Tunable microwave devices with auto-adjusting matching circuit

• US 20060160501A1
• Filed: 10/08/2005
• Published: 07/20/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 07/20/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NXP USA, Inc. (NXP Semiconductors NV)
• Original Assignee: Paratek Microwave Incorporated (Blackberry Limited)
• Inventors: Khayo, Izz, McKinzie, William, du Toit, Cornelis Frederik, Bachmann, Heinz, Martin, James Andrew III, Mendolia, Greg
• Granted Patent: US 7,865,154 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/125
• CPC Class Codes: H01P 5/04 with variable factor of coupling
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/242 specially adapted for hand-held use
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 1/56 Modifications of input or output impedances, not otherwise provided for
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 3/60 Amplifiers in which coupling networks have distributed constants, e.g. with waveguide resonators H03F3/54 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H03H 7/40 Automatic matching of load impedance to source impedance
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/0458 Arrangements for matching and coupling between power amplifier and antenna or between amplifying stages matching circuits in general H03H

Abstract

An embodiment of the present invention provides an apparatus, comprising an input port and a dynamic impedance matching network capable of determining a mismatch at the input port and dynamically changing the RF match by using at least one matching element that includes at least one voltage tunable dielectric capacitor. The matching network may be a “Pi”, a “T”, or “ladder” type network and the apparatus may further comprise at least one directional coupler capable of signal collection by sampling a portion of an incident signal, a reflected signal or both. In an embodiment of the present invention, the apparatus may also include a control and power control & logic unit (PC LU) to convert input analog signals into digital signals and sensing VSWR phase and magnitude and processing the digital signals using an algorithm to give it a voltage value and wherein the voltage values may be compared to values coming from the coupler and once compared and matched, the values may be passed to a Hi Voltage Application Specific Integrated Circuit (HV ASIC) to transfer and distribute compensatory voltages to the matching network elements.

Claims

1. An apparatus, comprising:

an input port; and

a dynamic impedance matching network capable of determining a mismatch at said input port and dynamically changing the RF match by using at least one matching element that includes at least one voltage tunable dielectric capacitor.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said matching network is a “

Pi”

type network.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising at least one directional coupler capable of signal collection by sampling a portion of an incident signal, a reflected signal or both.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, further comprising a control and power control &

logic unit (PC LU) to convert input analog signals into digital signals and sensing VSWR phase and magnitude and processing said digital signals using an algorithm to gives it a voltage value and wherein said voltage values are compared to values coming from said coupler and once compared and matched, said values are passed to a Hi Voltage Application Specific Integrated Circuit (HV ASIC) to transfer and distribute compensatory voltages to said matching network elements.

5. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein said sampling is accomplished by at least one low impedance capacitor sampling element.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein said sampling element is an interdigital capacitor or metal-insulator-metal (MIM) capacitor.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said matching network is a “

T”

type network.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said matching network is a “

ladder”

type network.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said dynamic impedance matching network is mounted onto a low-cost thermally conductive dielectric substrate with components surface mounted on one side, then over-molded as a Multi-Chip-Module (MCM), which is itself surface mountable on to a printed wiring board of an RF devise.

11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said dynamic impedance matching network system is positioned between a Power Amplifier (PA) unit and a frequency filter unit in said apparatus.

12. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein said apparatus is a mobile phone and further comprises an external digital signal processor to convert input analog signals into digital signals and sensing VSWR phase and magnitude and processing said digital signals using an algorithm to give it a voltage value and wherein said voltage values are compared to values coming from said coupler and once compared and matched, compensatory voltages are transferred and distributed to said matching network elements.

13. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said apparatus is a mobile phone and said dynamic impedance matching network system is positioned between a frequency filter unit and a switch unit in said mobile phone.

14. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said dynamic impedance matching network is a single stand-alone component that is placed in the transmit chain of a mobile phone radio.

15. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said apparatus is a mobile phone and said dynamic impedance matching network is self-contained thereby requiring only a fixed DC bias 3V from said mobile phone.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein said same self-contained dynamic impedance matching network system enables impedance matching and therefore operation in a GSM, EDGE, CDMA or WCDMA or multi-mode mobile phone, and at least capable of a single band operation that includes 800, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz bands and the 2.1 GHz band.

31. The method of claim 1, further comprising self containing said dynamic impedance matching network thereby requiring only a fixed DC bias 3V from said mobile phone.

32. The method of claim 31, wherein said same self-contained dynamic impedance matching network system enables impedance matching and therefore operation in a GSM, EDGE, CDMA or WCDMA or multi-mode mobile phone, and at least capable of a single band operation that includes 800, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz bands and the 2.1 GHz band.

9. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein said “

ladder”

type network comprises at four inductors in series and includes three grounded matching capacitors in parallel connected to said inductors.

17. A method, comprising:

matching the impedance of an RF signal received by an input port of a device by using a dynamic impedance matching network capable of determining a mismatch at said input port and dynamically changing the RF match by using at least one matching element that includes at least one voltage tunable dielectric capacitor.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein said matching network is a “

Pi”

type network.

19. The method of claim 17, further comprising collecting a signal by at least one directional coupler by sampling a portion of an incident signal, a reflected signal or both.

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising converting, using a voltage control and power control &

logic unit (PC LU), input analog signals into digital signals and sensing VSWR phase and magnitude and processing said digital signals using an algorithm to give said digital signal a value and wherein said voltage values are compared to values coming from said coupler and once compared and matched, said values are passed to a Hi Voltage Application Specific Integrated Circuit (HV ASIC) to transfer and distribute compensatory voltages to said matching network elements.

21. The method of claim 19, wherein said sampling is accomplished by at least one low impedance capacitor sampling element.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein said sampling element is an interdigital capacitor or metal-insulator-metal (MIM) capacitor.

23. The method of claim 17, wherein said matching network is a “

T”

type network.

24. The method of claim 17, wherein said matching network is a “

ladder”

type network.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein said “

ladder”

type network comprises at four inductors in series and includes three grounded matching capacitors in parallel connected to said inductors.

26. The method of claim 17, further comprising mounting said dynamic impedance matching network onto a low-cost thermally conductive dielectric substrate such with components surface mounted on one side, then over-molded as a Multi-Chip-Module (MCM), which is itself surface mountable on to a printed wiring board of an RF devise.

27. The method of claim 17, further comprising positioning said dynamic impedance matching network system between a Power Amplifier (PA) unit and a frequency filter unit in said apparatus.

28. The method of claim 19, further comprising using an external digital signal processor to convert input analog signals into digital signals and sensing VSWR phase and magnitude and processing said digital signals using an algorithm to give it a voltage value and wherein said voltage value is compared to values coming from said coupler and once compared and matched, compensatory voltages are transferred and distributed to said matching network elements.

29. The method of claim 17, further comprising positioning said dynamic impedance matching network system between a frequency filter unit and a switch unit in a mobile phone.

30. The method of claim 17, further comprising making said dynamic impedance matching network a single stand-alone component that is placed in the transmit chain of a mobile phone radio.

33. An auto-adjusting matching circuit, comprising:

a first and second coupler to sample an incoming signal and an outgoing signal;

a matching network to receive said incoming signal and including a plurality of matching network elements comprising voltage tunable dielectric capacitors, wherein said matching network is capable of automatically adjusting an impedance of said incoming signal; and

a power control &

logic unit to produce a voltage to output ports from a High Voltage Application Specific Integrated Circuit to said plurality of matching network elements.

34. The auto-adjusting matching circuit of claim 33, wherein said plurality of matching network elements are three network elements in a “

Pi”

configuration.

35. The auto-adjusting matching circuit of claim 33, wherein said plurality of matching network elements are three network elements in a “

T”

configuration.