DIVERSITY RECEIVER FRONT END SYSTEM WITH IMPEDANCE MATCHING COMPONENTS

• US 20160126993A1
• Filed: 11/18/2015
• Published: 05/05/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 10/31/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Skyworks Solutions Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Skyworks Solutions Incorporated
• Inventors: WLOCZYSIAK, Stephane Richard Marie
• Granted Patent: US 10,205,490 B2
• Time in Patent Office: 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 tunable input and output matching circuits. 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 include a plurality of amplifiers. Each one of the plurality of amplifiers can be disposed along a corresponding one of the plurality of paths and can be configured to amplify a signal received at the amplifier. The receiving system can include one or more tunable matching circuits. Each one of the one or more tunable matching circuits can disposed at the input or the output and configured to present an impedance based on a tuning signal received from the controller.

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;

one or more tunable matching circuits, each one of the one or more tunable matching circuits disposed at the input or the output and configured to present an impedance based on a tuning signal received from the controller.

2. The receiving system of claim 1 wherein the controller is configured to selectively activate the one or more of the plurality of paths by transmitting a splitter control signal to a signal splitter and a combiner control signal to a signal combiner.

3. The receiving system of claim 2 wherein an output of one of the one or more tunable matching circuits is coupled to an input of the signal splitter.

4. The receiving system of claim 2 wherein an input of one of the one or more tunable matching circuits is coupled to an output of the signal combiner.

5. The receiving system of claim 1 wherein the controller is configured to selectively activate the one or more of the plurality of paths by transmitting an amplifier enable signal to one or more of the plurality of amplifiers respectively disposed along the one or more of the plurality of paths.

6. The receiving system of claim 1 wherein the controller is configured to selectively activate the one or more of the plurality of paths based on a band select signal received by the controller.

7. The receiving system of claim 6 wherein the controller is configured to generate the tuning signal based on the band select signal.

8. The receiving system of claim 7 wherein the controller is configured to generate the tuning signal based on a lookup table that associates frequency bands or sets of frequency bands with tuning parameters.

9. The receiving system of claim 1 wherein one of the one or more tunable matching circuits includes at least one of a variable capacitor, a variable resistor, or a variable inductor.

10. The receiving system of claim 1 wherein one of the one or more tunable matching circuits includes at least one of a tunable T-circuit or a tunable PI-circuit.

11. The receiving system of claim 1 further comprising a plurality of bandpass filters, each one of the plurality of bandpass filters disposed along a corresponding one of the plurality of paths and configured to filter a signal received at the bandpass filter to a respective frequency band.

12. The receiving system of claim 1 wherein at least one of the amplifiers includes a variable-gain amplifier (VGA) configured to amplify a signal received at the VGA with a gain controlled by an amplifier control signal received from the controller, the tuning signal being based on the amplifier control signal.

13. The receiving system of claim 1 further comprising at least one tunable impedance matching component, each one of the at least one tunable impedance matching component being disposed along a corresponding one of the plurality of paths and configured to reduce at least one of an out-of-band noise figure or an out-of-band gain of the one of the plurality of paths based on a second tuning signal, the tuning signal being based on the second tuning signal.

14. 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 one or more tunable matching circuits, each one of the one or more tunable matching circuits disposed at the input or the output and configured to present an impedance based on a tuning signal received from the controller.

15. The RF module of claim 14 wherein the RF module is a diversity receiver front-end module (FEM).

16. The RF module of claim 14 wherein an output of one of the one or more tunable matching circuits is coupled to an input of a signal splitter.

17. The receiving system of claim 14 wherein an input of one of the one or more tunable matching circuits is coupled to an output of a signal combiner.

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 one or more tunable matching circuits, each one of the one or more tunable matching circuits disposed at the input or the output and configured to present an impedance based on a tuning signal received from the controller; 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 an output of one of the one or more tunable matching circuits is coupled to an input of a signal splitter or an input of one of the one or more tunable matching circuits is coupled to an output of a signal combiner.