674 B2
• Filed: 01/09/2007
• Issued: 06/01/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 01/09/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Original Assignee: Skyworks Solutions Incorporated
• Inventors: Shie, Terrence John, Zhong, Jinhua, Wyse, Russell David
• Primary Examiner(s): Le; Thanh C
• Application Number:
  US11/651,949
• Publication Number:
  US 20080166984A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,239 Days
• Field of Search: 455/78, 455/80, 455/550.1, 455/552.1, 455/553.1, 455/127.1, 455/127.2, 455/201, 455/266, 455/307, 455/343.1
• US Class Current: 455/201
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/006 using switches for selecting the desired band H04B1/0057 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/18 Input circuits, e.g. for coupling to an antenna or a transmission line coupling networks between antennas or lines and receivers independent of the nature of the receiver H03H

Abstract

A multi-band communication device with a front end antenna switch module and shared bias circuit is disclosed. Control inputs determine signal routing and amplifier biasing in response to the communication device'"'"'s mode or band of operation. A received signal is routed to an active path, which corresponds to the band of the received signal. A received signal is selectively switched to one or more switch outputs, which connect to one or more filters matched to the band of the received signal. After filtering, the signal is directly provided to an active amplifier. An amplifier is activated by a bias signal received from a shared bias circuit. The shared bias circuit generates a bias signal which is selectively switched to an amplifier associated with an active path.

Claims

1. A multiband receiver with a shared bias circuit comprising:

an antenna configured to receive and convert a wireless signal to a received signal;

one or more antenna switches configured to route the received signal to only one of one or more filters, wherein the one or more antenna switches are responsive to an antenna switch control signal;

one or more filters configured to process the received signal to create a filtered received signal wherein the one or more filters are configures such that only one of the one or more filters receives and processes a received signal at a time;

two or more amplifiers, biased with an amplifier bias signal from a shared bias circuit, the two or more amplifiers configured to selectively amplify the filtered received signal to create an amplified signal;

a shared bias circuit comprising;

a bias circuit configured to generate an amplifier bias signal;

a bias switch network configured to selectively provide the amplifier bias signal to only one of the two or more amplifiers, wherein the bias switch network is responsive to a bias switch control signal.

2. The receiver of claim 1, further comprising a processor configured to generate the antenna switch control signal and the bias switch control signal.

3. The receiver of claim 1, wherein the bias switch network and the two or more amplifiers are located on the same die.

4. The receiver of claim 1, wherein the antenna switch control signal and the bias switch control signal are generated in response to a frequency band of the wireless signal.

5. The receiver of claim 1, wherein the one or more antenna switches selectively route the received signal to a filter tailored to the frequency band of the received signal.

6. The receiver of claim 1, further comprising a shared tuning circuit configured to cancel unwanted low frequency artifacts.

7. The receiver of claim 1, wherein the shared tuning circuit is connected to the amplifier through the bias switch network.

8. A shared bias system and signal path for use in a receiver comprising:

two or more filters, wherein each filter is configured for a frequency band and only one filter receives and filters a signal at a time;

two or more amplifiers, wherein of the two or more amplifiers only one amplifier receives a signal from a filter and amplifies a signal at a time;

a shared bias circuit configured to generate a bias signal for the two or more amplifiers;

one or more bias switches configured to selectively connect the bias signal to an amplifier selected from the two or more amplifiers, wherein the one or more switches are controlled by one or more control signals;

a controller configured to generate the one or more control signals responsive to the frequency band of a received signal or a band indicator signal.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the bias circuit, one or more bias switches, and the two or more amplifiers are on the same die.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein the one or more bias switches are configured to provide the bias signal to only one of the two or more amplifiers.

11. The system of claim 8, wherein the controller comprises a digital signal processor.

12. The system of claim 8, further comprising a filter associated with each amplifier, and wherein the filter provides a received filtered signal directly to an amplifier.

13. The system of claim 8, wherein the shared bias system is configured for use in wireless receiver.

14. The system of claim 8, further comprising a shared tuning circuit configured to create a low frequency cancellation signal, wherein the low frequency cancellation signal is selectively connect to an amplifier through the one or more bias switches.

15. A method for receiving and amplifying an incoming signal in a receiver comprising:

determining a mode of operation, wherein in response to determining the mode of operation only one active path, selected from two or more received signals paths within the receiver, is active;

receiving a received signal;

selectively routing the received signal to only one active path;

filtering the received signal with only one active path filter to create a filtered signal;

generating a bias signal;

controlling one or more switches to selectively connect the bias signal to only an active path amplifier

amplifying the filtered signal with an active path amplifier.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the bias signal is generated by a shared bias circuit which is shared, through the one or more switches, with two or more amplifiers.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein during operation the received signal and filtered signal travel within two or fewer die.

18. The method of claim 15, wherein the mode of operation is determined by a frequency band of the received signal.

19. The method of claim 15, wherein selectively routing the received signal to an active path is performed by an antenna switch.

20. The method of claim 15, wherein the method is performed in a tri-band wireless communication device.

21. The method of claim 15, wherein the selectively route and selectively connect is controlled by one or more control signals from a processor.