Integrated circuit with power supply line antenna structure and methods for use therewith

• US 8,674,888 B2
• Filed: 09/15/2008
• Issued: 03/18/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 06/21/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NXP USA, Inc. (NXP Semiconductors NV)
• Original Assignee: Broadcom Corporation (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Inventors: Rofougaran, Ahmadreza (Reza)
• Primary Examiner(s): Wimer, Michael C
• Application Number:
  US12/210,595
• Publication Number:
  US 20090009405A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,010 Days
• Field of Search: 343/700.MS, 343/702, 343/853, 343/722, 340/572.7
• US Class Current: 343/722
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/07749 the record carrier being capable of non-contact communication, e.g. constructional details of the antenna of a non-contact smart card
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/07786 the antenna being of the HF type, such as a dipole
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10237 the reader and the record carrier being capable of selectively switching between reader and record carrier appearance, e.g. in near field communication [NFC] devices where the NFC device may function as an RFID reader or as an RFID tag
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2223/6627 Waveguides, e.g. microstrip line, strip line, coplanar line
• 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 2224/023 Redistribution layers [RDL] for bonding areas
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/05554 being square
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/05599 Material
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/45099 Material
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/48091 Arched
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/48227 connecting the wire to a bond pad of the item
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/49175 Parallel arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 23/66 High-frequency adaptations
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 24/06 of a plurality of bonding areas
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 24/48 of an individual wire connector
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 24/49 of a plurality of wire connectors
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 25/0655 the devices being arranged next to each other
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 25/16 the devices being of types provided for in two or more different main groups of groups H01L27/00 - H01L33/00, or in a single subclass of H10K, H10N, e.g. forming hybrid circuits
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/00 Indexing scheme for arrangements or methods for connecting or disconnecting semiconductor or solid-state bodies as covered by H01L24/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/0001 Technical content checked by a classifier
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/00014 : the subject-matter covered by the group, the symbol of which is combined with the symbol of this group, being disclosed without further technical details
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/01005 : Boron [B]
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/01006 : Carbon [C]
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/01014 : Silicon [Si]
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/01015 : Phosphorus [P]
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/01023 : Vanadium [V]
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/01027 : Cobalt [Co]
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/01031 : Gallium [Ga]
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/01032 : Germanium [Ge]
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/01033 : Arsenic [As]
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/0106 : Neodymium [Nd]
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/01061 : Promethium [Pm]
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/01083 : Bismuth [Bi]
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/13091 : Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Field-Effect Transistor [MOSFET]
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/14 : Integrated circuits
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/1433 : Application-specific integrated circuit [ASIC]
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/1903 : including wave guides
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/19041 : being a capacitor
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/19042 : being an inductor
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/19043 : being a resistor
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/19104 : on the semiconductor or solid-state device, i.e. passive-on-chip
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/30105 : Capacitance
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/30107 : Inductance
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/3011 : Impedance
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/30111 : matching
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/2225 : used in active tags, i.e. provided with its own power source or in passive tags, i.e. deriving power from RF signal
• 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 1/38 : 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 23/00 : Antennas with active circuits or circuit elements integrated within them or attached to them
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 9/065 : Microstrip dipole antennas patch antenna H01Q9/0407

Abstract

An integrated circuit includes a plurality of circuits including a plurality of millimeter wave interfaces for communicating data between the plurality of circuits via millimeter wave RF signaling. A power supply line supplies at least one power supply signal to the plurality of circuits. The power supply line includes a plurality of antenna elements to facilitate the communicating of first data between the plurality of circuits via the millimeter wave RF signaling.

Claims

1. An integrated circuit comprising:

a plurality of circuits including a plurality of millimeter wave interfaces for communicating data between the plurality of circuits via millimeter wave RF signaling;

at least one power supply line, coupled to the plurality of circuits for supplying at least one direct current (DC) power supply signal from an external source to the plurality of circuits, wherein the at least one power supply line includes a plurality of antenna elements to facilitate the communicating of first data between the plurality of circuits via the millimeter wave RF signaling that is carried via the at least one power supply line, wherein the at least one power supply line includes a plurality of inductive elements that are connected along a linear pathway in an alternating series connection with the plurality of antenna elements to block electrical conduction of the millimeter wave RF signaling between adjacent ones of the plurality antenna elements along the linear pathway while passing the at least one direct current (DC) power supply signal along the linear pathway.

2. The integrated circuit of claim 1 wherein at least one of the plurality of antenna elements has an effective length that is substantially one-quarter of the wavelength of the millimeter wave RF signaling.

3. The integrated circuit of claim 1 wherein at least one of the plurality of antenna elements has an effective length that is substantially one-half of the wavelength of the millimeter wave RF signaling.

4. The integrated circuit of claim 1 further comprising:

an RF bus controller that mediates the communicating of the first data between the plurality of circuits via the millimeter wave RF signaling.

5. The integrated circuit of claim 4 wherein the RF bus operates in accordance with a shared access protocol that controls transmission by the plurality of millimeter wave interfaces.

6. The integrated circuit of claim 4 wherein the RF bus controller includes at least one millimeter wave transceiver that communicates with the plurality of millimeter wave interfaces.

7. The integrated circuit of claim 4 wherein the RF bus controller further communicates third signals with a remote device.

8. The integrated circuit of claim 1 wherein at least one of the plurality of millimeter wave interfaces communicates second data with a remote device.

9. A method for use in an integrated circuit having a plurality of circuits, the method comprising:

communicating between the plurality of circuits via millimeter wave RF signaling facilitated by an antenna that includes a plurality of antenna elements formed from at least one power supply line of the integrated circuit that couples a direct current (DC) power supply signal from an external source to the integrated circuit and that carries the millimeter wave RF signaling via the at least one power supply line, wherein the at least one power supply line includes a plurality of inductive elements that are connected along a linear pathway in an alternating series connection with the plurality of antenna elements to block electrical conduction of the millimeter wave RF signaling between adjacent ones of the plurality antenna elements along the linear pathway while passing the at least one direct current (DC) power supply signal along the linear pathway.

10. An integrated circuit comprising:

a plurality of circuits including a plurality of millimeter wave interfaces for communicating data between the plurality of circuits via millimeter wave RF signaling;

a power supply line, coupled to the plurality of circuits for supplying at least one direct current (DC) power supply signal from an external source to the plurality of circuits, wherein the at least one power supply line includes a plurality of antenna elements to facilitate the communicating of first data between the plurality of circuits via the millimeter wave RF signaling that is carried via the at least one power supply line, wherein the power supply line includes a plurality of inductive elements that are connected along a linear pathway in an alternating series connection with the plurality of antenna elements to block electrical conduction of the millimeter wave RF signaling between adjacent ones of the plurality antenna elements along the linear pathway while passing the at least one direct current (DC) power supply signal along the linear pathway.

11. The integrated circuit of claim 10 wherein at least one of the plurality of antenna elements has an effective length that is substantially one-quarter of the wavelength of the millimeter wave RF signaling.

12. The integrated circuit of claim 10 wherein at least one of the plurality of antenna elements has an effective length that is substantially one-half of the wavelength of the millimeter wave RF signaling.

13. The integrated circuit of claim 10 further comprising:

an RF bus controller that mediates the communicating of the first data between the plurality of circuits via the millimeter wave RF signaling.

14. The integrated circuit of claim 13 wherein the RF bus operates in accordance with a shared access protocol that controls transmission by the plurality of millimeter wave interfaces.

15. The integrated circuit of claim 13 wherein the RF bus controller includes at least one millimeter wave transceiver that communicates with the plurality of millimeter wave interfaces.

16. The integrated circuit of claim 13 wherein the RF bus controller further communicates third signals with a remote device.

17. The integrated circuit of claim 10 wherein at least one of the plurality of millimeter wave interfaces communicates second data with a remote device.

18. A method for use in an integrated circuit having a plurality of circuits, the method comprising:

communicating between the plurality of circuits via millimeter wave RF signaling facilitated by an antenna that includes plurality of antenna elements formed from a power supply line of the integrated circuit that couples a direct current (DC) power supply signal from an external source to the integrated circuit and that carries the millimeter wave RF signaling via the at least one power supply line, wherein the power supply line includes a plurality of inductive elements that are connected along a linear pathway in an alternating series connection with the plurality of antenna elements to block electrical conduction of the millimeter wave RF signaling between adjacent ones of the plurality antenna elements along the linear pathway while passing the at least one direct current (DC) power supply signal along the linear pathway.