Diversity receiver front end system with phase-shifting components

• US 9,385,765 B2
• Filed: 06/09/2015
• Issued: 07/05/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 10/31/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Skyworks Solutions Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Skyworks Solutions Incorporated
• Inventors: Wloczysiak, Stephane Richard Marie
• Primary Examiner(s): HA, DAC V
• Application Number:
  US14/734,759
• Publication Number:
  US 20160127014A1
• Time in Patent Office: 392 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 1/0205 in transistor amplifiers
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 1/56 Modifications of input or output impedances, not otherwise provided for
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 2200/111 the amplifier being a dual or triple band amplifier, e.g. 900 and 1800 MHz, e.g. switched or not switched, simultaneously or not
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 2200/387 A circuit being added at the output of an amplifier to adapt the output impedance of the amplifier
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 2200/411 the output amplifying stage of an amplifier comprising two power stages
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 2200/451 the amplifier being a radio frequency amplifier
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 2203/21106 An input signal being distributed in parallel over the inputs of a plurality of power amplifiers
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 2203/21112 A filter circuit being added at the input of a power amplifier stage
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 2203/7209 the gated amplifier being switched from a first band to a second band
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 3/19 with semiconductor devices only
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 3/195 in integrated circuits
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 3/211 using a combination of several amplifiers H03F3/60 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 3/245 with semiconductor devices only
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 3/72 Gated amplifiers, i.e. amplifiers which are rendered operative or inoperative by means of a control signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/16 Circuits
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/01 Reducing phase shift
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/08 at the receiving station
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0825 with main and with auxiliary or diversity antennas

Abstract

Diversity receiver front end system with phase-shifting components. A receiving system can include a controller configured to selectively activate one or more of a plurality of paths between an input of the receiving system and an output of the receiving system. The receiving system can further include a plurality of amplifiers, each one of the plurality of amplifiers disposed along a corresponding one of the plurality of paths and configured to amplify a signal received at the amplifier. The receiving system can further include a plurality of phase-shift components, each one of the plurality of phase-shift components disposed along a corresponding one of the plurality of paths and configured to phase-shift a signal passing through the phase-shift component.

Claims

1. A receiving system comprising:

a controller configured to selectively activate one or more of a plurality of paths between an input of the receiving system and an output of the receiving system;

a plurality of amplifiers, each one of the plurality of amplifiers disposed along a corresponding one of the plurality of paths and configured to amplify a signal received at the amplifier; and

a plurality of phase-shift components, each one of the plurality of phase-shift components disposed along a corresponding one of the plurality of paths and configured to phase-shift a signal passing through the phase-shift component, the plurality of phase-shift components including a first phase-shift component disposed along a first path of the plurality of paths corresponding to a first frequency band and configured to phase-shift a second frequency band of a signal passing through the first phase-shift component such that a second initial signal propagated along a second path of the plurality of paths corresponding to the second frequency band and a second reflected signal propagated along the first path are at least partially in-phase.

2. The receiving system of claim 1 wherein the plurality of phase-shift components includes a second phase-shift component disposed along the second path and configured to phase-shift the first frequency band of a signal passing through the second phase-shift component such that a first initial signal propagated along the first path and a first reflected signal propagated along the second path are at least partially in-phase.

3. The receiving system of claim 1 wherein the first phase-shift component is further configured to phase-shift a third frequency band of a signal passing through the first phase-shift component such that a third initial signal propagated along a third path of the plurality of paths corresponding to the third frequency band and a third reflected signal propagated along the first path are at least partially in-phase.

4. The receiving system of claim 1 wherein the first phase-shift component is configured to phase-shift the second frequency band of a signal passing through the first phase-shift component such that the second initial signal and the second reflected signal have a phase difference of an integer multiple of 360 degrees.

5. The receiving system of claim 1 further comprising a multiplexer configured to split an input signal received at the input into a plurality of signals at a respective plurality of frequency bands propagated along the plurality of paths.

6. The receiving system of claim 1 further comprising a signal combiner configured to combine signals propagating along the plurality of paths.

7. The receiving system of claim 6 further comprising a post-combiner amplifier disposed between the signal combiner and the output, the post-combiner amplifier configured to amplify a signal received at the post-combiner amplifier.

8. The receiving system of claim 6 wherein each one of the plurality of phase-shift components is disposed between the signal combiner and a respective one of the plurality of amplifiers.

9. The receiving system of claim 1 wherein at least one of the plurality of amplifiers includes a dual-stage amplifier.

10. The receiving system of claim 1 wherein at least one of the plurality of phase-shift components is a passive circuit.

11. The receiving system of claim 1 wherein at least one of the plurality of phase-shift components is an LC circuit.

12. The receiving system of claim 1 wherein at least one of the plurality of phase-shift components includes a tunable phase-shift component configured to phase-shift a signal passing through the tunable phase-shift component an amount controlled by a phase-shift tuning signal received from the controller.

13. The receiving system of claim 12 wherein the phase-shift tuning signal is based on a band select signal.

14. The receiving system of claim 1 further comprising a plurality of impedance matching components, each one of the impedance matching components disposed along a corresponding one of the plurality of paths and configured to decrease at least one of an out-of-band noise figure or an out-of-band gain of the corresponding one of the plurality of paths.

15. A radio-frequency (RF) module comprising:

a packaging substrate configured to receive a plurality of components; and

a receiving system implemented on the packaging substrate, the receiving system including a controller configured to selectively activate one or more of a plurality of paths between an input of the receiving system and an output of the receiving system, a plurality of amplifiers, each one of the plurality of amplifiers disposed along a corresponding one of the plurality of paths and configured to amplify a signal received at the amplifier, and a plurality of phase-shift components, each one of the plurality of phase-shift components disposed along a corresponding one of the plurality of paths and configured to phase-shift a signal passing through the phase-shift component, the plurality of phase-shift components includes a first phase-shift component disposed along a first path of the plurality of paths corresponding to a first frequency band and configured to phase-shift the second frequency band of a signal passing through the first phase-shift component such that a second initial signal propagated along a second path of the plurality of paths corresponding to the second frequency band and a second reflected signal propagated along the first path are at least partially in-phase.

16. The RF module of claim 15 wherein the RF module is a diversity receiver front-end module (FEM).

17. The RF module of claim 15 wherein the plurality of phase-shift components includes a second phase-shift component disposed along the second path and configured to phase-shift the first frequency band of a signal passing through the second phase-shift component such that a first initial signal propagated along the first path and a first reflected signal propagated along the second path are at least partially in-phase.

18. A wireless device comprising:

a first antenna configured to receive a first radio-frequency (RF) signal;

a first front-end module (FEM) in communication with the first antenna, the first FEM including a packaging substrate configured to receive a plurality of components, the first FEM further including a receiving system implemented on the packaging substrate, the receiving system including a controller configured to selectively activate one or more of a plurality of paths between an input of the receiving system and an output of the receiving system, a plurality of amplifiers, each one of the plurality of amplifiers disposed along a corresponding one of the plurality of paths and configured to amplify a signal received at the amplifier, and a plurality of phase-shift components, each one of the plurality of phase-shift components disposed along a corresponding one of the plurality of paths and configured to phase-shift a signal passing through the phase-shift component, a a first phase-shift component of the plurality of phase-shift components disposed along a first path of the plurality of paths corresponding to a first frequency band being configured to phase-shift the second frequency band of a signal passing through the first phase-shift component such that a second initial signal propagated along a second path of the plurality of paths corresponding to the second frequency band and a second reflected signal propagated along the first path are at least partially in-phase; and

a transceiver configured to receive a processed version of the first RF signal from the output via a transmission line and generate data bits based on the processed version of the first RF signal.

19. The wireless device of claim 18 further comprising a second antenna configured to receive a second radio-frequency (RF) signal and a second FEM in communication with the first antenna, the transceiver being configured to receive a processed version of the second RF signal from an output of the second FEM and generate the data bits based on the processed version of the second RF signal.

20. The wireless device of claim 18 wherein the plurality of phase-shift components includes a second phase-shift component disposed along the second path and configured to phase-shift the first frequency band of a signal passing through the second phase-shift component such that a first initial signal propagated along the first path and a first reflected signal propagated along the second path are at least partially in-phase.