Power splitter/combiner

• US 8,350,642 B2
• Filed: 07/10/2009
• Issued: 01/08/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 07/10/2008
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: TTM Technologies Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Anaren Incorporated (TTM Technologies Incorporated)
• Inventors: Jensen, Hans
• Primary Examiner(s): Pascal, Robert
• Assistant Examiner(s): GLENN, KIMBERLY E
• Application Number:
  US12/501,171
• Publication Number:
  US 20100007433A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,278 Days
• Field of Search: 333126-129, 333/132, 333/134
• US Class Current: 333/132
• CPC Class Codes: H01P 5/16 Conjugate devices, i.e. devices having at least one port decoupled from one other port
• CPC Class Codes: H03H 7/463 Duplexers
• CPC Class Codes: H03H 7/48 Networks for connecting several sources or loads, working on the same frequency or frequency band, to a common load or source phase shifters providing two or more output signals H03H7/21

Abstract

The present invention is directed to a system that includes a front-end interface device having a first front-end interface port, a second front-end interface port and a third front-end interface port. The front-end interface device is configured to split a first signal directed into the first front-end interface port into a second signal provided at the second front-end interface port and a third signal provided at the third front-end interface port. An N-way high-band device includes a first high-band device port coupled to the second front-end interface port and N second high band ports. An N-way low-band device includes a first low-band device port coupled to the third front-end interface port and N-second low band ports. N back-end interface devices are coupled to the N-way high-band device and the N-way low-band device.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a front-end interface device including a first front-end interface port, a second front-end interface port and a third front-end interface port, the front-end interface device being configured to split a first signal directed into the first front-end interface port into a second signal provided at the second front-end interface port and a third signal provided at the third front-end interface port, the first signal having a first bandwidth, the second signal having a second bandwidth and the third signal having a third bandwidth, the second bandwidth being substantially disposed in a relatively high frequency portion of the first bandwidth and the third bandwidth being substantially disposed in a relatively low frequency portion of the first bandwidth;

an N-way high-band device including a first high-band device port coupled to the second front-end interface port and N second high band ports, N being an integer greater than or equal to two (2), the N-way high-band device being configured to split the second signal into N-high band signals and direct the N-high band signals out of corresponding ones of the N-second high band ports;

an N-way low-band device including a first low-band device port coupled to the third front-end interface port and N-second low band ports, the N-way low-band device being configured to split the third signal into N-low band signals and direct the N-low band signals out of corresponding ones of the N-second low band ports;

a delay element substantially disposed between the front-end interface and the N-way low-band device or the N-way high-band device;

a phase correction element disposed between the front-end interface and the N-way high-band device or the N-way low-band device; and

N back-end interface devices coupled to the N-way high-band device and the N-way low-band device, each back-end interface device of the N back-end interface devices including a first back-end interface port coupled to a corresponding one of the N second high band ports, a second back-end interface port coupled to a corresponding one of the N second low band ports, and a third back-end interface port, each back-end interface being configured to combine one of the N-high band signals and one of the N-low band signals to form a fourth signal directed out of the third back-end interface port such that N-fourth signals are directed out of the N back-end interface devices, the fourth signal having a fourth bandwidth, the fourth signal being a version of the first signal such that the fourth bandwidth and the first bandwidth are substantially identical.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the front-end interface device includes an input/output (I/O) diplexer.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the I/O diplexer is also configured to combine the second signal and the third signal to form the first signal, the second signal being directed into the second front-end interface port, the third signal being directed into the third front-end interface port, and the first signal being directed out of the first front-end interface port.

4. The system of claim 2, wherein the I/O diplexer includes a first diplexer element coupled to a second diplexer element.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the first diplexer element includes a low pass filter and the second diplexer element includes a high pass filter.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the first front-end interface port is coupled to both the high pass filter and the low pass filter, the second front-end interface port is coupled to the high pass filter and the third front-end interface port is coupled to the low pass filter,

whereby a response of the low pass filter overlaps a response of the high pass filter at a predetermined 3 dB cross-over frequency.

7. The system of claim 4, wherein the first diplexer element includes a first coupler device and the second diplexer element includes a second coupler device.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the first coupler device includes a first 3 dB 90°

hybrid coupler and the second coupler device includes a second 3 dB 90°

hybrid coupler, the first 3 dB 90°

hybrid coupler being coupled to the first front-end interface port, the second 3 dB 90°

hybrid coupler being coupled to the first 3 dB 90°

hybrid coupler, the second front-end interface port, and the third front-end interface port.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein each of the first 3 dB 90°

hybrid coupler and the second 3 dB 90°

hybrid coupler are comprised of coupled transmission lines having a length equal or substantially equal to a quarter wavelength corresponding to a predetermined design frequency.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the predetermined design frequency results in the second bandwidth overlapping the third bandwidth at a predetermined 3 dB cross-over frequency.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the N-way high-band device is configured as an N-way high-band splitter/combiner such that the N-high band signals are combined to form the second signal when the N-high band signals are directed into the N second high band ports, the second signal being directed out of the second front-end interface port.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the N-way high-band device includes a plurality of splitter/combiner elements, at least one of the plurality of splitter/combiner elements being a 1×

M splitter/combiner, M being an integer value greater than or equal to two.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein M is equal to a binary number 2^p, p being an integer greater than or equal to one.

14. The system of claim 11, wherein the N-way high-band device is configured as a cascaded multi-stage device, each of the stages including at least one splitter/combiner.

15. The system of claim 11, wherein the N-way high-band device is configured to include Wilkinson splitter/combiner elements.

16. The system of claim 1, wherein the N-way low-band device is configured as an N-way low-band splitter/combiner such that the N-low band signals are combined to form the third signal when the N-low band signals are directed into the N second low band ports, the third signal being directed out of the third front-end interface port.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the N-way low-band device includes a plurality of splitter/combiner elements, at least one of the plurality of splitter/combiner elements being a 1×

M splitter combiner, M being an integer value greater than or equal to two.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein M is equal to a binary number 2^p, p being an integer greater than or equal to one.

19. The system of claim 16, wherein the N-way low-band device is configured as a cascaded multi-stage device, each of the stages including at least one splitter/combiner.

20. The system of claim 16, wherein the N-way low-band device is configured to include lumped element splitter/combiner elements.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein each lumped element splitter/combiner element includes a pair of mutually coupled inductors.

22. The system of claim 21, wherein the mutually coupled inductors include ferrite-core wire-wound mutually coupled inductors.

23. The system of claim 1, wherein the N back-end interface devices include N-output/input (O/I) diplexers, each O/I diplexer being configured to split the fourth signal into a high band signal of the N-high band signals and a low band signal of the N-low band signals when the fourth signal is directed into the third back-end interface port, the high band signal being directed out of the first back-end interface port, and the low band signal being directed out of the second back-end interface port.

24. The system of claim 23, wherein each output/input (O/I) diplexer includes a first diplexer element coupled to a second diplexer element.

25. The system of claim 24, wherein the first diplexer element includes a low pass filter and the second diplexer element includes a high pass filter.

26. The system of claim 24, wherein the first diplexer element includes a first coupler device and the second diplexer element includes a second coupler device.

27. The system of claim 26, wherein the first coupler device includes a first 3 dB 90°

hybrid coupler and the second coupler device includes a second 3 dB 90°

hybrid coupler.

28. A system comprising:

a front-end interface device including a first front-end interface port, a second front-end interface port and a third front-end interface port, the front-end interface device being configured to combine a second signal directed into the second front-end interface port and a third signal directed into the third front-end interface port to form a first signal directed out of the first front-end interface port, the first signal having a first bandwidth, the second signal having a second bandwidth and the third signal having a third bandwidth, the second bandwidth being substantially disposed in a relatively high frequency portion of the first bandwidth and the third bandwidth being substantially disposed in a relatively low frequency portion of the first bandwidth;

an N-way high-band device including a first high-band device port coupled to the second front-end interface port and N second high band ports, N being an integer greater than or equal to two (2), the N-way high-band device being configured to combine N-high band signals directed into corresponding ones of the N-second high band ports to form the second signal;

an N-way low-band device including a first low-band device port coupled to the third front-end interface port and N-second low band ports, the N-way low-band device being configured to combine N-low band signals directed into corresponding ones of the N-second low band ports to form the third signal;

a delay element substantially disposed between the front-end interface and the N-way low-band device or the N-way high-band device;

a phase correction element disposed between the front-end interface and the N-way high-band device or the N-way low-band device; and

N back-end interface devices coupled to the N-way high-band device and the N-way low-band device, each back-end interface device of the N back-end interface devices including a first back-end interface port coupled to a corresponding one of the N second high band ports, a second back-end interface port coupled to a corresponding one of the N second low band ports, and a third back-end interface port, each back-end interface device being configured to split a fourth signal directed into the third back-end interface port into one of the N-high band signals and one of the N-low band signals, each fourth signal having a fourth bandwidth, the fourth signal being a version of the first signal such that the fourth bandwidth and the first bandwidth are substantially identical.

29. The system of claim 28, wherein the first interface device includes an input/output (I/O) diplexer.

30. The system of claim 29, wherein the I/O diplexer is also configured to split the first signal into the second signal and the third signal, the second signal being directed out of the second front-end interface port, the third signal being directed out of the third front-end interface port, and the first signal being directed into of the first front-end interface port.

31. The system of claim 28, wherein the N-way high-band device is configured as an N-way high-band splitter/combiner such that the second signal may also be split to form the N-high band signals the second signal being directed into the second front-end interface port, the N-high band signals being directed out of the N second high band ports.

32. The system of claim 28, wherein the N-way low-band device is configured as an N-way low-band splitter/combiner such that the third signal may also be split to form the N-low band signals the third signal being directed into the third second front-end interface port, the N-low band signals being directed out of the N second low band ports.

33. The system of claim 28, wherein the N back-end interface devices include N-output/input (O/I) diplexers, each O/I diplexer being configured to combine a high band signal of the N-high band signals and a low band signal of the N-low band signals to form the fourth signal when the high band signal is directed into of the first back-end interface port and the low band signal is directed into the second back-end interface port, the fourth signal being directed out of the third back-end interface port.

34. A system comprising:

an input/output (I/O) diplexer including a first I/O diplexer port, a second I/O diplexer port and a third I/O diplexer port, the I/O diplexer being configured to split a first signal directed into the first I/O diplexer port into a second signal provided at the second I/O diplexer port and a third signal provided at the third I/O diplexer port, the I/O diplexer being configured to combine the second signal directed into the second I/O diplexer port and the third signal directed into the third I/O diplexer port to form the first signal provided at the first I/O diplexer port, the first signal having a first bandwidth, the second signal having a second bandwidth and the third signal having a third bandwidth, the second bandwidth being substantially disposed in a relatively high frequency portion of the first bandwidth and the third bandwidth being substantially disposed in a relatively low frequency portion of the first bandwidth;

an N-way high-band splitter/combiner coupled to the second I/O diplexer port and including N-high band splitter/combiner ports, the N-way high-band splitter/combiner being configured to split the second signal into N-high band signals and direct the N-high band signals out of corresponding ports of the N-high band splitter/combiner ports, the N-way high-band splitter/combiner also being configured to combine the N-high band signals directed into the N-high-band splitter/combiner ports into the second signal, N being an integer greater than or equal to two (2);

an N-way low-band splitter/combiner coupled to the third I/O diplexer port and including N-low band splitter/combiner ports, the N-way low-band splitter/combiner being configured to split the third signal into N-low band signals and direct the N-low band signals out of the N-low band splitter/combiner ports, the N-way low-band splitter/combiner also being configured to combine the N-low band signals directed into the N-low band splitter/combiner ports into the third signal;

N-output/input (O/I) diplexers coupled to the N-way high-band splitter/combiner and the N-way low-band splitter/combiner, each O/I diplexer of the N-O/I diplexers including a first O/I diplexer port coupled to a corresponding high band port of the N-high band splitter/combiner ports, a second O/I diplexer port coupled to a corresponding low band port of the N-low band splitter/combiner ports, and a third O/I port, each O/I diplexer being configured to combine one of the N-high band signals and one of the N-low band signals to form a fourth signal directed out of the third O/I diplexer port such that N-fourth signals are directed out of the N-O/I diplexers, each O/I diplexer also being configured to split the fourth signal into one of the N-high band signals and one of the N-low band signals such that the fourth signal is directed into the third O/I port, the high band signal being directed out of the first O/I port and the low band signal being directed out of the second O/I port, the fourth signal having a fourth bandwidth, the fourth signal being a version of the first signal such that the fourth bandwidth and the first bandwidth are substantially identical and;

a delay element substantially disposed between the third I/O diplexer port and the N-way low-band device or between the second I/O diplexer port and the N-way high-band device; and

a phase correction element disposed between the second I/O diplexer port and the N-way high-band device or between the third I/O diplexer port and the N-way low-band device.