Capacitive compensation of cascaded directional couplers

• US 8,315,576 B2
• Filed: 05/04/2010
• Issued: 11/20/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 05/05/2009
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Qorvo US, Inc. (Qorvo, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: RF Micro Devices Incorporated (Qorvo, Inc.)
• Inventors: Jones, David E.
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, TUAN HOANG
• Application Number:
  US12/773,292
• Publication Number:
  US 20110063044A1
• Time in Patent Office: 931 Days
• Field of Search: 455/78, 455/319, 455/325, 455/333, 333/109, 333/116, 333/128, 333/130, 333/131
• US Class Current: 455/78
• CPC Class Codes: H01P 5/184 the guides being strip lines or microstrips
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 1/0211 with control of the supply voltage or current
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 2200/541 Transformer coupled at the output of an amplifier
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 3/195 in integrated circuits
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 3/24 of transmitter output stages
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 3/68 Combinations of amplifiers, e.g. multi-channel amplifiers for stereophonics power amplifiers using a combination of several semiconductor amplifiers H03F3/211; combinations of amplifiers using coupling networks with distributed constants H03F3/602
• CPC Class Codes: H03H 7/38 Impedance-matching networks

Abstract

A cascaded directional couplers circuit having capacitive compensation such that the directivity of a resistively terminated one of the cascaded couplers is not degraded by an inductance of the other one of the cascaded directional couplers.

Claims

1. A cascaded directional couplers circuit comprising:

a first directional coupler having an input port electrically connected to an output port through a first coupling element and a coupled port connected to an isolated port through a second coupling element, the first coupling element to pass a first RF signal having a frequency of a first frequency band, the second coupling element to couple the first RF signal passed by the first coupling element; and

a second directional coupler having an input port electrically connected to an output port through a first coupling element and a coupled port connected to an isolated port through a second coupling element, the first coupling element to pass a second RF signal having a frequency of a second frequency band, the second coupling element to couple the second RF signal passed by the first coupling element of the second directional coupler, the first directional coupler being capacitively connected to the second directional coupler through a capacitor connected between the coupled port of the first directional coupler and the isolated port of the second directional coupler.

2. The cascaded directional couplers circuit of claim 1 further including a resistive termination element coupled between the isolated port of the first directional coupler and a fixed voltage source.

3. The cascaded directional couplers circuit of claim 2 wherein the fixed voltage source is at a ground potential.

4. The cascaded directional couplers circuit of claim 1 wherein a capacitance value of the capacitor is sufficient to cancel an inductive reactance as seen from the isolated port of the second directional coupler, wherein the inductive reactance is due to the first coupling element and the second coupling element of the first directional coupler.

5. The cascaded directional couplers circuit of claim 1 wherein the first coupling element and the second coupling element of the first directional coupler, and the first coupling element and the second coupling element of the second directional coupler are inductors comprising stripline winding elements having geometric dimensions of length and width.

6. The cascaded directional couplers circuit of claim 5 wherein a capacitive reactance due to an overlapping of the stripline winding elements is adjustable in part during manufacture of the cascaded directional couplers circuit by varying the width of the stripline winding elements.

7. A mobile terminal for operating in multiple radio frequency (RF) frequency bands, the mobile terminal comprising:

an antenna;

a receiver coupled to the antenna; and

a transmitter coupled to the antenna, the transmitter comprising;

a first RF power amplifier for amplifying a first RF signal having a frequency of a first frequency band within which the mobile terminal transmits;

a second RF power amplifier for amplifying a second RF signal having a frequency of a second frequency band within which the mobile terminal transmits;

a cascaded directional couplers circuit with a first directional coupler having an input port electrically connected to an output port through a first coupling element and a coupled port connected to an isolated port through a second coupling element, the first coupling element to pass the first RF signal having a frequency of the first frequency band, the second coupling element to couple the first RF signal passed by the first coupling element, and

a second directional coupler having an input port electrically connected to an output port through a first coupling element and a coupled port connected to an isolated port through a second coupling element, the first coupling element to pass the second RF signal having a frequency of the second frequency band, the second coupling element to couple the second RF signal passed by the first coupling element of the second directional coupler, the first directional coupler being capacitively connected to the second directional coupler through a capacitor connected between the coupled port of the first directional coupler and the isolated port of the second directional coupler.

8. The cascaded directional couplers circuit of claim 7 further including a resistive termination element coupled between the isolated port of the first directional coupler and a fixed voltage source.

9. The cascaded directional couplers circuit of claim 8 wherein the fixed voltage source is at a ground potential.

10. The cascaded directional couplers circuit of claim 7 wherein a capacitance value of the capacitor is sufficient to cancel an inductive reactance as seen from the isolated port of the second directional coupler, wherein the inductive reactance is due to the first coupling element and the second coupling element of the first directional coupler.

11. The cascaded directional couplers circuit of claim 7 wherein the first coupling element and the second coupling element of the first directional coupler, and the first coupling element and the second coupling element of the second directional coupler are inductors comprising stripline winding elements having geometric dimensions of length and width.

12. The cascaded directional couplers circuit of claim 11 wherein a capacitive reactance due to an overlapping of the stripline winding elements is adjustable in part during manufacture of the cascaded directional couplers circuit by varying the width of the stripline winding elements.

13. A cascaded directional couplers circuit comprising:

an integrated circuit substrate;

a first directional coupler integrated into the integrated circuit substrate, the first directional coupler having an input port electrically connected to an output port through a first coupling element and a coupled port connected to an isolated port through a second coupling element, the first coupling element to pass a first RF signal having a frequency of a first frequency band, the second coupling element to couple the first RF signal passed by the first coupling element; and

a second directional coupler integrated into the integrated circuit substrate, the second directional coupler having an input port electrically connected to an output port through a first coupling element and a coupled port connected to an isolated port through a second coupling element, the first coupling element to pass a second RF signal having a frequency of a second frequency band, the second coupling element to couple the second RF signal passed by the first coupling element of the second directional coupler, the first directional coupler being capacitively connected to the second directional coupler through a capacitor connected between the coupled port of the first directional coupler and the isolated port of the second directional coupler.

14. The cascaded directional couplers circuit of claim 13 wherein the integrated circuit substrate is multilayered having alternating dielectric and metal layers.

15. The cascaded directional couplers circuit of claim 14 wherein one of the metal layers is a top layer ground plane and another one of the metal layers is a bottom layer ground plane.

16. The cascaded directional couplers circuit of claim 13 further including a resistive termination element coupled between the isolated port of the first directional coupler and a fixed voltage source.

17. The cascaded directional couplers circuit of claim 16 wherein the fixed voltage source is at a ground potential.

18. The cascaded directional couplers circuit of claim 13 wherein a capacitance value of the capacitor is sufficient to cancel an inductive reactance as seen from the isolated port of the second directional coupler, wherein the inductive reactance is due to the first coupling element and the second coupling element of the first directional coupler.

19. The cascaded directional couplers circuit of claim 13 wherein the first coupling element and the second coupling element of the first directional coupler, and the first coupling element and the second coupling element of the second directional coupler are inductors comprising stripline winding elements having geometric dimensions of length and width.

20. The cascaded directional couplers circuit of claim 19 wherein a capacitive reactance due to an overlapping of the stripline winding elements is adjustable in part during manufacture of the cascaded directional couplers circuit by varying the width of the stripline winding elements.