Wireless power transfer—near field communication enabled communication device

• US 9,281,871 B2
• Filed: 08/27/2012
• Issued: 03/08/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 08/27/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NXP USA, Inc. (NXP Semiconductors NV)
• Original Assignee: Broadcom Corporation (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Inventors: Smith, Aaron
• Primary Examiner(s): Sorowar, Golam
• Application Number:
  US13/595,020
• Publication Number:
  US 20140057559A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,289 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/00 Near-field transmission systems, e.g. inductive or capacitive transmission systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/48 Transceivers
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/79 for data transfer in combination with power transfer

Abstract

Various configurations and arrangements of various communication devices are disclosed. Various integrated circuits that form these communication devices can be fabricated onto one or more semiconductor substrates, chips, and/or dies using a high voltage semiconductor process, a low voltage semiconductor process, or any combination thereof. Some of these high voltage and/or low voltage semiconductor process integrated circuits can be fabricated along with other high voltage and/or low voltage semiconductor process integrated circuits of other modules onto a single semiconductor substrate, chip, and/or die. This allows the low voltage semiconductor process integrated circuits and/or high voltage semiconductor process integrated circuits of one module to be combined with low voltage semiconductor process integrated circuits and/or high voltage semiconductor process integrated circuits of another module of the communication device.

Claims

1. A wireless power transfer (WPT) enabled communication device, comprising:

a plurality of modules configured to provide communication with a plurality of communication devices according to a plurality of communication standards;

a communication interface configured to communicatively couple the plurality of modules to one another,

wherein a first module from among the plurality of modules is configured to implement a near field communication (NFC) standard and a WPT standard from among the plurality of communication standards, the first module comprising a front end module (FEM) communicatively coupled to an NFC controller, the FEM being fabricated using a high voltage semiconductor process and the NFC controller being fabricated using a low voltage semiconductor process,

wherein the FEM is configured to communicate with an NFC capable device from among the plurality of communication devices in accordance with the NFC standard or with a second WPT enabled communication device from among the plurality of communication devices in accordance with the WPT standard.

2. The WPT enabled communication device of claim 1, wherein the FEM is fabricated onto a first semiconductor substrate using the high voltage semiconductor process, and

wherein the NFC controller is fabricated onto a second semiconductor substrate using the low voltage semiconductor process.

3. The WPT enabled communication device of claim 1, wherein the FEM is further configured to inductively receive a magnetic field from the NFC capable device, to recover information from the magnetic field, and to derive a harvested power from the magnetic field.

4. The WPT enabled communication device of claim 3, wherein the plurality of modules comprises:

a secure element configured to receive the harvested power.

5. The WPT enabled communication device of claim 1, wherein the FEM is further configured to receive a power transmission signal from a wireless power transmitter associated with the second WPT enabled communication device.

6. The WPT enabled communication device of claim 5, wherein the FEM is further configured to derive a harvested power from the power transmission signal and to provide the harvested power to a second module from among the plurality of modules.

7. The WPT enabled communication device of claim 5, wherein the second module from among the plurality of modules comprises:

a power management unit (PMU).

8. The WPT enabled communication device of claim 1, wherein the high voltage semiconductor process is characterized as allowing for greater operating voltages than the low voltage semiconductor process.

9. The WPT enabled communication device of claim 1, wherein the FEM is further configured to operate at a lesser power level or a lesser speed than the NFC controller.

10. The WPT enabled communication device of claim 1, wherein the high voltage semiconductor process comprises:

a Bipolar Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (BiCMOS) process, and wherein the low voltage semiconductor process comprises;

a CMOS process.

11. The WPT enabled communication device of claim 1, wherein the WPT enabled communication device is fabricated onto a plurality of substrates, chips, or dies,

wherein the FEM is fabricated onto a first substrate, chip, or die from among the plurality of substrates, chips, or dies, and

wherein the NFC controller is fabricated onto a second substrate, chip, or die from among the plurality of substrates, chips, or dies that is separate from the first substrate, chip, or die.

12. The WPT enabled communication device of claim 1, wherein the first module further comprises:

a power management unit (PMU) configured to provide battery and power system management of the WPT enabled communication device, the FEM and the PMU being fabricated onto a first substrate, chip, or die from among a plurality of substrates, chips, or dies using the high voltage semiconductor process; and

a baseband (BB) controller configured to control cellular communications of the WPT enabled communication device, the BB controller and the NFC controller being fabricated onto a second substrate, chip, or die from among the plurality of substrates, chips, or dies using the low voltage semiconductor process.

13. A wireless power transfer (WPT) enabled communication device, comprising:

a plurality of modules configured to provide communication between the WPT enabled communication device and a plurality of communication devices according to a plurality of communication standards, the plurality of modules comprising;

a front end module (FEM), and

a near field, communication (NFC) controller,

wherein the FEM is configured to operate in conjunction with the NFC controller to implement an NFC standard and a WPT standard from among the plurality of communication standards,

wherein the FEM is fabricated using a high voltage semiconductor process and configured to communicate with an NFC capable device from among the plurality of communication devices in accordance with the NFC standard or with a second WPT enabled communication device from among plurality of communication devices in accordance with the WPT standard, and

wherein the NFC controller is fabricated using a low voltage semiconductor process.

14. The WPT enabled communication device of claim 13, wherein the FEM is configured to provide an interface between the NFC capable device and the WPT enabled communication device to communicate with the NFC capable device.

15. The WPT enabled communication device of claim 14, wherein the FEM is further configured to inductively receive a magnetic field from the NFC capable device, to recover information from the magnetic field, and to derive a harvested power from the magnetic field.

16. The WPT enabled communication device of claim 15, wherein the NFC controller is configured to receive the information and the harvested power from the FEM.

17. The WPT enabled communication device of claim 13, wherein the FEM is further configured to receive a power transmission signal from a wireless power transmitter associated with the second WPT enabled communication device.

18. The WPT enabled communication device of claim 17, further comprising:

a power management unit (PMU) configured to receive a harvested power that is derived from the power transmission signal and to provide a power signal based upon the harvested power to other modules from among the plurality of modules, the FEM and the PMU being fabricated onto a single substrate, chip, or die from among a plurality of substrates,chips, or dies using the high voltage semiconductor process.

19. The WPT enabled communication device of claim 13, wherein the plurality of modules further comprises:

a radio frequency (RF) module, and

a baseband (BB)controller,

wherein the RF module and the BB controller are configured to implement a cellular communication standard from among the plurality of communication standards, the BB controller and the NFC controller being fabricated onto a single substrate, chip, or die from among the plurality of substrates, chips, or dies using the low voltage semiconductor process.

20. The WPT enabled communication device of claim 13, wherein the high voltage semiconductor process is characterized as allowing for greater operating voltages than the low voltage semiconductor process.

a Bipolar Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (BiCMOS) process, and wherein the lower voltage semiconductor process comprises:

a CMOS process.

21. The WPT enabled communication device of claim 13, wherein the high voltage semiconductor process comprises:

a Bipolar Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (BiCMOS) process, and wherein the low voltage semiconductor process comprises;

a CMOS process.

22. The WPT enabled communication device of claim 13, wherein the WPT enabled communication device is fabricated onto a plurality of substrates, chips, or dies,

wherein the FEM is fabricated onto a first substrate, chip, or die from among the plurality of substrates, chips, or dies, and

wherein the NFC controller is fabricated onto a second substrate, chip, or die from among the plurality of substrates, chips, or dies that is separate from the first substrate, chip, or die.

23. The WPT enabled communication device of claim 13, wherein the plurality of modules further comprises:

a power management unit (PMU) configured to provide battery and power system management of the WPT enabled communication device, the FEM and the PMU being fabricated onto a first substrate, chip, or die from among a plurality of substrates, chips, or dies using the high voltage semiconductor process; and

a baseband (BB) controller configured to control cellular communications of the WPT enabled communication device, the BB controller and the NFC controller being fabricated onto a second substrate, chip, or die from among the plurality of substrates, chips, or dies using the low voltage semiconductor process.