High-frequency switch circuit and mobile telecommunications terminal device using the same

• US 20040242182A1
• Filed: 03/17/2004
• Published: 12/02/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 05/31/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Collabo Innovations, Inc. (Wi-LAN Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Hidaka, Kenichi, Suwa, Atsushi, Nakatsuka, Tadayoshi
• Granted Patent: US 7,020,453 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/333
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/1615 Switching on; Switching off, e.g. remotely battery saving circuits associated with selective call operation H04W52/00; details of power consumption reduction in a PLL, H03L7/0802, H03L7/14, H03L2207/08, H03L2207/18; muting amplifiers by gain control see H03G3/34
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/44 Transmit/receive switching
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/48 in circuits for connecting transmitter and receiver to a common transmission path, e.g. by energy of transmitter H04B1/46 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0274 by switching on or off the equipment or parts thereof
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/029 reducing the clock frequency of the controller
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

An object is to provide an antenna switch semiconductor integrated circuit which reduces a consumption current. To this end, of two control input signals which are fed to a logic circuit which controls turning on and off of a plurality of switching FETs, a control input signal for switching between a sending mode and a receiving mode is fed to an oscillation circuit, thereby making the oscillation circuit operate only during the sending mode under which the logic circuit needs a high voltage. A voltage raising circuit accordingly operates, whereby a raised voltage is supplied to the logic circuit. During the receiving mode, the oscillation circuit stops, and the voltage raising circuit stops. With a switch turned on using the logic circuit, a power source voltage is supplied directly to the logic circuit when the voltage raising circuit is not in operation. This shortens the operation time of the voltage raising circuit and reduces the consumption current.

Claims

1. A high-frequency switch circuit, comprising:

a plurality of switching field-effective transistors;

a logic circuit under whose control said plurality of switching field-effective transistors conduct and shut themselves down in accordance with the state of a control input signal which is supplied from outside;

a voltage raising circuit which raises a power source voltage, which is applied upon a power source voltage terminal from outside, and supplies the same to said logic circuit as an operating power source voltage;

an oscillation circuit which operates, supplies an oscillation signal to said voltage raising circuit and makes said voltage raising circuit operate when said control input signal enters a particular state, but stops operating and stops said voltage raising circuit when said control input signal enters other state than said particular state; and

a switch which is connected between said power source voltage terminal and an output terminal of said voltage raising circuit,

characterized in that said switch is disconnected when said control input signal enters said particular state, and said switch conducts when said control input signal enters other state than said particular state.

2. The high-frequency switch circuit of claim 1, characterized in that said plurality of switching field-effective transistors have a structure which selectively causes one path out of a signal path for sending and a signal path for receiving which lead to an antenna to conduct in accordance with the state of said control input signal, said logic circuit selectively causes said signal path for sending to conduct when said control input signal enters said particular state, and said logic circuit selectively causes said signal path for receiving to conduct when said control input signal enters other state than said particular state.

3. The high-frequency switch circuit of claim 1 or 2, characterized in that said plurality of switching field-effective transistors are formed on a semiconductor chip of gallium arsenide, said logic circuit, said voltage raising circuit, said oscillation circuit and said switch are formed on a semiconductor chip of silicon, and said semiconductor chip of gallium arsenide and said semiconductor chip of silicon are housed within the same package.

4. A high-frequency switch circuit, comprising:

a plurality of switching field-effective transistors;

a first logic circuit under whose control said plurality of switching field-effective transistors conduct and shut themselves down in accordance with the states of a plurality of control input signals which are supplied from outside;

a voltage raising circuit which raises a power source voltage, which is applied upon a power source voltage terminal from outside, and supplies the same to said first logic circuit as an operating power source voltage;

an oscillation circuit which supplies an oscillation signal to said voltage raising circuit and makes said voltage raising circuit operate;

a switch which is connected between said power source voltage terminal and an output terminal of said voltage raising circuit; and

a second logic circuit which makes said oscillation circuit operate and disconnect said switch when said plurality of control input signals enter a particular state, but stops said oscillation circuit and causes said switch to conduct when said plurality of control input signals enter other state than said particular state.

5. The high-frequency switch circuit of claim 4, characterized in that said plurality of switching field-effective transistors have a structure which selectively causes one path out of a plurality of signal paths for sending and a plurality of signal paths for receiving which lead to an antenna to conduct in accordance with the states of said plurality of control input signals, said first logic circuit selectively causes one of said plurality of signal paths for sending to conduct when said plurality of control input signals enter said particular state, and said first logic circuit selectively causes one of the other remaining signal paths for sending or one of said plurality of signal paths for receiving to conduct when said plurality of control input signals enter other state than said particular state.

6. The high-frequency switch circuit of claim 4 or 5, characterized in that said plurality of switching field-effective transistors are formed on a semiconductor chip of gallium arsenide, said first and said second logic circuits, said voltage raising circuit, said oscillation circuit and said switch are formed on a semiconductor chip of silicon, and said semiconductor chip of gallium arsenide and said semiconductor chip of silicon are housed within the same package.

7. A high-frequency switch circuit, comprising:

a plurality of switching field-effective transistors;

a logic circuit under whose control said plurality of switching field-effective transistors conduct and shut themselves down in accordance with the state of a control input signal which is supplied from outside;

a voltage raising circuit which raises a power source voltage, which is applied upon a power source voltage terminal from outside, and supplies the same to said logic circuit as an operating power source voltage; and

an oscillation circuit which is capable of switching an oscillation frequency between high and low in accordance with the state of said control input signal,

characterized in that an oscillation signal having a high oscillation frequency is supplied to said voltage raising circuit when said control input signal enters a particular state and said voltage raising circuit accordingly operates, whereas when said control input signal enters other state than said particular state, an oscillation signal having a low oscillation frequency is supplied to said voltage raising circuit and said voltage raising circuit accordingly operates.

8. The high-frequency switch circuit of claim 7, characterized in that said plurality of switching field-effective transistors have a structure which selectively causes one path out of a signal path for sending and a signal path for receiving which lead to an antenna to conduct in accordance with the state of said control input signal, said logic circuit selectively causes said signal path for sending to conduct when said control input signal enters a particular state, and said logic circuit selectively causes said signal path for receiving to conduct when said control input signal enters other state than said particular state.

9. The high-frequency switch circuit of claim 7 or 8, characterized in that said oscillation circuit has a structure that an oscillation frequency is determined by a parallel circuit, which is formed by a first resistor and a series circuit of a second resistor and a switch, and a capacitor, said switch opens and closes under control in such a manner that said oscillation frequency will become high when said control input signal enters a particular state but will become low when said control input signal enters other state than said particular state.

10. The high-frequency switch circuit of claim 7 or 8, characterized in that said oscillation circuit has a structure that an oscillation frequency is determined by a parallel circuit, which is formed by a first capacitor and a series circuit of a second capacitor and a switch, and a resistor, said switch opens and closes under control in such a manner that said oscillation frequency will become high when said control input signal enters a particular state but will become low when said control input signal enters other state than said particular state.

11. The high-frequency switch circuit of claim 7 or 8, characterized in that said plurality of switching field-effective transistors are formed on a semiconductor chip of gallium arsenide, said logic circuit, said voltage raising circuit and said oscillation circuit are formed on a semiconductor chip of silicon, and said semiconductor chip of gallium arsenide and said semiconductor chip of silicon are housed within the same package.

12. A high-frequency switch circuit, comprising:

a plurality of switching field-effective transistors;

a first logic circuit under whose control said plurality of switching field-effective transistors conduct and shut themselves down in accordance with the states of a plurality of control input signals which are supplied from outside;

a voltage raising circuit which raises a power source voltage, which is applied upon a power source voltage terminal from outside, and supplies the same to said first logic circuit as an operating power source voltage;

an oscillation circuit which is capable of switching an oscillation frequency between high and low and which supplies an oscillation signal to said voltage raising circuit and makes said voltage raising circuit operate; and

a second logic circuit which switches the oscillation frequency of said oscillation circuit to a high frequency when said plurality of control input signals enter a particular state, and switches the oscillation frequency of said oscillation circuit to a low frequency when said plurality of control input signals enter other state than said particular state.

13. The high-frequency switch circuit of claim 12, characterized in that said plurality of switching field-effective transistors have a structure which selectively causes one path out of a plurality of signal paths for sending and a plurality of signal paths for receiving which lead to an antenna to conduct in accordance with the states of said plurality of control input signals, said first logic circuit selectively causes one of said plurality of signal paths for sending to conduct when said plurality of control input signals enter a particular state, and said first logic circuit selectively causes one of the other remaining signal paths for sending or one of said plurality of signal paths for receiving to conduct when said plurality of control input signals enter other state than said particular state.

14. The high-frequency switch circuit of claim 12 or 13, characterized in that said oscillation circuit has a structure that an oscillation frequency is determined by a parallel circuit, which is formed by a first resistor and a series circuit of a second resistor and a switch, and a capacitor, said second logic circuit controls said switch to open or close such that said oscillation frequency will become high when said plurality of control input signals enter a particular state, and when said plurality of control input signals enter other state than said particular state, said second logic circuit controls said switch to open or close such that said oscillation frequency will become low.

15. The high-frequency switch circuit of claim 12 or 13, characterized in that said oscillation circuit has a structure that an oscillation frequency is determined by a parallel circuit, which is formed by a first capacitor and a series circuit of a second capacitor and a switch, and a resistor, said second logic circuit controls said switch to open or close such that said oscillation frequency will become high when said plurality of control input signals enter a particular state, and when said plurality of control input signals enter other state than said particular state, said second logic circuit controls said switch to open or close such that said oscillation frequency will become low.

16. The high-frequency switch circuit of claim 12 or 13, characterized in that said plurality of switching field-effective transistors are formed on a semiconductor chip of gallium arsenide, said first and said second logic circuits, said voltage raising circuit and said oscillation circuit are formed on a semiconductor chip of silicon, and said semiconductor chip of gallium arsenide and said semiconductor chip of silicon are housed within the same package.

17. A mobile telecommunications terminal device, comprising:

at least one antenna, at least one sender part which outputs a send signal to said at least one antenna, at least one receiver part which receives a receive signal from said at least one antenna, and a plurality of switching field-effective transistors which are connected between said at least one antenna, said at least one sender part and said at least one receiver part;

a logic circuit under whose control said plurality of switching field-effective transistors conduct and shut themselves down in accordance with the state of a control input signal which is supplied from outside;

a voltage raising circuit which raises a power source voltage, which is applied upon a power source voltage terminal from outside, and supplies the same to said logic circuit as an operating power source voltage; and

an oscillation circuit which operates, supplies an oscillation signal to said voltage raising circuit and makes said voltage raising circuit operate when said control input signal enters a particular state, but stops operating and stops said voltage raising circuit when said control input signal enters other state than said particular state; and

a switch which is connected between said power source voltage terminal and an output terminal of said voltage raising circuit,

characterized in that said switch is disconnected when said control input signal enters said particular state, and said switch conducts when said control input signal enters other state than said particular state.

18. A mobile telecommunications terminal device, comprising:

at least one antenna, at least one sender part which outputs a send signal to said at least one antenna, at least one receiver part which receives a receive signal from said at least one antenna, and a plurality of switching field-effective transistors which are connected between said at least one antenna, said at least one sender part and said at least one receiver part;

a first logic circuit under whose control said plurality of switching field-effective transistors conduct and shut themselves down in accordance with the states of a plurality of control input signals which are supplied from outside;

a voltage raising circuit which raises a power source voltage, which is applied upon a power source voltage terminal from outside, and supplies the same to said first logic circuit as an operating power source voltage;

an oscillation circuit which supplies an oscillation signal to said voltage raising circuit and makes said voltage raising circuit operate;

a switch which is connected between said power source voltage terminal and an output terminal of said voltage raising circuit; and

a second logic circuit which makes said oscillation circuit operate and disconnects said switch when said plurality of control input signals enter a particular state, but stops said oscillation circuit and causes said switch to conduct when said plurality of control input signals enter other state than said particular state.

19. A mobile telecommunications terminal device, comprising:

at least one antenna, at least one sender part which outputs a send signal to said at least one antenna, at least one receiver part which receives a receive signal from said at least one antenna, and a plurality of switching field-effective transistors which are connected between said at least one antenna, said at least one sender part and said at least one receiver part;

a logic circuit under whose control said plurality of switching field-effective transistors conduct and shut themselves down in accordance with the state of a control input signal which is supplied from outside;

a voltage raising circuit which raises a power source voltage, which is applied upon a power source voltage terminal from outside, and supplies the same to said logic circuit as an operating power source voltage; and

an oscillation circuit which is capable of switching an oscillation frequency between high and low in accordance with the state of said control input signal,

characterized in that an oscillation signal having a high oscillation frequency is supplied to said voltage raising circuit when said control input signal enters a particular state and said voltage raising circuit accordingly operates, whereas when said control input signal enters other state than said particular state, an oscillation signal having a low oscillation frequency is supplied to said voltage raising circuit and said voltage raising circuit accordingly operates.

20. A mobile telecommunications terminal device, comprising:

at least one antenna, at least one sender part which outputs a send signal to said at least one antenna, at least one receiver part which receives a receive signal from said at least one antenna, and a plurality of switching field-effective transistors which are connected between said at least one antenna, said at least one sender part and said at least one receiver part;

a first logic circuit under whose control said plurality of switching field-effective transistors conduct and shut themselves down in accordance with the states of a plurality of control input signals which are supplied from outside;

a voltage raising circuit which raises a power source voltage, which is applied upon a power source voltage terminal from outside, and supplies the same to said first logic circuit as an operating power source voltage;

an oscillation circuit which is capable of switching an oscillation frequency between high and low and which supplies an oscillation signal to said voltage raising circuit and makes said voltage raising circuit operate; and

a second logic circuit which switches the oscillation frequency of said oscillation circuit to a high frequency when said plurality of control input signals enter a particular state, but switches the oscillation frequency of said oscillation circuit to a low frequency when said plurality of control input signals enter other state than said particular state.